The odds to win the NBA Finals are tilted in favor of the Thunder, and Pacers star Haliburton likes it

In all pre-game predictions, the Oklahoma City Thunder are favored to beat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA championship this season, but the Pacers star Haliburton "prefers this situation"! The NBA Finals, which is about to ignite the flames, has a new combination of matches, rare for the championship by two small market teams, and the Pacers, who strive for the first championship in team history, will play the Thunder, who have reached the Finals for the second time after changing their name from the SuperSonics, and the matchup between the two young teams has added a lot of topics to this year's Finals.

The odds to win the championship tilted in favor of the Thunder, and Haliburton, the Pacers' main control, instead liked his team's unfavored situation

The odds for the Thunder to win the championship are the lowest in nearly 20 years. The Thunder, led by MVP "SGA" Alexander, are favored to be the champion on the eve of the Finals, and the odds to win the championship are the second lowest in nearly 20 years, nearly five times that of the Pacers. Regarding this situation, Haliburton said in an interview a few days ago that the outside world's disapproval will not affect the Pacers, "As long as the players in our lounge and the people in this stadium believe it, I think anything can happen." Now there are no so-called experts or analysts who think we will win, but it doesn't matter, we prefer it. ”

The Pacers veteran put a top hat on the Thunder. Pacers veteran coach Carlisle spoke about his respect for the Thunder, "Alexander is a player who is born for great moments, he has that aura, confidence and composure, and I've been watching him all the time, and his performances are always amazing. "Dagnho [Thunder] has put together a really good coaching team, I didn't follow him because of their performances in the last two years, I've watched him all the way over the last five years to build the team and build the organizational culture, and his tactics are solid and constantly changing, which will be a big challenge for us."

"SGA" Alexander believes that if the Thunder want to win the Pacers championship, they must make Haliburton uncomfortable.

The Thunder made Haliburton uncomfortable. Thunder players including Alexander and Dort said that making Haliburton uncomfortable will be a top priority, Alexander said: "He's responsible for driving the whole team, and if you want to win, you have to let him play in a way that he is not good at." The better the player, the harder it is to do that, and that's what we have to do. ”

During the playoffs, the Thunder sent Dort and Caruso to take turns guarding the opponent's engine, and if there is no accident in the Finals, they will also shoulder the responsibility of defending Haliburton.

Siakam, the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, helped the Toronto Tyrannosaurus Res win the first championship in team history in 2019

Dort, who was named to the first defensive team of the year this year, said that the whole team must be used to defend Haliburton, "He is definitely the heart of them, there will be a lot of opportunities with the ball, and I will find ways to make it more difficult for him to play." It's not just me, it's through the strength of our team. "Over the past two seasons, Haliburton has averaged just 12 points against the Thunder, and his willingness to shoot has dropped significantly under Dort's defense.

The Thunder set a franchise record with 68 wins in the regular season, and in the playoffs against the Nuggets, they managed to extend the line to a tiebreaker and successfully advance. The Pacers entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, and before the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers who had won 64 in the regular season, Haliburton and Siakam teamed up to help the Pacers eliminate arch-rivals New York Knicks.

Thunder lock Dort said they want to use the team's defense to limit Haliburton, the Pacings' engine

Heading into 2025 (including the playoffs), the Thunder have a 53-13 record, the best in the league; The Pacers are a close second with 46 wins and 18 losses, even better than the Eastern Conference duo of the Celtics and Cavaliers. Despite the general favors for the Thunder to win the championship, the Pacers should not be underestimated.