The Indiana Pacers came up just short in the NBA In-Season Tournament, but there's still value among the Pacers' futures odds markets based on the best NBA odds after the first quarter of the NBA regular season.
A year ago, the Indiana Pacers were mostly an afterthought in NBA circles, toiling away among the 10 teams that missed out on the postseason altogether. Now, after a surprising run in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, the 2023 Pacers have earned the league's attention – and they're gaining traction in the futures markets, too.
Indiana opened as a +4000 long shot to win the In-Season Tournament before ripping off a perfect 4-0 record in pool play and scoring two upsets in the knockout stage. In the process, the team announced itself on a national stage as a potential spoiler in the East.
Even so, the Pacers (12-8) are still dealing as long sho ts in the NBA championship market, even as they sit just a few games back of the conference lead. Is there anything to glean from their hot start? And are there any futures markets worth betting for Indiana?
We have you covered with a look at the Pacers' odds across various futures markets, including the best ways to bet on star Tyrese Haliburton as the calendar flips to 2024.
Here is a look at the latest Pacers futures odds and NBA picks (odds via our best NBA betting sites). Our NBA expert Shane Jackson also took a look at the Lakers' NBA future odds after they secured the first-ever NBA Cup.
Editor's note: All stats, odds, and records are through Sunday, Dec. 10.
Pacers NBA championship odds movement
Entering the season, the Pacers were dealing as high as 250/1 in the 2024 NBA Finals odds, and they were still trading arou nd 200/1 across our best NBA betting sites near the end of November. We've seen a clear shift since then, though Indiana remains among the biggest long shots to win its first-ever NBA championship.
Here's a look at the Pacers' NBA Finals odds at our best sportsbooks following the NBA In-Season Tournament:
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +10000 | +8000 | +10000 | +7500 ?? | +12500 ?? |
While Indiana is still a clear dart throw to win the NBA Finals, the team is dealing at 100/1 or shorter at four of our five best sports betting apps, with odds as short as +7500 at Caesars and as long as +12500 at bet365.
Both of those books are still showing more respect for the Pacers' title odds than we've seen in years. That shouldn't come as a surprise after what we saw from Indiana in the In-Season Tournament, when it knocked off the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks – the favorites to win it all – en route to an eventual loss in the NBA Cup Final.
Of course, the Pacers' results in the IST don't actually matter for their title chances aside from an extra six wins on their resume. But their performance in the NBA's newest showcase opened the public's eyes to just how good this team can be when everything is clicking.
Should you bet the Pacers to win the 2024 NBA championship?
So we've seen what the Pacers can do in a seven-game sample against some of the top teams in the NBA. Does that translate to a potential seven-game series in June?
At such a long-shot price, there are worse bets you can make. But a title run for this group still feels exceedingly unlikely.
First, let's acknowledge the positives: Haliburton is emerging as a superstar before our eyes, and he's been the catalyst for one of the league's most exciting offenses. Entering Monday, the Pacers lead the league in field-goal percentage (50.8%) and pace (104.13), and their 123.5 offensive rating is on track to be the best in NBA history.
That said, there's a reason they only rank seventh in net rating (plus-3.8) even with the NBA's top offense. Indiana is allowing opposing teams to score 119.8 points per 100 possessions – the third-worst mark in the NBA and even worse than last year's San Antonio Spurs (120.0), who set the record for the worst defensive rating of all time.
That's a brutal recipe for succeeding in the postseason, when pace slows and half-court execution on both sides of the ball becomes paramount. That could be an issue for the Pacers, who lead the league in fastbreak scoring (17.2 PPG) and are incredibly reliant on Haliburton's shot creation.
While the Nuggets won it all last year with just one All-Star in Nikola Jokic, that's happened just a dozen or so times in NBA history. It's also rare to win the NBA title a year after missing the playoffs – let alone off a three-year drought like what we've seen from Indiana.
Anything can happen in the postseason, and Haliburton is quickly emerging as the type of player who could lead a team to a championship. It just probably won't happen this s eason.
Can Tyrese Haliburton win NBA MVP?
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1500 | +1500 | +1400 | +1000 ?? | +1800 ?? |
While the Pacers winning it all may be a bit far-fetched, their best player has been the biggest riser in the NBA MVP odds.
Just one week ago, Haliburton was dealing anywhere from +2500 to +3500 across our best sports betting sites, which was already a dramatic shift from his preseason price of +10000.
Then came Haliburton's thrilling IST run, during which he averaged 26.7 points and 13.3 assists to singlehandedly carry his team to the tournament final. That got the attention of oddsmakers and even opposing fans, who serenaded him with “MVP” chants during the quarterfinals at TD Garden in Boston.
Once again, bet365 (+1800) is offering the best price on Haliburton to win MVP, which is a sound bet on paper – especially considering he's dealing as short as +1000 at Caesars.
While Haliburton's scoring (26.9 PPG) and effi ciency (52.5%) are among the league's best, especially for a guard, the Pacers star also paces the league in assists (12.1 APG) and ranks in the top five in win shares (3.7), PER (29.4), and other notable advanced stats.
His only problem? Two-time MVP winner Nikola Jokic leads the league in virtually every advanced metric, and he's the overwhelming favorite to claim his third trophy in 2023-24 – with just about every book dealing him at shorter than +200 to win it.
For Haliburton to win this award, we'd need to see a catastrophic collapse from Jokic over the final 60 games of the season. And even so, reigning MVP Joel Embiid (33.3 PPG) and perennial contender Luka Doncic (31.9 PPG) are in the midst of special seasons and have been arguably even more impressive offensively than Haliburton.
Other ways to bet Pacers' futures odds
If you're determined to profit on Halib urton's star turn, he's also among the favorites to win the NBA Most Improved Player (+550) and NBA Clutch Player of the Year (+800) awards, with the best prices again coming at bet365.
The latter is particularly interesting, which we highlighted in our breakdown of the award last week, as Haliburton can make a compelling case as the favorite to win the second-ever Clutch Player of the Year. Entering this week, the Pacers star ranks first in clutch assists (13), and he's the favorite to win the award according to inpredictable.com.
As for the Pacers, they remain long shots to win the Central Division (+1000 via bet365), even as they trail the Bucks by just two games entering this week. They are also dealing at +12500 at bet365 to claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, sitting 3.5 games back of the Celtics as of Monday.
One area they aren't long shots? Indiana is a -205 favorite at FanD uel to make the playoffs for the first time since the bubble season in 2019-20. And if that happens, those title tickets could be worth the long-shot price.
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