These NBA Finals are very Canadian

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If the basketball pundits, podcasters and gamblers are correct, the NBA Finals could be a bit of a snoozer.

Pretty much everybody in the media is picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Indiana Pacers, and most figure it'll be over in five or six games. The betting markets see a blowout too: a quick scan of some online books shows OKC listed as high as -700 to win the series, meaning you have to wager 700 bucks to win 100. The implied odds of the Thunder hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy are around 85 per cent.

This all tracks with what we've seen on the court over the last eight months. Oklahoma City dominated the regular season, going a league-best 68-14 (four wins better than anyone else) before sweeping Memphis, defeating three-time MVP Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets in seven and dispatching Minnesota in five to reach the Finals. The Thunder are the best defensive team in the NBA, they have a top-three offence and they're powered by a genuine superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the league in scoring this season with 32.7 points per game and won the MVP award. Oh, and they're also one of the youngest teams in the league, so forget about them wearing down.

The Pacers are also young and quite good — just not as good as the Thunder. Led by veteran power forward Pascal Siakam (20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds) and 25-year-old point guard Tyrese Haliburton (18.6 points, 9.2 assists), Indiana went 50-32 to place eighth overall and fourth in the East. They've elevated their game in the playoffs, beating Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks and the top-seeded