2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | Game 7 Preview + Pick to win 🏆

2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | Game 7 Preview + Pick to win 🏆

welcome to a brand new hour of CBS Sports HQ i’m Haley Sutton the NBA finals are going the distance the Pacers stunning OKC with a game six victory leading us to the best two words in sports people game seven so let’s set the stage on Sunday night as we welcome in our guy Tim Doyle our NBA betting analyst our NBA uh sports line guy all the things when it comes to basketball and Tim we’ve got to talk about this game six you’re wanting to take accountability we’re going to get there in a minute but before we do so this is the first game seven since 2016 and we remember that was the year that LeBron James put Cleveland on his back came back from 3-1 and brought the team their first championship when you think about the way this series has gone between the Pacers and the Thunder it’s hard to live up to that moment but where would you stack it up here as far as game by game Haley I’d put it up against any series over the last 20 years game by game so many of those games in the LeBron Golden State era were so lopsided except for that game seven where Kyrie obviously made the big shot uh the the Boston Kobe uh matchups were fantastic lakers and Celtics those are some dramatic games that went right down to the wire that has to rank amongst the top but the problem is you have two small market teams and they don’t have that big fanfare of a Miami and New York and LA but the games itself have been off the charts there’s no other way to say it this is something Haley the NBA is going to have to deal with within the next three or four years because what’s going to happen during that time frame lebron’s going to retire we think right i mean you got to retire at some point steph’s going to retire durant James Harden like there’s going to be a changeover we’re watching it right now in the NBA Finals with SGA Tyrese Hallebertton Jaylen Williams these are the new superstars of the NBA but actually game by game the drama in this series Hallebertton game-winning shot sga putting on a remarkable MVP performance in game number four or else Indiana would have been up 3-1 i think the games have been sensational and now a pinnacle here game seven in Oklahoma City yeah it hasn’t been the sexiest in terms of like Indiana Oklahoma maybe not the teams that you would think but uh like you mentioned that game-winning shot from Tyrese Hallebertton it set the tone and and that kind of became a recurring theme with Hallebertton i know we want him to be a scorer Tim but he doesn’t want to be a scorer he wants to be an assist guy and going into that game six all the conversation was around that calf right is he going to play if he does play is he going to be 100% it didn’t matter because he went out and had a fantastic performance and he proved you and a lot of our analysts wrong here giving the Pacers a win in game six how were they able to be on the other side of that and get the win on Sat or on earlier this week yeah it’s just been something with Oklahoma City throughout the playoffs and being on the road i mean there’s no other way to say it they have just been below average on the road now they go to you know 4 and4 overall on the road in the postseason and by the way if you’ve been betting Oklahoma City on the road you’re getting crushed out they’ve been terrible sorry not four and four five and five so they have played 10 road games in the postseason they’re one and nine against the spread and by the way the one win was probably the luckiest of all time throughout the postseason was that game where um Indiana led in the fourth quarter and SGA ended up putting on that show and they ended up covering by one point so they technically easily could be 0 and10 on the road they have just been pathetic on the road against the spread with a five and five record as for Indiana you know they are just an amazing um group and they just stick with it and it could be TJ McConnell it could be Ben Mathan it could be Obi Toppin they’ve gotten so many guys pascal Seakum’s been fantastic so a complete team effort but now now you got to go to Oklahoma City i think this spread is outrageous i think it should be closer to 4 and a half three and a half but all season long Haley I’ve been picking Oklahoma City to win the NBA championship so I’m not gonna like jump ship game number seven like we just ran a marathon now like so obviously I I I think the Thunder are going to win this game but both these teams are in very unfamiliar territory yeah and the Pacers are used to kind of playing that underdog role they’ve been the underdog since the postseason started all of those weeks ago but you mentioned Pascal Seakum and his role in all of this for Indiana before we flip the script and go over and talk about what the Thunder need to do I want to key in on Seakum because a lot of people Tim have forgotten that this is a champion he has been a great player for multiple teams here and now he’s leading the Pacers in scoring among other things how crucial is it for him to have a big game on Sunday yeah he can’t have like 15 points uh he has to be a difference maker and I thought they lost Indiana game four which was going to be the game that we all look at if they lose this series that was the game that they gave away and they could have been up 3-1 but they learned from that they got away from Pascal Seakkum in that game and I thought they went back to him when they went to Oklahoma City he was fantastic in Oklahoma City in game number five and he followed that up with another double double effort in game number six his game number five he opened up the fourth quarter five of five from the field he had 14 points he got Indiana back into the game he’s just one of those guys that does everything he guards he rebounds he affects the game in so many different ways he’s the ultimate teammate but he’s gonna need a performance of a lifetime you know last year they went to New York in game number seven as you check out their points for game leaders and look at the balance there and they played unbelievable everybody picked the Knicks no one thought the Pacers could win pacers going to Madison Square Garden they shoot like 65% they can’t miss a three so they have that inside of them they did it last year in game seven against the Knicks they’re going to need a similar effort where it’s not just Pascal Seakum it’s Nemhard it’s Tophin it’s Hallebertton if everybody has one of those games they easily could win total team effort from this Pacers side if they’re going to take down the Thunder although the conversation I’ve been hearing about this matchup Tim is that there’s no real pressure on the Pacers because no one expected them to win in the first place all the pressure is on the Thunder uh who we know you pointed it out they’ve been terrible on the road in the postseason but they are better at home they’re 10 and two at home however when we talk about the Thunder the overarching theme with this team for the past two seasons has been they’re inexperienced right they’re too young they don’t have what it takes to get there because they don’t have the closing experience so as this group stares at a game seven a potential championship on Sunday how much of those concerns are weighing on your mind i know you said you’re taking the Thunder but there’s that chance there that uh the youth kind of sneaks in there on Sunday i think it has sneaked in there mult or snuck in there whatever the proper English is it’s happened multiple times this postseason we’ve watched it in every series you know I’ll take it back to the Memphis series game three they’re down 29 points at Memphis jaw gets hurt they make a dramatic comeback but they learn something in that series then you go to the Denver series i thought they were the better team six out of seven games but they won seven games they were life and death to win that series as well over the Joker uh Minnesota I I thought they were just the better squad but game four they were great in Minnesota in that game and now we’re here so what have we learned from them obviously the last seven home games game seven they’re undefeated they got a great homec court advantage they’ve responded to losses all season long and all postseason long but this game’s going to be different like the energy is going to be different you see there following a loss 18-2 i mean that’s sick that’s great adjustments by the coaching staff that’s a way to bounce back they they they learned and I’ll use this expression they’ve been like a butterfly a butterfly doesn’t start off a butterfly right starts off as this little worm on a tree and then it has to go through that metamorphice right from the larvae to the pupa and boom out the out the butterfly the beautiful butterfly so it’s been frustrating to watch as a Thunder better and I’m holding futures with them but they’ve had to go through this process everybody had to go through it michael Jordan had to beat the Pistons back in the 80s right larry had to beat Magic uh LeBron had to get over the hump and win a championship in Cleveland so what I’m watching with Oklahoma City is like a lot of growing pains and a lot of learning experiences but this is a really young squad i think this is going to be a low-scoring game i I cannot see a game that’s going to be like 120 to 118 like I just can’t foresee that these two young teams are going to have butterflies in their stomach for game number seven i thought you were going with the iconic float like a butterfly sting like a bee situation there instead you gave us a science lesson which I think is equally as invaluable so uh Tim thanks for that uh you told us already that you’re leaning into the thunder as your picked to win i got a couple numbers for you uh that I want to sort of hammer home maybe that point home teams 15-4 all time in game seven of the NBA finals so that bodess well for your thunder there however teams are 4- one in game sevens of finals after winning game six by 14 or more points the Pacers did that earlier this week Tim so I ask you again why the confidence in the Thunder on Sunday well um first of all I’m losing confidence i’m not going to I’m not going to lie okay because I felt great about this team winning the West and you get the matchup you want in the NBA finals you didn’t want to see the Celtics right you didn’t want to see the Cavaliers you get the Pacers and you’re like the Pacers like they’ve had all these dramatic comebacks how can they keep doing it but the thing about the Pacers is they keep coming after you and now you’re going to give them a seven and a half point cushion oh boy like I I know it’s difficult to bet against the Thunder at home and following a loss i I I think they’re laying too many points in this game i do think that they’re going to win but I think this is going to be a grindfest i think this is going to be like the old 97 93 type of game and SGA you know make some big shots down the stretch because both these teams are in unfamiliar territory and you have a coaching edge if you’re the Pacers with Rick Carile who’s been to multiple NBA finals so I think it’s going to be a great game it’s been an awesome series it just stinks they don’t have like LA and New York on their jerseys because then the ratings would be through the roof the drama in this series has been fantastic so one thing I do like is I think it’s going to be a very very lowcoring game i think buckets are going to be at a premium i think you’re going to get a little nervous oh game seven i’m so nervous so it’s going to be awesome to watch all eyes are going to be on it this will be the best rated game obviously of the series it being game number seven thunder win the hammer is not gonna come out for this one okay i think it’s gonna be a dog fight are you saying you’ve got butterflies in your tummy there ahead of uh Sunday’s game there we go bringing it full circle tim I am i’m nervous i got Thunder Futures hy i’m like Jesse Sp i’m so excited i’m so excited i’m so scared oh good luck to you Tim always a pleasure checking in with you our first game seven since 2016 and it is coming up on Sunday uh Indiana leaning into that underdog mentality they’ve been underdogs all season how about this they can tie the 2004 Pistons that was our own Rip Hamilton squad by the way as the largest NBA Finals underdog in the last 40 years they entered the postseason with 80 to1 odds and yet they stare down a championship on Sunday we will see who takes home the title Sunday 8:00 Eastern can’t wait welcome in former NBA coach of the year Avery Johnson he hit the game-winning shot for the Spurs to win the NBA title in 1999 and Avery you also coached in two game sevens 2005 and 2006 in the playoffs won both of those games what’s it like coaching in a game seven it’s a ton of pressure because at that stage of a series everybody really knows uh each other’s strengths and weaknesses i don’t necessarily think you’re going to out coach anybody but at the same time you have to have something in your back pocket in 2005 against the Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy we didn’t play zone the entire series and I was waiting because I had this two three matchup zone in my back pocket that we basically sprung on them in the third quarter and we went on I don’t know a 20 to nothing run and they never recovered and we never looked back in 2006 against the Spurs I kind of switched my substitution pattern especially trying to find a favorable matchup against Tony Parker and Manu Genobbi and that substitution pattern helped us to get to a point where we were close in the fourth quarter dirk makes a incredible shot to force it in the overtime when we isolated him at the right elbow so whether it’s substitution patterns a zone that you didn’t having you played the entire series maybe some underneath out of bounds play that you can steal a three on so those little things they’re very important in the game set did you get any sleep the night before uh probably 90 minutes 90 minutes i didn’t sleep uh because you’re tossing and turning uh I think I was elbowing my wife uh in the middle of the night and she said “Hey you need to go to the office you need to get up and and watch some more film because it’s a very stressful time especially because there’s so much on the line.” Both of these coaches in this same scenario Pacers head coach Rick Carile three and two in game sevens mark Dagnalt 1-0 in a game seven you remember he just beat the Nuggets in game seven in this year’s conference semis avery how much can Dagnol and the Thunder use from that experience i think that’s a part of their you know whole overall body of work this entire series but they’re not playing against the Denver Nuggets they’re playing against the Indiana Bases they’re playing against a much deeper team you know Denver was probably four and a half deep maybe five you’re dealing with a team that’s 10 11 deep and Indiana when they really get it going and you’re playing in transition tyresese Hallebertton obviously didn’t play with but about 20 plus minutes but having him on the floor gave Indiana a ton of confidence because they didn’t have to overuse TJ McConnell had Tyres Hallebertton not played in that game and TJ McConnell was a starter then everybody would have had to move up one in the rotation and felt like they had to do more that series would have been over in uh six games but because Hallebertton played Rick Carile can keep everybody in their normal rotation and that was uh very beneficial for the Indiana Pacers sj is going to have to do more he had eight turnovers in game six tied for the most by a player in the NBA finals in the last 40 years avery this is a big if but how would you view SJ’s season if he doesn’t deliver in game seven and lead the Thunder to victory it’s still a team game we know he’s an MVP um but at the end of the day the MVPs need help kobe needed help michael Jordan needed help tim Duncan needed my help to hit the game-winning shot in 1999 because he was triple team you know star players need help so his role player is going to have to come through the bench is going to have to play well and at the end of the day he still had an extraordinary season if he doesn’t win the championship you know we’ll a lot of people look at this as a failure maybe if they would have lost four or one but when you have seven game series I know they’re playing at home i don’t know if I would call it a failure because this guy’s u been sensational this year yeah past performance tells us that SGA will bounce back 10 straight 30point playoff games at home longest streak all time along with SGA needing to step up avery what’s the key for the Thunder to win game seven on their home floor the number one key for the Thunder they have to defend the three-point line but they got to take care of the ball they got to limit their turnovers it’s going to be very important for them to limit limit their turnovers they can’t have 21 turnovers so they have to be south of 12 turnovers remember in the win they had 11 turnovers they did win a game with 16 turnovers but uh Indiana turned the ball over in in that game so ball security had three turnovers I believe in the first five to six minutes in the first quarter very uncharacteristic of him so ball security on time on target passes knowing when Indiana’s playing in the passing lanes sometime you got to use ball fakes shot fakes uh to make the right pass uh lead your teammates in the right direction if they can do that and limit their turnovers they’re going to get more shots on basket and if you do that that gives you more opportunities to get offensive rebounds free throws so limit their turns yeah Thunder had a season high 21 turnovers in that game six loss tyresese Hallebert and the Pacers took advantage and they’ve proved Avery they can win in OKC so what has to happen for Indiana to do the improbable go on the road and win a game seven in the NBA finals two things threes please indiana’s got to make 15 or more threes and the second thing is they have to slow down Jaylen Williams jaylen Williams cannot have a 40 piece you know I I know you and I have had dinner together i know I know you how you like those two-piece dinners and that coo be I know what you like but again they have to really slow down uh Jaylen Williams from scoring 40 points and they have to defend the three-point line and run Indiana off the three because if Indiana makes 15 or more threes they will be cutting down the nets in OKC pacers trying to win their first NBA title in franchise history thunder trying to win their first since moving to OKC the Thunder have won seven straight game sevens at home so you certainly like those odds avery who you got game seven NBA finals Sunday night Hakeim at the end of the day um OKC has Shay Gilders Alexander and Indiana doesn’t and I believe he’s going to do whatever it takes he’ll probably score about 42 in this game i think he’s going to go off he’ll get to the free throw line probably around 16 times maybe 14 the home crowd in Paycom Arena and I know a lot of those folks from Paycom a extraordinary organization they’re going to cut the nets down they’re going to be celebrating in Oklahoma this is the closest remember this I believe is the closest final the uh closest NBA championship of two teams in the last 50 years with Oklahoma and Indiana in terms of their proximity this is not Golden State and Boston two small market uh some sort of Midwest South teams so this means a lot to both of these franchises i know Indiana’s fans are going to be packed in their arena but guess what i wrote it down all right i’m going OKC 112 Indiana Pacers 104 all right hey look when this series started everybody was going “Oh two small market teams this is not going to be a great NBA Finals.” And here we are getting a game seven how lucky we are to see that it is great for the league great to have Avery Johnson here setting us up for game seven avery thanks thanks entering the postseason the Pacers were listed at plus 8,000 to win the NBA title if they win at all it would be the longest odds by any of the champions of the four major North American sports on record the current record plus 5,000 by the 2007 New York Giants game 7 Sunday night 8 Eastern on ABC we’ll have full pregame and postgame coverage right here on CBS Sports HQ

Tim Doyle and Avery Johnson join CBS Sports HQ to preview Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder.

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