Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Finals Preview & Predictions

Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Finals Preview & Predictions

Those guys, before we start today’s video, I want to hear your thoughts down below in the comment section. Who do you think is going to win? Why, and how many games. If you want to hear my prediction, just skip to the end of the video. We’re going to start with the Thunder and then the Pacers. Let’s get to it. Yo, what’s going on, guys? Sorry if there’s some background noise. I’m right now walking on the streets of Italy. I’m at Adidas Euro Camp covering about to actually interview Derrick Rose in a few hours. Now, today we’ll be doing our final preview of the NBA playoffs. Yes, the Indiana Pacers are going up against the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s NBA Finals. I had a couple buddies who had already booked basically hotels in OKC and Indiana and they’re not even Pacers or Knicks fans, but they were like just saying they wanted it to be the Pacers because they didn’t want to have to get refunds and pay an arm and a leg to stay in New York. But either way, I want to hear your guys’ decisions before we today’s video. Who do you think is going to win this and why? I want to hear your opinions. I’m very interested in hearing as to me I’m very curious. This is going to be one of the most interesting NBA finals. So to start it off, what we do here is we’re going to break down the first I just want to add about OKC right here before we go into our whole breakdown is that when we look at the season series, the Thunder swept the season series 2 with two double- digit wins and in March they dropped 132 points. Now they also feature all defensive players Leor, JDub, and then Caruso, Homegrren and Hornstein. They can suffocate people and SGA and JD to draw fouls and if they can cause Nemhard and Nmith and multiple of Indiana’s perimeter defenders to foul early in the games that’s going to make their depth collapse. And then JDub is a killer in the mid-range, 96th percentile. And Miles Turner being a drop big is going to have some problems. And Harden’s a way more physical. And the Thunder just have a lot more size and physicality in their wheelhouse. So I just wanted to add that before we go into our huge breakdown. Couple minutes each team. So, like four minutes for each team. I want to hear your opinion. Who will win and how many games and why? Let’s get right into this year’s NBA Finals. So, this is going to be a game that I think it or series that’s going to be interesting as if we look at the Thunder. The Thunder were able in the regular season without Chad Homegrren and Alex Caruso, they were able to to beat the Pacers twice. And if you just look at the team structures, both teams are able to play at all times with four dudes on the floor. Now, OKC is a team that is able to have an elite defense, and this defense was able to stop Anthony Edwards, one of the league’s best players. And I’m scared or I believe they’re going to try and probably have some success doing the same thing to Tyresese Hal Burton as Halle Burton and Pascal Seakum who are phenomenal basketball players are going to have to be able to run through the wall of defenders. We’re talking, you know, Queson Wallace. We’re talking Ludor. We’re talking Caruso. We’re talking Chad Homegrrew. talking Shay, we’re talking Jdub as some of those guys. And this is one of the league’s most physical defense. And that’s the same problem as we just mentioned awaiting Hal Burton in the NBA Finals. And we saw the Knicks be able to do that in the game they won against the Pacers where with desperate effort and just physicality they’re able to kind of make the Pacers or any of their opponents revert into a lesser form of themselves just because they physically impose their will on defense. They basically keep smacking you. And I know some people like, “Well, it’s fouls. It shouldn’t be called.” And I don’t know. I just think the whole thing to me is this defense is going to be key. Now, obviously, Shay is going to have to play at an MVP level and he’s going to need help. JDub and Chad have, you know, picked it up in the beginning of the playoffs. You could argue they were a little bit of background noise, but his co-stars have improved their performances in comparison to how they were in the beginning of the playoffs. And the thing is, the Thunder are going to be using their defense to create their offense, and their offense is going to be spacing the floor whenever they’re not getting to the free throw line. Jay, you know, JDub and Sheay are going to slow the game down and play at their pace by getting downhill and getting to the free throw line. And if they see open players like Caruso, Isa, Isaiah Joe, Lou Dort, and all these other guys that they have on the roster, Aaron Wiggins, Kendrick Williams become available off of those drives and get kicked out to open threes or open lanes. And by the way, this team has two players, Lou Dort and Jaylen Williams, who were on the all defense teams. And obviously Caruso, Isaiah Hornstein, and Chad Holdgrren are all guys who should have been worthy of that consideration as well. And we all know that the Thunder are going to be playing a physical defense that is going to try to stop this free flowing, fast-paced offense that the Pacers run. and they’re going to make sure that the Pacers are going to have to pay play through contact to move from one action to the next and not allow them to, you know, get past these defenders or be able to beat the switches cuz this is going to be a team that, you know, guards early, switches late. So to me, I think the Thunder have enough defensive talent that the Pacers will not be able to find easy targets as they did against the Knicks. And that allowed the, you know, obviously the Pacers to expose the poor defenders that some of the Knicks players are. And the Pacers will not be able to do that against the Thunder. I think that’s the biggest thing is that it’s going to be a harder game. So the what the Thunder are going to do is they’re going to maintain their discipline, keep the ball moving, find scoring options, and let their playmakers make the plays, and do what they’ve done all year. All right, let’s talk about the Pacers. All right, now let’s discuss why the Pacers should be deemed a credible fro. I think Indiana has shown they’re supposed to be here and that’s been proven true all postseason. Every time they were counted out, they’ve responded with execution, depth, and resilience. They beat season teams. They took down the Knicks despite, you know, the pressure and the intensity that Madison Square Garden is. And that I think the biggest thing is that when you look at this, Rick Carile is an NBA champion and his ability to out coach opponents with tactical adjustments is huge and the Thunder are elite, but the Pacers are tested and adaptable. Halleurn’s elev, you know, you know, elevation, I would say, and evolution of his game has been great. And yes, Tyrese has had rough moments in this playoffs and that was against some of the East’s most physical defenses, but what has mattered is that he’s bounced back. This is a guy who’s averaging what almost 20 and N 18 and N orchestrating the league’s most efficient postseason offense. This is a guy who doesn’t turn the ball over, creates mismatches in the flow of the game, and just does what the defense gives him. And if the Thunder want to pressure Halburn like the Knicks did in game five, they better have a backup plan for Indiana’s lethal offball movements. This is because Aaron E Smith and you know Andrew Nemhard are both healthy and two guys who can play off of Pascal Seakum and Tyrese Hallebertton which I think makes this team that much more lethal. Another thing is is Pascal Seakum’s like the third best power forward in the NBA, which I think people don’t realize how good he’s been for this team. And he Seakum knows how to punish rotations. Seattle gives Indiana the one thing OKC does not have is a I guess Alex Caruso is their championship pedigree player, but they have a big playoff proven championship pedigree forward who can post up against smaller defenders, attack closeouts, facilitate when double teamed. OKC dominated the paint scoring in the March game partly because Chad Homegrren wasn’t playing and they were able to, you know, go with Isaiah Arnstein and now he is, but so is Seakum and Seakum wasn’t playing in that game either. So Seakum who leads all Pacers in playoff scoring is going to help out the Pacers who also Obi Toppin has become this duo with Seakum. Both of them can stretch the floor and attack mismatches and basically replace one another in the rotation. And Indiana’s Xfactors really we’re talking SGA door JDub rightfully so, but Indiana has depths that make them an underrated part of this matchup. Aaron Nith is a versatile defender and guard both SGA and JDub. Andrew Neard has been elite as a decision maker and as someone who can be a timely scorer. Ben Shepard and TJ McConnell give Rick Carile the flexibility of tempo and spacing. And the Thunder defense is elite. But unlike Minnesota or Dallas, Indiana has five guys on the court who can make plays at all times. And that’s the antidote to pressure defense. And the transition control and efficiency are a wash. Not a Thunder advantage. The Thunder pride themselves with shutting down the fast break, but so do the Pacers. Pacers rank number one in limiting transition points, and the Thunder rank two. That means OKC won’t get as many free buckets to fuel their runs. And when the game slowed down, Indiana’s half court offense built on motion, screening, and counters will test OKC’s switches way more than they did against past opponents. So, that’s the the most interesting part about them. With all that being said, what do we think is going to happen? Now, look, this is a season where I think anything is possible. OKC has the spacing, the depth, and the defense to overwhelm Indiana. You know, I’m a firm believer that you need a great defense to win a championship, and OKC has it. It’s been the best defense in the NBA, both in the regular season and the playoffs. They have so many They literally have what 15 puppets on one string. Anthony Edwards describing OKC’s defense. So, the JDub and Hornstein matchup nightmare where JDub thrives in the mid-range and Turner’s drop coverage plays right into that. Williams dropped 18 and six in that game. And now with Chad Homegrren and the size of Hardenstein, it’s just going to create a lot of mismatches. And the Pacers, as good as they are, Indiana’s offense is elite, but they don’t have the best rim protection. And outside of Nemhard, Nmith, Turner, and Pascal Seakum, you could say they’re a bit more vulnerable defensively. And the Thunder are going to play with the spacing, the pace, and the physicality. and their transition defense is going to try to neutralize Indiana’s fast break. And the Thunder’s transition defense is the one thing that will limit Indiana’s biggest advantage. Now, Indiana’s Xfactors knees Smith, Nemhard, and Pascal Yakum. We’re going to have to defend elite scores without fouling and then produce on offense, which is going to be a tall task against OKC’s swarming defense. I think this will be a six-game series. If OKC locks in early, Indiana might only steal one game or two games, but I think Rick Carlile will find adjustments and the Pacers will win their two home games and push it further. But ultimately, the Thunder defense depth and SGA’s MVP play will be too much and OKC is here to stay and it feels like the start of their championship window.

Get ready for an electrifying showdown in the 2025 NBA Finals as the Indiana Pacers face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder! In this video, NBA journalist Cyro Asseo provides an in-depth preview and predictions for this highly anticipated series.

The Thunder, boasting a league-best 68–14 record and led by 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are entering the Finals as overwhelming favorites. Their dominant playoff run included a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, a hard-fought seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets, and a decisive victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.

On the other hand, the Pacers have been the surprise of the postseason. Under the guidance of Coach Rick Carlisle, Indiana has showcased resilience and depth, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks to reach their first NBA Finals since 2000. Pascal Siakam, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and Tyrese Haliburton have been instrumental in their success.

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