After a week of downtime following the Conference Finals, the NBA Finals finally gets underway tonight. Pacers vs. Thunder Game 1 will be played in Oklahoma City tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It will be the first NBA Finals appearance since 2000 for the Pacers and since 2012 for the Thunder.
Thunder PF Chet Holmgren will anchor the Thunder frontcourt as a key part of its offense throughout the NBA Finals. Below, we’ll give you the top Chet Holmgren projections for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 5, via the PrizePicks NBA board.
PrizePicks is the easiest way to get real money action on tonight’s Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Finals Game 1. Pick more or less on player stat projections — including for Chet Holmgren — and get paid if your picks are correct.
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Best Chet Holmgren Projections, Pick vs. Pacers Tonight
Here is the best Chet Holmgren pick for Thursday’s NBA Finals Game 1 vs. the Pacers on the PrizePicks NBA board.
Thunder PF Chet Holmgren – 16.5 Points
After averaging 16.5 points during his first season in the NBA, Holmgren only averaged 15.0 points this season. His efficiency declined, shooting 49.0% from the field after shooting 53.0% last season.
His usage rates from both seasons were nearly identical, but he averaged two fewer minutes per game this season than he did last season. Part of that was because the Thunder often blew out teams, so they didn’t need Holmgren to play huge minutes. Also, he battled injuries that limited him to 32 games.
Now that the Thunder are playing more important games, Holmgren has spent more time on the floor. He has averaged 30 minutes over 16 playoff games, including several blowouts.
His efficiency numbers have remained nearly the same with him shooting 48.9% from the field in the playoffs, but the added minutes have helped him average 16.4 points. He has scored at least 21 points in three of his last four games.
Holmgren did not face the Pacers either time the Thunder played them this season. The Pacers struggle to slow down opposing big men, which was evident in the Eastern Conference Finals when Knicks C Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 24.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game against them.
This also has the potential to be a fast-paced series with both the Thunder and Pacers ranking inside the top-seven in the league in pace of play during the regular season.
More Chet Holmgren Projections vs. Pacers
Here are other top Chet Holmgren projections vs. the Pacers tonight, via PrizePicks.
- 9 Rebounds
- 1.5 Assists
- 27.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- 36 Fantasy Score
- 12.5 FG Attempted
- 1.5 Blocked Shots (Goblin)
- 4 3-PT Attempted
Make NBA Finals Picks on PrizePicks Tonight
The NBA Finals is a matchup between two teams that don’t have a lengthy history of success — Pacers vs. Thunder. The Pacers haven’t won a title since the franchise was in the ABA. The Thunder last won a championship when the franchise was known as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Game 1 between the Pacers and Thunder also provides the opportunity to win real money on PrizePicks. Just pick More or Less on player projections and get paid if your picks are right.
Check out the Playbook throughout the remainder of the NBA Finals for more NBA analysis for your PrizePicks and NBA DFS Lineups.
