The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to tip off Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Both teams come from small markets, which is a new look compared to recent matchups in the Finals.
At the forefront of the matchup comes an elite guard matchup between Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP award this season and Haliburton has emerged as a budding superstar.
Behind the two stars, both squads have put together elite talent and depth. They should match up well against each other, which should make for an entertaining series.
Ahead of Game 1, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden took to social media to share a post. He revealed the team that he has chosen to root for in this year’s NBA Finals.
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“Do you know what tonight is? IT’S THE NBA FINALS!” Gruden wrote. “I got a box from the freakin’ INDIANA PACERS and my friend Rick Carlisle before they tip off Game 1 vs OKC! Thank you Coach and the @Pacers for sending this, I will be rooting for you to bring the Larry O’Brian to Indy!”
Gruden is behind the Pacers in this year’s matchup. He is picking the underdog team, as very few are giving Indiana a chance to emerge as NBA champions.
In the regular season series between these two teams, the Thunder handled their business.
They played for the first time all the way back on Dec. 26 in Indianapolis. Oklahoma City won that game by a final score of 120-114, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 45 points to power his team to victory. For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton scored just four points against the Thunder’s elite defense.
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After that, the two teams faced off on March 29, with the Thunder taking that win by a final score of 132-111. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points in that win, while Haliburton put up 18 points.
While the regular season matchup clearly showed Oklahoma City as the better team, this is the playoffs. Haliburton and the Pacers have been playing at a very high level throughout the playoffs thus far.
All of that being said, Game 1 is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET. Gruden and fans won’t have to wait much longer to see how the series starts.
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