The Thunder and Pacers face off in Indiana in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. This is a breakdown of the public betting splits and the most popular player prop bets for the highly anticipated matchup.
Oklahoma City is a 5.5-point favorite over Indiana at DraftKings Sportsbook, with a total of 227.5 points.
Betting Splits
The NBA Finals is all tied up heading to Indiana. The Thunder are 5.5-point favorites on the road against the Pacers. Currently, 56% of bets and 69% of the handle are on the Thunder to cover the spread as road favorites. That means that there is a slight lean to Oklahoma City from the public, but a substantial position from bigger bettors. With a 13% differential between the bet percentage and handle percentage, that would indicate that bigger bettors have a lot of faith in the Thunder. On the moneyline, the Thunder are getting 48% of the bets and 56% of the handle. The Pacers have continued to find ways to win close games, so if the game is going to be inside the 5.5-point spread, some bettors are banking on the Pacers just winning the game outright.
The total is set at 227.5 for Game 3. There is a substantial difference between the bet percentage and handle percentage, with 71% of bets on the over but just 57% of the handle. Game 1 went under this number, while Game 2 went over thanks to the Thunder’s great night offensively. The public is backing both offenses to get going in Game 3, sending this game over. However, bigger bettors are taking the opposite side, putting more money on the game going under the listed total.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are five of the most popular player prop bets at DraftKings Sportsbook for this matchup:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander First Points Scorer (+450)
- Pascal Siakam First Points Scorer (+650)
- Tyrese Haliburton First Points Scorer (+1000)
- Tyrese Haliburton o17.5 Points (-110)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 30+ Points (-235)
There are many different types of player props available to bettors for the NBA Finals. By far the most popular method of prop betting for Game 3 is the “First Points Scorer” market. This bet is exactly what it sounds like, betting on which player will score the first points of the game. The most popular pick is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It is no surprise that the NBA MVP is demanding a lot of tickets to be the first scorer of the game. After Gilgeous-Alexander, it is the two Pacers stars who are demanding the most attention. Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are both taking bets to score the first points of the game. Haliburton is looking to bounce back at home after poor offensive performances on the road.
Bettors believe in Haliburton bouncing back now that he is in Indiana. The most popular player prop that isn’t in the “First Points Scorer” market is Haliburton to score over 17.5 points. He has gone under this number in both games of the NBA Finals so far. His incredible game-winning shot from Game 1 is the lasting memory of his performance; however, he only had 14 points in that game. During the regular season, Haliburton was much better at home, averaging 20.4 points per game in Indiana, compared to 16.7 PPG on the road. In addition to Haliburton, the public is also backing Gilgeous-Alexander to have a big night. Bettors are paying the juice on Gilgeous-Alexander to score 30 or more points in Game 3. He has hit this mark in nine of his past 10 games, including both Finals games so far. This seems like the safest bet one can make with the way Gilgeous-Alexander has been performing this postseason.
