We look forward to the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
The 2025 NBA Finals are coming soon. On Thursday, Game 1 drops hints at Paycom Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder aims to protect their home court against the dangerous Indiana Pacers.
Thunder is a heavy favorite to win the series, given the depths that begin with league MVP Shay Gilgauss Alexander and All-Star talent.
However, the Indiana Pacers were huge killers of these playoffs, beating one type of Cleveland Cavaliers and the three-seeded New York Knicks despite having no home court advantage in either series.
The NBA Finals are set to begin soon, and voted for all writers in the NBA analysis to provide a choice of winners and Final MVPs. Just like in the actual series, you might be surprised by some of these picks.
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I asked the writing staff a simple question NBA Analysis: Who will you choose to win the 2025 NBA Finals? Many writers supported Thunder and cited overwhelming strength at both ends of the court.
And Coombs: “I really enjoy watching Pacers in the postseason and I believe they’re a much tougher matchup than the Knicks were.”
“It’ll be a really interesting contrast to style, but if the pacers can withstand the chance, they’ll have to win one of Oklahoma City’s early two games. I think the series is competitive, but I can’t see past OKCs.”
- Prediction: 4-2 OKC Thunder, Finals MVP – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Aikansh Chaudhary: “The Indiana Pacers have been on Cinderella’s run this season, and the OKC Thunder is an obvious favourite to get it all.”
“2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso prove too much to deal with for the Pacers. But it’s not surprising that Tyrese Haliburton wins a match or two with his heroes.”
- Prediction: 4-1 OKC Thunder, Finals MVP – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Godwin Matthew: “The OKC Thunder has the highest defensive rating in the playoffs. Pacers are unlikely to handle what Thunder has in the store while deep.”
“Everyone in the Thunder knows their role and the SGA is to get a bucket and frustrate the opposition’s defense. His offensive numbers are stellar, but what lies beneath the radar is his defensive resilience.”
“Mark Dean’s men have proven they can be strong against any team in the league. One of the reasons behind that is their defense. They also have an 8-1 record at home in these playoffs, which is impressive.”
- Prediction: 4-1 OKC Thunder, Finals MVP – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Great Belgas: “The Indiana Pacers have a lot of people who can move fast enough to create chaos on their offensive sets. They can really get to shoot and attack the rims.”
“But OKC has arguably the best defensive power of the entire season and has a more reliable scoring option. I’d like to see seven games, but I think OKC will finish at six.
- Prediction: 4-2 OKC Thunder, Finals MVP – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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However, not everyone on the NBA analytics staff can easily do Thunder. In fact, some of us think they don’t have it to defeat the Pacer.
Aaditya Krishnamurthy: “Most people struggle between picking their brains and their minds. Luckily, both of me say the same thing. That’s when it comes to Indiana.”
“The franchise has been extremely enduring over the years and has always been bouncing back. Yes, the odds aren’t their favor and face the OKC Thunder side of all time in the reigning MVP of Shy Gilgauss Alexander.
“Pacers have shown that they are surprisingly deep and incredibly rough, and that they can make things very difficult due to lightning in ways the latter hasn’t experienced.
- Prediction: 4-2 Indiana Pacers, Final MVP – Tyrees Halliburton
Jonah Kubicek: “The Oklahoma City Thunder has more stars and is as deep as the Pacers, but they didn’t have to play fast.”
“It’s true, they rank second in the postseason at pace, with Pacers ranked third. But their opponents were largely slower than Pacer’s opponents.
“Tyrese Haliburton is a better player than Siakam, but he probably has one or two games that don’t pack a stat sheet. Meanwhile, Siakam is likely to be consistent across all series.”
- Prediction: 4-2 Indiana Pacers, Final MVP – Pascalciacam