Six highlights of the finals: How do Pacers reduce mistakes? How to deal with Thunder when it feels bad?

The Thunder and the Pacers have a lot in common. Although people are talking about the Pacers’ quick offense, the Thunder actually had a slightly faster pace in the regular season and first three rounds of the playoffs, according to Inpredictable. Both teams are led by star guards, and if a Reddit user hadn't given the nickname "Death" to Kevin Durant in 2014, perhaps Shay Gilgers Alexander and Tyres Halliburton could have won the nickname. Both teams have excellent roster depth, and, as Pacers center Miles Turner said on Sunday, both “use the power of friendship.” Turner laughed when he said this, but he was at least half-joking. Rick Carlisle and Mark Dignot gave the players a lot of freedom, but the two teams did not relax in handling the ball. As you would expect from the Finals team, they all have that obvious trait where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The Thunder's biggest advantage is their influx and frightening defense, which is probably the strongest defense I've ever seen. If there is a big advantage in which the Pacers have is that they have a better and smoother half-court offense in the playoffs. This is not the case in the regular season (the Thunder ranked second in the half-time offense and the Pacers ranked fourth in the Pacers, according to Cleaning the Glass), so it's entirely possible that they face different opponents. However, if you think the Pacers can make this series fun, you might think that things are more than that.

Okay, the macro level has been finished. Now let's go into the details. Here are six questions about the 2025 NBA Finals: Can the Pacers stay stable in the face of these pressing masters that force their opponents to make mistakes?

Thanks to Halliburton's unique (and honestly, somewhat peculiar) talent, the Pacers achieved an almost impossible achievement: they were a team with low turnover rates but crazy passing, running continuously and wanting to play fast breaks whenever they had the chance.

Throughout the season, Carlisle has been emphasizing the importance of winning possession. The Pacers’ roster is not about being a strong rebounding team, which means they need to dominate the turnover battle. To defeat the Thunder, this must continue to be their advantage.

"We have to rely on the factors that helped us succeed, which is hard, fast, selfless, and steady play," Carlisle said in an interview with ESPN. "And we have to do a good job in possession." The Pacers are known for their persistence in their own play. It is difficult to continue to put pressure on the opponent's ball holder, and it is also difficult to attack in such a dynamic way. However, the Pacers always believe that if the game gets messy, they will be more calm than you, and because they trust their bench, they believe they will be more energetic than you at critical moments.

"Their defensive philosophy is highly consistent with offensive philosophy, so when you play against them, there is a game atmosphere that is difficult to deal with," said Dagnott. He then added that the Pacers were a “very challenging opponent who can keep their true colors in any situation”.

However, this situation will test the Pacers in an unprecedented way. The Thunder almost never lost in a turnover battle, and, in many important aspects, the Thunder and Pacers mirror each other. According to Cleaning the Glass:

① On the offensive end, the Thunder and Pacers have exactly the same conversion efficiency in the regular season, and the Thunder took this to another level in the playoffs.

②In the regular season, the Pacers are the only team that gives opponents fewer opportunities to switch offense than the Thunder.

③The Thunder have the lowest turnover rate in the league in the regular season. The Pacers ranked third lowest.

④ Both teams slightly reduced the turnover rate in the playoffs. The obvious difference here is that the Thunder forces opponents to make mistakes more frequently than any other team in the NBA (and the Pacers are only slightly above average in this regard). Alex Caruso, Lü Dortmund and Carson Wallace are three of the top ball-holders in the league. Caruso and Jaylen Williams are the two most destructive off-ball defenders in the league. Overall, the Thunder’s wingspan, athleticism and physical confrontation are overwhelming.

Especially in the early stages of the series, this will have a systematic impact on the Pacers. Whether they can really play their own style in front of such a defensive team is an open question.

What if the Thunder feels cold (and the Pacers don't)?

If John Halliburton jumped out of a time travel caravan and told you that he saw his son lead the Pacers to the championship (a Thunder team that suffered no injuries) and won the Finals MVP, what would you think will happen next in this series?

I don't really want to describe it as "a league that shoots determines success or failure", but I will immediately think of the Thunder's three-point shooting percentage. According to Cleaning the Glass, which eliminates ultra-long shots and garbage time, the Thunder shot just 33.5% in the playoffs. (Only the Pistons and Magic, who have long been eliminated, have lower shooting percentages.) Especially when it comes to 3-pointers on the catch-and-shooting — such Pacers may be willing to give role players a shot that protects the penalty area — the Thunder shot 34.2% in the playoffs. According to the NBA official website, this ranks 12th among the 16 teams that advanced to the playoffs.. Alexander is already hard enough to deal with in a small space, so the Pacers need to be careful not to give him too long space to accelerate.

How will the Thunder change the lineup?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Thunder decided to start with Caruso in Game 1. In the regular season, they had allowed Homegren to play the No. 5 several times when both inside players were healthy (most notably against the Celtics in March), and they had already started the second half in this way four times in the playoffs. If the goal is to make the Pacers as uncomfortable as possible from the start, then getting Caruso on the field is the right choice.

However, the beauty of this Thunder team is that it can give opponents a completely different look. We all think the Thunder are the creators of chaos, and they rely on opponents to make quick breaks. But if you only look at how long they use the double-in-line roster, they present different traits—they succeed in large part because they dominate the rebounds and give the opponent little chance to score at the rim.

Perhaps Dagnott will stick to the starting lineup of the double inside, because he believes that rushing offensive rebounds is the best way to stop the Pacers from playing a transitional offense. Maybe he prefers to use double insides against the Pacers’ bench because he wants one of the inside players to defend McConaughey. Everything is possible. He could even try out a centerless roster in the second quarter just to see how the Pacers will handle it.

"You are always in a state of constantly trying to evolve and staying one step ahead in the series as much as possible, while knowing that your opponent is trying to do the same thing," said Dagnott. What can the Pacers get from the bench?

This question is more like a series of sub-questions: Is

Muserin ready?

He has had some highlights in this playoff trip, but he has played a negative role in many games against the Cavaliers and the Knicks. Mathering is the Pacers’ best foul player, and as a microwave scorer, he’s the kind of player that can change the momentum of the game. However, his challenge will be to keep making the right judgment in the face of a defense that tries to lure him into making a wrong decision.

How will McConaughey and Ben Shepard perform?

When Nemhard is not on the court to defend Alexander, both of them may have to defend him, and both of them can provide the Pacers with offensive support. What I am particularly interested in is what happens when McConaughey organizes the offense - in this series, facing so many long-armed players on the other side, can he find his own shooting point like he usually does and seize the scoring opportunity that is not left with offensive time as early as possible? Can

Jares Walker help the Pacers?

The 21-year-old striker will miss at least the first two games of the series, and Carlisle said in an interview Tuesday that he was still on crutches after an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against the Knicks. In theory, Walker's defensive comprehensiveness may give him a chance to play later in the series, but it's unclear whether he will be able to play. This is a very regrettable thing for all podcast hosts. What is the answer to the

substitute center?

Thomas Bryant performed well in the promotion against the Knicks, but I had some concerns about his pick-and-roll defense and there was no guarantee that he would continue to hit threes. If the Pacers need to change their strategy, would Tony Bradley, who had a hip injury in Game 5 of the division finals be a viable option? I'm not sure Bradley can provide a stronger deterrent in the sinking defense, especially if his health has not recovered to 100%. Toping is always an X-factor for the Pacers, and he will become even more important if they are forced to adopt a small roster.

Author: James Herbert

Translator: GWayNe