The NBA Doesn’t Want An OKC Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Finals But…

The NBA Doesn’t Want An OKC Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Finals But…

This year, one of the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are guaranteed to win an NBA title for the first time ever in their team’s history. While the NBA probably wouldn’t want two small market franchises headlining the NBA Finals for the purpose of TV ratings, but among all teams in this year’s playoffs, it is OKC and Indiana who mostly deserve to be here for a ton of reasons. On one hand, you’ve got the Indiana Pacers, who since the turn of the calendar year has put up a strong 46 and 18 win loss record if you include both the regular season in the playoffs. That translates to a 71.8 win percentage and would have put Indiana on pace to become a 60- win team over a course of 82 games with the bonafide all-star level play of guard Tyresese Hallebertton and forward Pascal Seyakum solidifying Indiana’s place as one of the four best teams in the NBA even before the playoffs started. Then in the postseason, this Pacers squad has been leading all teams in terms of field goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage, and effective field goal percentage. This team just might have the profile of a real NBA championship roster, only that they’re going to be facing a historically great opponent in the OKC Thunder, who are unbelievable all season long. This OKC team put up the second best net rating in NBA history while becoming just the seventh team ever to win at least 68 games in the regular season. And notably, out of the six other teams to accomplish that, four actually won the NBA title in that same season, while the other two teams won the championship the season after. OKC takes pride in their number one ranked defense, which led the NBA by a wide margin in both the regular season and the playoffs. They’ve also been so dominant in this year’s postseason that they became the first team ever to win four games in a single playoff run by at least 30 points. behind the play of MVP Shay Gilg Alexander, all-star Jaylen Williams in a 12-man deep rotation. There is a reason why the Thunder have been the batting favorites to win this year’s title for quite a while now. The question is, can Indiana really upset OKC? And are the Thunder actually built to stop Indiana from doing that? Well, looking at it, the Thunder won both of their two regular season matchups with Indiana. In the first game on the road, OKC trailed by as much as 15 points in the first half, but they were able to claw their way back to a six-point victory. In their second game, again, Indiana was able to build an early lead, but OKC eventually won a 21-point blowout at home. One notable thing though from those regular season matchups is that Chad Homegrren missed both games for OKC. And what stood out is the fact that despite OKC missing arguably their most impactful defender on the floor, they were still able to force Tyrese Hallebertton to average just 11 points on 44% shooting from the field in both games with the Thunder suffocating halfcourt defense making life uncomfortable for him and forcing him to pass up on shots he would usually take. So against OKC’s devastating set defense in the NBA finals, you could expect Indiana to try and take advantage of their strong transition game. Whether off a missed shot, a turnover, or even a made shot, the Pacers are always looking to get out, make the early pass, and run on the open floor to get easy scoring opportunities. The Pacers are currently playing with the third fastest pace in the entire playoffs, and the 1.3 points per possession they generate out of transition is the best in the entire postseason. So against this Indiana team who relentlessly pushes the pace, I think it should be imperative for OKC to prioritize crashing the offensive glass as much as they can cuz obviously the more offensive rebounds they get, the lesser chances Indiana gets to take advantage of their pace. Well, the advantage that OKC has is that they have two seven-footers who can crush the offensive boards in Chad Homegrren and Isaiah Hardenstein. With both bigs on the floor, one can always focus on hunting for second chance points off the glass while the other gets back in transition to limit Indiana’s running game. And I think hunting for second chance opportunities is something that OKC can thrive at in the NBA finals, especially considering Indiana’s biggest weakness might actually be their size and physicality in the paint. In their two regular season matchups, Indiana actually edged OKC out by only two rebounds. So, I expect the Thunder to have an edge over Indiana on the glass with Chad Homegrren now playing. But in those minutes when OKC chooses to play only one big man, it’s the time I think they should prioritize getting back in transition. And if there’s any team who has the personal that can neutralize Indiana’s transition attack to stop them from generating easy layups and corner threes in early offense, it is OKC, who actually has the best transition defense in the NBA this season, including both the regular season and the playoffs. But then in the half court, the biggest question for the Thunder is, can they effectively defend Indiana’s ball screen actions with Howard Burton paired with a stretch big man and Miles Turner while being surrounded by three other shooters on the wing? Well, in the playoffs, we’ve seen how the Pacers cooked big man like Brook Lopez or Cat when they defended in drop coverage because those bigs just didn’t have enough speed to recover on Miles Turner once he popped out of a screen. And when playing drop coverage, opponents try to send help off the weak side. But this just enabled Hallebertton’s quick passing as he was able to swing the ball to open shooters. But a good thing for OKC is they have the guards and wings who can place Hallebertton under constant pressure and who can force him to make tough decisions right at the level of the screen. And unlike those previous teams that Indiana played again, OKC actually have two mobile bigs and Chad and Ihheart who both have the foot speed to close out in the perimeter even after playing the ball handler with both bigs also being capable of switching on the smaller players. Well, Indiana’s guards will probably try to put Hardenstein into action as much as they can given iHeart’s a little bit slower. But then even if iHeart gets switched to the ball again, the thing is Chad Homegrren will still be somewhere around the floor, which makes it easier for OKC to stop Indiana’s isolations from progressing into the paint. Or if iHeart somehow gets completely outplayed off the floor, OKC can just counter by playing smaller and playing five out with Chad Homegrren as their only big man together with four other wings. And with this, OKC can just switch all of Indiana’s ball screen actions to take away the advantages that the Pacers would try to create. the same way OKC did against Minnesota when their switching limited Minnesota’s offensive execution. Well, for sure Indiana still got enough talent to generate something out of OKC switching defense. Between Hallebertton, Andrew Nebard, and TJ McConnell, they have three guards who can get around bigs without trouble, which should still put OKC’s defense in rotation. They also got physical wings in Ben Matan and Aaron Nesmith who can both attack closeouts and apply pressure on the basket. Indiana’s ultimate counter against switching defenses though is still Pascal Seyakum. Once Yakum gets a favorable matchup, he will torch defenders with his moves in the post. According to NBA advanced statistics, over the past two seasons, including both the regular season and the playoffs, Siakum has operated in more than 560 postups where he has produced a highly efficient 1.12 points per post-up possession, which is 14 points above league average. So I think it’s possible that 7 foot1 Chad Hongrren gets a ton of time matching up with Seakkum. And against Homegrren’s size and length, I don’t think Siakum can generate a ton of easy shots. But OKC also has the option of asking capable defenders in JDub, Caruso, or even Kenri Williams to guard Seakkum the same way those guys took turns defending postcorers such as Nicolola Joic and Julius Randall in the playoffs. That way, OKC can still size up without sacrificing speed and floor spacing while still using Chad Homegrren as a roaming last line of defense around a paint. Another way Indiana will try to score is definitely by using their guard to guard screen actions to hunt for favorable matchups. But I think given the Thunder’s plethora of capable defenders, they can just switch all throughout. For instance, at the end of games, if OKC runs a two-way lineup of Shay, Caruso, JDub, Dort, and Homegrren, whichever guard Indiana will look to hunt for will just be able to defend straight up, knowing that they got elite rim protection at the back with chat, and they always got solid gap help at the wing. And knowing that they don’t have a weak link like Jaylen Brunson that Indiana could constantly target on defense. Although it’s worth noting that Indiana’s strength lies in the fact that even if Tyrese Hallebertton can’t always generate an advantage one-on-one, his superb passing and quick decision-making still allows him to move the ball to the next best option. Problem is, Hallebertton just hasn’t faced a defensive juggernaut like the Thunder in the playoffs. A team whose defensive execution, especially with their wings, is second to none with the speed, disruption, and chaos that could totally dismantle Indiana’s quick ball movement. While the Pacers take care of the ball more than any other team, they have the best turnover percentage in the playoffs. But in their regular season matchups, OKC still forced Indiana to average 11 turnovers per game. In the NBA Finals, I expect OKC to continue loading up on Hallebertton, force him to shoot uncomfortable pull-up threes, and keep him out of the paint, which in turn should force Indiana’s other players to make decisions against OKC’s rotating defense. OKC’s strategy has always been based on living with the possibility of role players beating them instead of allowing star players to get the shots they want and I don’t expect that to change for the Thunder in the finals. Well, I do believe that Indiana will bring enough shot making to somehow counteract OKC’s defense, but then I think the bigger question is how could they actually slow down OKC’s offense at the same time? Well, for sure the Pacers are a much more improved and more balanced defensive team than the squad that was defeated by Boston in the conference finals last season. Since the turn of the calendar year, Indiana ranks seventh in points allowed per possession in the entire NBA. Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nehard are physical defenders from the point of attack. Miles Turner leads the postseason in blocks. Hallebertton is long and sneaky. And this team’s remarkable death will allow them to never run out of bodies that can put backcourt pressure on OKC’s ball handlers all game long. But then Sheay didn’t have any trouble against this Pacers defense when he averaged 39 points on 55% shooting from the field and 63% shooting from deep in two regular season games. Andrew Nehard was Shay’s primary defender and against Nemhard, Shay averaged 27 points on 61% shooting. Indiana tried a couple more defenders on Shay from Ben Shepard to Obi Toppin to Pascal Seyakum, but Shay cooked all of them in isolation. Well, one thing that Indiana could probably try doing against OKC is running a zone, which has made OKC look tentative at times against Denver and Minnesota. Those teams try to place their bigs in the middle of the zone to try and funnel OKC’s ball handlers into the paint with a goal of trying to take away the Thunder’s airspace and drives. The problem for Minnesota though is that Rudy Gobear can’t shoot which eventually rendered him unplayable. Miles Turner though can space the floor and when you park him in the paint on defense, he could affect OKC’s attack with a shot blocking. If that happens, I think OKC can counter by playing a more pick and roll heavy approach to potentially pull Turner out of the paint, which is something OKC had success with in the regular season matchups when Shay and Jay Dub feasted on drives to the rim and loves to Hardenstein off ball screen actions, which is a big reason why OKC was able to outscore Indiana by a whopping 30 points in the paint during the regular season, even without Chad Homegrren. Now with OKC’s two big man lineup, Miles Turner will potentially have more problems as a defender. If it’s Chad Homegrren his guarding, OKC will look to pick and pop, which will force Turner further out in space. But then if it’s Hardenstein, he’ll probably catch the ball in the middle of the floor where he can use his signature floater or just make an extra pass. This is when Turner will have to play a traditional drop which will then allow Sheay to torch him from the mid-range because Sheay is the best in between scorer in the NBA. In those minutes when Turner sits on the bench though, Indiana will probably mostly have Obi Toppin manning their front court because he could provide athleticism and just enough shooting to keep up with OKC scoring. But at 6’9, I wonder how he could survive against OKC’s bigs on the boards. Either way, if Shay gets going with his scoring off ball screen actions, Indiana is just going to be forced to make a ton of tough defensive decisions. They might have their bigs playing up to the level of the screen in a hedge or a trap to try and pressure Shay. But then this makes Chase Ker a passing outlet whether that be Hardenstein or Caruso and both are good decision makers with the ball especially given a four and three advantage. Well in those minutes when OKC has only one big man on the floor I think we might see Miles Turner cross match against OKC’s spotup shooters such as Dort Caruso or Wallace while he’s operating as a free safety defender. Which is why if you’re the thunder, you need those guys to make their shots off the catch because if not, Turner won’t have to worry about closing out and he could just prioritize guarding the paint. Though, the advantage that OKC has is that they have a variety of shooters who you could play interchangeably. If Lou Dort or Caruso are not hitting their shots, depending on the matchup, you can have Kase Wallace, Isaiah Joe, or Aaron Wiggins who you could tap off the bench. Still, OKC’s offense will always begin with Shay on the ball. expect him to try to hunt for constant switches against guys like Hallebertton or Seakum to force more help. And if OKC as a team is going to create successful advantages, it will always be about how Shay or JDub can break the aggressive help that Indiana will send. So I think secondary attacks will be key for the Thunder’s offense to avoid stagnation. Throughout the playoffs when he was doubled, she has constantly displayed the ability to find open teammates which forced the defense into rotation. But then this required guys like Jaydub, Chad Homegrren, and Caruso to make shots of the advantages that Shay creates. So for OKC to punish Indiana’s rotating defense, those guys have to be ready to make plays. JDub’s consistency as OKC’s second best shot maker in particular will be crucial. In the conference finals, we’ve seen JDub become an effective scorer when he was able to create pull-up jumpers, drive into the basket, and hit three-pointers off the catch. He averaged 22 points on 49% shooting from the field and 46% shooting from deep against Minnesota. And it is able to put up pretty much the same numbers on a little bit better efficiency against the Pacers with Shay also scoring at least 30 points per game. I just don’t see how Indiana’s defense will be able to stop OKC. Well, looking at it, Indiana has thrived in the postseason by constantly hunting for defensive mismatches, by tiring out their opponents with their roster death, and by taking care of the ball. The problem for them is OKC’s roster doesn’t really present any mismatches. They’re just as deep as Indiana or even deeper and they’re the best team at forcing opponents to make mistakes with the ball. Indiana’s egalitarian offense and pedal to the metal defense can make this NBA final series very competitive. But I still think that Thunder’s superior grit and talent should prevail in the end. This is why I’m picking the OKC Thunder to win the 2025 NBA title in six games in what could possibly be the beginning of a multi-year championship run and a potential dynasty that could take over the NBA for years. But do you guys believe that the Indiana Pacers can upset the OKC Thunder in this 2025 NBA Final Series? Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments section below. And again, if you’re new to the channel, please consider subscribing as well. Again, this has been Rio Balls, and I’ll see you in the next one. Peace.

#NBA #OKCThunder #IndianaPacers #NBAhighlights #basketball

The 2025 NBA Finals is now officially an OKC Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers matchup. The Thunder have been dominant all season and have been one of the best teams in NBA history. The Indiana Pacers have been one of the biggest surprises of the season. OKC is led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander together with All-star Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and a deep core that boasts the number one ranked defense in the NBA and they have prevailed over Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards on their way to the NBA finals. The Indiana Pacers are led by Tyrese Halinurton and Pascal Siakam who have a strong supporting cast in Myles Turner, Aaron Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and more. Indiana has just defeated the New York Knicks in 6 games.

This is not your typical NBA finals showdown with two young and relatively inexperienced small market teams competing for the NBA title. This might remind you of the Golden State Warriors finals runs or the Chicago Bulls runs of the 90s. Can Shai and the Thunder complete history by winning an NBA title with an inexperienced team? Is the Thunder rebuild now officially going to be crowned with a championship? Or will the Tyrese Haliburton be able to lead the Pacers to avenge their past defeats and establish a new superteam in the Eastern Conference?

Which team will win the NBA finals between Indiana and OKC? Will the Thunders defense prevail over the offense of the Pacers? This is a stylistic battle that could start a new rivalry in the NBA. There are no superteams here. Luka Doncic and LeBron are out of the playoffs, so are Steph Curry, Kevin Durant. Giannis, and even Jayson Tatum. There are no Lakers, Warriors, Celtics, Bucks, and Cavs. Its only the Thunder and Pacers who can win the NBA championship. Before Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs build a potential powerhouse with a Giannis trade, its time to watch the Nba finals between the OKC Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.

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