Pacers Seek Upset in NBA Finals: Bettors’ Respect
The Indiana Pacers, one win away from staging the biggest upset in an NBA Finals in the modern era, have captured the attention and respect of the most influential bettors heading into Game 7 against the Thunder in Oklahoma City. Various betting houses reported having received bets in favor of the Pacers, the team considered the “underdog”, from expert bettors on Friday and Saturday. This caused the point spread in Game 7 to decrease by up to two points. After opening with the Thunder as 8.5-point favorites, the line on ESPN BET moved to Oklahoma City -6.5 on Friday. The consensus line on Sunday morning was Thunder -7, tied for the largest point spread in a Game 7 in the Finals since 1991.Sherman, a veteran in the NBA betting world, added that his sportsbook accepted bets on Indiana +8 and +7.5 from influential bettors. Chris Andrews, betting director at the South Point in Las Vegas, stated that he received strong action in favor of Indiana and had to reduce the line to Oklahoma City -7, before he could attract money in favor of the Thunder, who were the favorites. The Pacers began the Finals as “underdogs” with odds of +525 to beat the Thunder in the best-of-seven series. With those odds, Indiana would become the biggest “underdog” to win the Finals since at least 1975, surpassing the 2004 Detroit Pistons, who surprised the Los Angeles Lakers with odds of +500. Indiana, after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last year, had a slow start to this season. The Pacers’ odds to win the championship reached as high as 150-1 mid-season, and few bettors believed they had any chance entering the playoffs. Sixteen teams had attracted more bets to win the title than Indiana at BetMGM, including the Phoenix Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers, two teams that didn’t make the postseason. The Pacers represented 1% of the money wagered on the sportsbook’s odds to win the championship. Indiana, which began the season with a 50-1 odds to win the NBA title, would be the team with the highest odds before the season to win a title in the last 40 seasons.With the way the series has developed, I can see people taking the points instead of giving them.
Jeff Sherman, Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk in Las Vegas
