Betting public backing heavy underdog Pacers

The Indiana Pacers enter the NBA Finals as one of the biggest long shots in the past 20 seasons. The betting public thinks they have a chance.

The Pacers are 5-1 underdogs to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the series. Those are the longest odds for any team in the Finals since the 2004 champion Detroit Pistons, who were also 5-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, according to betting archive SportsOddsHistory.com.

Oklahoma City is a 9.5-point favorite over the Pacers in Game 1 on Thursday, the third-largest spread for any opening game in the past 35 years. The Thunder have been favored in every game this postseason.

The betting public has been siding with the Pacers at the long odds to win the series, while the larger bets were on the favored Thunder. It's not unusual for the betting public to gravitate toward long shots rather than having to risk a lot to win a little on a heavy favorite such as the Thunder. A bettor would need to risk $700 to win a net $100 on the Thunder, for example.

ESPN BET reported Thursday that 78% of the bets on the series winner were on Indiana, while nearly 90% of the money that had been wagered was on Oklahoma City. At BetMGM, 94% of the bets on the series were on the Pacers.

"We are cheering against the Pacers lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy," Christian Cipollini, BetMGM trading manager, said in a press release.

Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a -550 favorite to win Finals MVP, with Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton next at +700 at ESPN BET.