Indiana Pacers 2024-25 Season Preview, Betting Odds

From not qualifying for the playoffs for three consecutive seasons to suddenly competing in the Eastern Conference finals, the Indiana Pacers caught the NBA off guard in 2023-24 with a miraculous run which put the franchise back on the map. 

This 2024-25 season preview highlights all important betting odds pertaining to the Pacers heading into the upcoming campaign as they look to validate said run and prove it simply wasn't a one and done. 

Indiana Pacers' 2024 Offseason Acquisitions 

Indiana Pacers' 2024 Offseason Departures 

Indiana Pacers' 2025 NBA Championship, Eastern Conference, Central Division Betting Odds

Odds as of October 4, 2024 at FanDuel

Offense thrust Indiana forward in terms of its seemingly overnight success, finishing with the second-best offensive rating by a team for a single season in history at 120.5 points per 100 possessions. This was an absolute necessity considering the team ranked 24th in defense at 117.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. Of the Pacers' 47 victories, only eight came with the opposition scoring fewer than 110 points.

Bringing aboard Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors ahead of the trade deadline gave the roster another proven offensive threat who also had championship experience stemming from his 2019 title run north of the border. Siakam led Indiana in scoring during his 41 appearances, as well as throughout the postseason, and has since inked a four-year max extension. 

Best Bet: Indiana Pacers To Win Central Division, +270

There is a warranted degree of hesitancy before declaring the Pacers the next great challenger to the Eastern throne, because whether it's fair or not, a slew of bad fortune befell those who they battled through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Indiana's 4-2 series win over the Milwaukee Bucks didn't feature Giannis Antetokounmpo for its entirety and Damian Lillard for a pair of games, while the second round went the distance versus a New York Knicks squad that was incredibly banged up which therefore forced their starters to pay a heavy toll with the likes of O.G. Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson hurt. 

Could the Pacers have replicated their success against a healthy Bucks and Knicks? Injuries shouldn't be held against them, in a perfect world, but those are the mitigating factors oddsmakers take into consideration for these kinds of futures. Indiana is tied for just the seventh-best odds to represent the conference in the Finals, which falls in line with the sixth seed they clinched last season, albeit with an identical record to that of the No. 5 Orlando Magic and No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers. In fact, only three games kept the Pacers out of the No. 2 seed held down by New York. 

Milwaukee has taken the top spot in the Central Division for six seasons in a row, and while the Cleveland Cavaliers were just a game behind in second place, the Pacers only finished two games behind in third. Beyond the reigning champion Boston Celtics creating separation between themselves and the rest of the field once again, everything beyond that will be a bloodbath for positioning, leaving the door open for Indiana to end the Bucks' streak. 

Indiana Pacers' 2024-25 NBA Win Total, Make Playoffs Odds

Odds as of October 4, 2024 at FanDuel

The Pacers' 47-35 record in 2023-24 exceeded the previous win total by 12 games, marking the sixth-best year over year improvement by any team in the league. It culminated in the franchise's first conference finals berth since 2014 and its best winning percentage since 2020.

Best Bet: UNDER 47.5 Wins, -148

Indiana went 23-18 after acquiring Siakam, which equates to a 43-36 record if you stretch that out over the course of an entire 82-game slate.

Other factors came into play for such a result, and that can't be ignored, but a lack of offseason changes countered by teams that finished above them making major splashes should lead one to believe that a slight drop off is coming. 

Indiana Pacers' 2024 NBA Cup Odds

Odds as of October 4, 2024 at FanDuel

The Pacers went undefeated in East Group A with a 4-0 record during the inaugural in-season tournament, advancing through the knockout stage and securing a spot in the Finals out in Las Vegas before eventually falling to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Indiana Pacers' 2024-25 NBA Awards Odds

Odds as of October 4, 2024 at FanDuel

Best Bet: T.J. McConnell For NBA Sixth Man Of The Year, +4000

It's a wealth of riches head coach Rick Carlisle has at his disposal coming off his bench, with Indiana's second unit ranking first overall in points per game last season at 46.6. That explains why four players currently find themselves in the betting odds race for Sixth Man of the Year hardware.

T.J. McConnell will get the nod here despite not even having the best odds on his own team following his sensational showing during the playoffs in which he averaged 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 48.6 percent from the field. He registered a pair of double-doubles during that 17-game run, and posted an incredible 23-9-6 line during Game 3 against the Celtics.

What could hurt his chances is voters perhaps finding it difficult to honor one Pacer above the rest, because the unit as a whole is so deep with plenty of offensive firepower. Mathurin is favored above him, as well, but injuries just prevented his eligibility and he also started roughly a third of his games.

2024-25 NBA Team Previews, Betting Odds