Make your NBA Finals predictions here
Let's do this as a community. Thunder? Pacers? Tell us who will win it all -- and in how many games -- to cap Season No. 79 in #thisleague
(NBA) Finals Week dribbles on ...
To the predictions portion of the program.
Who you got?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are overwhelming favorites to win the first championship in the club's 17 seasons since leaving Seattle. Our friends at Basketball Reference, for example, say that the Thunder have a 95.7% shot to win it all … as you'll see by clicking the Playoff Probabilities link embedded in this sentence.
The Indiana Pacers' shot to shock the world starts with Thursday night's Game 1. Indy starts on the road for the third successive series.
I'm going with the Thunder in 6. My respect for the Pacers is such that I can't see this being a quickie series — especially after they validated my Pacers-in-6 pick in the last round — but it is challenging in the extreme to suggest that even fast-paced Indy can outrun this smothering OKC defense.
How do you see it?
Please register your prediction in digital ink in the comments section below. Give us your winner and a specific number of games.
The file will be locked moments before Game 1 tips off. So that's two full days, from the time this piece published, to wow us with your prognosticative powers. Seize the opportunity!
Would love to see at least 100 predictions lodged below … which doesn't sound like an especially huge ask from an audience of more than 40,000.
Tell a friend. Spread the word. Help us get there.
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Conference Finals Results
It's probably my fault after I completely dropped the ball and failed to print a community call for predictions leading into the first or second round of these playoffs … but only 22 respondents wrote in with firm predictions for both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals.
And only one of those respondents — our dear family friend Kim P — picked both Indiana's and Oklahoma City's triumphs in precise fashion.
No one else even nailed both winners according to the trusty tabulations of longtime reader/tabulator Deven P. Kim P picked both winners in the exact number of games.
Kudos!
Publishing Note
No Numbers Game today like you would usually find in this section on a Newsletter Tuesday … but there's a good reason. We have a monster by-the-numbers NBA Finals preview that we're publishing Wednesday in collaboration with our aforementioned colleagues at Basketball Reference.
It will be comprehensive.
Damn ... only 35 picks. We didn't get close to 100 as hoped. Gotta come up with a better system.
Pacers in 7. SGA will be huge, but Haliburton is a smarter basketball student of the game. He and Siakam will need some help from others, but I think they'll get it and pull the upset in 7.