2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | Game 7 Preview, Picks, & Analysis

2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | Game 7 Preview, Picks, & Analysis

Not good news for the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you get blown out with a chance to clinch the NBA finals in Game six, chances are you’re going to lose in game seven. Take a look at the history here in the NBA finals, and I’ll point out the SuperSonics in 1978. They lost by 35 on the road in game 6 in 1978, which would become the Oklahoma City Thunder, the SuperSonics lost game seven at home against the bullets. Now the SuperSonics won a title the next year. But I’m just saying if you’re a Pacers fan, you’re feeling pretty good because you like history. Speaking of history, this from two weeks ago. My Pacers are going to get it done. It’s not going to be it’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be clean. It’s going to be bloody. It’s going to be a seven game series. We’re going to take it home. And at OKC we’re going to get it done. There he is. The prognosticator himself the wizard. Good tight shot on that. They’re going to work their magic. How do you feel about that prediction two weeks ago. And here we are getting a game seven like you predicted. Well I always felt that you know the OKC was going to be at the top of the mountain. They’ve been great all season long on both ends of the court. But I always believe in my Pacers because of the pace and the fact that they’ve shown that they can come back from down 1520 at any point in the season against a very talented players. But for me, going into game seven, I played the game seven in the Eastern Conference Finals, but obviously not in the finals. But we lost to LeBron James and the Heatles. And one thing I remember from them was they had no nobody like nobody came out for the starting five. They announced it. They were all locked in. They were all locked in and they hit us first. I know we’ve reiterated that so many times, but when you go into a game seven, the everything is on the line. You have to come out aggressive from the start, hit shots. You have to be perfect. Now for me, I think the Pacers can do it. If they can continue to disrupt SGA, SGA on the defensive end, get out, get out on the break, play with pace. I think they’re going to be great. But in terms of OKC, I think they need to do a better job of adjusting to those traps and shooting the ball better from the three point line, 26% from the three point line, eight for 31 from the three is not going to cut it. And I think that Chet Holmgren is going to have to really step up because like you said before, they double SGA, they’re going to kick it back out to him. He needs to get one, two, three atop the key threes. Easy to get them going. Get that first punch to get blood first game seven. First of all for the Thunder. They’re at home right. Which they’ve been great. Best in the league ten and two at home this postseason. Exactly. So even though Indiana did win a game there they you know we don’t still don’t know how they won that game. But they did. And that’s been the story of their playoff season. But the Thunder SGA has got to get back to being SGA. The question is will they get into that groove early. Because I’m telling you right now that plane ride back, you know, what do you what who’s ever been in that situation. You always think about muscle memory. Who’s been in that situation for that team. Caruso’s been in a championship. But where’s Caruso tonight? We haven’t said his name one time right Chet struggled tonight. So the question is where are the answers. Because they relied on two guys to really carry them in the last couple days. That’s all we talked about SGA and all the records he brought in. And J.W. And you got to give the Pacers credit because they bottled them up. They turned them over. They made them look bad tonight. I’ll be honest. They made them look bad. So the Pacers now they’re going to have to go in there and say hey guys who’s the pressure on us or them. No one -700 every game. We’re still an underdog right? I picked the Pacers in six because I thought they had the better makeup and they were the older team. A little bit worried when Haliburton got hurt. TJ McConnell has saved the playoff season. The question is going into this game, what does Rick Carlisle, what kind of game plan is he going to have? And will they have the discipline to execute it. And he hasn’t played well the last few games. But I’m predicting and it depends on how they use their rotation, that Ben Mathurin is going to have to show up for them to win game seven. Somebody that has not played well is going to have to do something extra for them to win. I think Mathurin is going to be that X factor if they put him in, because tonight he was he was nonexistent. He looked like he didn’t want to be out there, but it’s all hands on deck. And we’ll see what happens in game seven. But it’s going to listen this the NBA they’re talking about the ratings now Hakeem. They couldn’t ask for a better situation Sunday night 8:00. You got game seven of the NBA finals a team who is a prohibitive favorite playing against the Spurs, a team that no one thought could get there. I think they’re a team of destiny. Roy, I want to take you back to the second round with the Thunder. Yes. They went on the road. Lost to the Denver Nuggets. Similar situation here in Indianapolis. They lost on the road. They went home and beat the nuggets in a game seven to get to the Western Conference finals. How much are you using that experience. Because you said the limited experience how much did that experience do you use? Oh yeah, I mean every little step. Those are part of the foundation. Those are part of the bricks that you build as a team that you rely on when you’re in those situations, when you’re in a huddle and you know, the team just went on a run, you say you go, you talk to your teammates and say, hey, we’ve been here before, guys. We’ve been in this situation. We rely on each other and we’re going to keep doing the things we’ve done before. Just keep whittling away, whittling away, whittling away until we get the result that we want. Because OKC imposes their will on other teams. And they did that against Denver. They’ve done that every round so far. I expect a very competitive game. I think it’s going to go down to like the last 4 or 5 minutes. It’s not going to be easy, but obviously I have my Pacers winning. Listen, if they employ the same game plan, don’t foul right. Bottled up J dub and bottle up Shay right. Don’t put them on the foul line. That’s important. You mentioned that double digit foul line. Don’t put them on the foul line. Right. If Chet Hogan does not show up and Caruso does not give them that spark off the bench. And the one X factor that I say about the Pacers that I don’t like about OKC, even though they can do it at times, that if the Pacers can make threes, that’s the key factor. I mean look at the threes they made tonight. That is the key factor in the two games that they struggled mightily right. They didn’t make threes. And again they escaped game four I’ll say it again. They escaped game four because the Pacers handed it to them. If they don’t shoot threes well and they don’t foul hard task I’m telling you it’s going to be a game. And obviously Haliburton’s got to play too. That’s the other part to it which we fully expect them to play. Yeah. You explained the SGA in the three losses. He got to the free throw line, single digit times and the three wins double digit free throw attempts. All right look at this. OKC has won seven straight home game sevens OKC is ten and two at home this postseason. Home teams are six and one in the last seven NBA finals game. Sevens. Roy why am I supposed to believe because I know you’re picking the Pacers here in game seven. Why am I supposed to believe in the Pacers in Game seven? I mean, I think that this is a team that without the numbers, it’s just like, give us one. Like throw out the numbers. Throw out the numbers. Give us one. You guys are throwing out KD. You guys have a KD. You know James Harden Jeff Green Russell Westbrook like can we get something. We haven’t had an MVP or anything like that. Let us have this one I know this is not the scientific or the numbers breakdown. But we need to get us a break. You’re gonna have to earn it. Roy, cut us a break. I’m going to let you do nothing. You have to, Chris. They’re going to have to earn this on the road. Listen, as I said before, I preface it by saying -700 has ever been a team that’s been -700 going into the finals. Big favorites. That’s a huge, huge favorite. And you’re talking about one of the best teams offensively and defensively winning on the road at home with the team, with the MVP and one of the toughest places to play in the NBA if they get this done. But again, as I said before, who had the tougher route Hakeem to the final at Cleveland, at New York. And now you’ve got to play at the Paycom. Those guys have been tested. If I’m if I’m OKC, I’m a bit afraid. Mark Daigneault I mean, great coach. Has he been here before? Shea great player. Has he been here before. Not that anybody on the other than Pascal Siakam has been there. But at the end of the day Rick Carlisle’s been there. So I’m looking at this game going like on the road. I’m going to trust the I’m going to trust the road team. I know it sounds crazy. It does. It sounds crazy, but I would not be surprised if it’s a pacer blowout. Wow. I mean, I’m saying I wouldn’t be surprised if the Thunder come out and throw a dud. Okay, on game seven, I wouldn’t be surprised. We’re going to be here for you. Roy Hibbert Chris Walker, Hakeem Durmish on CBS sports HQ. We are going to take you all the way to the end of the season. We have got ourselves a game seven Sunday night, eight eastern. You can watch the game on ABC. This is the first game seven of the NBA finals since 2016. Certainly all of the stats and the numbers favor OKC, but all of the numbers and the stats have favored the Thunder in this series. And here we are at a game seven. So Pacers and Thunder for all the marbles Indiana one win away from its first NBA championship in franchise history OKC trying to delir the first NBA

Roy Hibbert and Chris Walker join CBS Sports HQ to preview Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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