Are the Pacers and Thunder destined to play a Game 7 in the NBA Finals?

 

                                             (Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) 

The NBA Finals is tied up 2-2 after the Oklahoma Thunder took back home court from the Indiana Pacers with a 111-104 victory on Friday in Indiana. Game 5 will be on Monday at 5:30 PM PT/8:30 PM ET on ABC in Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 35 points on 12/24 shooting from the field and 10/10 shooting from the foul line. He was playing fantastic and did all he could to ensure his team didn't go down 3-1. 

One of my five things to look for going into the NBA Finals was how much home court advantage would matter given the passionate fanbases that both teams have. Each have won a game on each other's home floor, but given the raucous environments that we've seen, I have a hard time seeing a road team win another game in this series. The Thunder certainly seemed poised to go up 3-2 on Monday and then on Thursday in Indiana, I have to think the Pacers bounce back to make it 3-3, forcing a Game 7. 

As well as the Pacers have played during this series, I don't see them dropping three straight games to lose the series 4-2. Tyrese Haliburton has simply been playing too well to let that happen. I also don't see Aaron Nesmith scoring eight points again in Indiana, either. One has to think in a do or die game in Indy, Nesmith will come out as a flame flower. As for the Thunder, I do think they're the better team on paper and so on those grounds, I can't see them dropping another game at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the most part as lived up to his MVP status and I think when the lights come on, he'll deliver the goods. Especially on his home floor. 

While anything is possible in the NBA Finals, just given the vibe and the way things are going, I do see this series going to a Game 7. And if it does, Oklahoma City will have the advantage. Winning a Game 7 on the road in the NBA Finals is incredibly hard to do, but I suppose if anyone is up to hit a game-winning shot in those circumstances, Tyrese Haliburton would be your guy. It should be fun to see how this series shakes out!           

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Tyrese Haliburton is having an NBA playoff performance for the ages

 

                                             (Credit: Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images) 

Indiana Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton is having an NBA playoff performance that is on track to be one of the greatest of all-time should his team go on to win the NBA Finals. Haliburton hit a game-tying buzzer beater at Madison Square Garden to force overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks (the Pacers went on to win) and then he hit a game-winning shot to beat the buzzer against the Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Hitting a buzzer beating shot is rare y'all. Like, even if you are an all-time great, it still doesn't happen very often. To do it twice in a playoff run, both in the first game of the Conference Finals and then NBA Finals is just nuts. It's beyond storybook. 

What's amazing about this as well is the fact that Haliburton is just 24 years old and only in his fifth year in the NBA. He's doing stuff that many quality seasoned veterans have never done. To have the confidence and poise to hit these kind of shots at this age is remarkable. 

Of course, it's not just the game-winning shots that makes Tyrese Haliburton so special. He's leading the NBA playoffs with 9.5 assists per game, doing a fabulous job of creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. He's a true floor general that plays unselfishly while also having the ability to hit big shots when called upon. 

Lastly, what adds to Haliburton's mystique is the team is playing for. The Indiana Pacers have never won an NBA championship and are only in the NBA Finals for the second time in their history. To be doing what he's doing in a Pacers uniform I think makes it stand out all the more. While there is work to be done, if Haliburton and the Pacers win this series, we're gonna be talking about this playoff run for a long time. 

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Five things to look for in the 2025 NBA Finals: Thunder vs. Pacers

 

                                              (Credit: Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images) 

The NBA Finals begins Thursday, June 5th at 8:30 PM ET on ABC. Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder have home court advantage. Below are five things to look for in the series. Let's dive in! 

#1. How much will home court advantage matter? Being small market teams, the Pacers and Thunder both have fantastic home court atmospheres. It's going to be very tough to win on the road in this series. That said, the Thunder did win both regular season matchups this season, so they know how to win in Indiana. Granted a regular season game doesn't have the same juice as a playoff game, but still. Odds are good that whichever team can find a way to win one game on the opposing team's floor will win the series. Defending home court feels especially like a must given the rabid fanbases that each team has. 

#2. Can the Pacers contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA MVP and has been playing brilliantly this entire season, averaging 29.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game this postseason. He's the best player in the series on paper. If the Pacers want any hope of winning the series, it'll have to start with containing Gilgeous-Alexander. Click here for my recent blogpost on SGA in case you missed that. 

#3. Will the Pacers' ball movement make a difference? The Pacers are averaging 28.1 assists per game in the playoffs while the Thunder average 25.3 assists per game. Leading the playoffs in assists per game individually is their star guard Tyrese Haliburton (18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 1.4 steals). If the Pacers have any edge over the Thunder, it's their ball movement. But will it be enough to make a difference? That's the question. 

#4. Will Pascal Siakam's championship experience help the Pacers? Pascal Siakam has been fantastic for the Pacers, averaging 21.1 points & 5.8 rebounds per game in the postseason. He also has an NBA championship ring with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and he was very instrumental in their championship run, averaging 19.0 points & 7.1 rebounds per game during the playoffs. Having a guy who has been on this stage before is huge. If the Pacers do win this series, I would expect it to be due to Siakam being the series MVP. 

#5. Who will win the battle of the bigs? Both teams have some talented big men inside. The Thunder have Chet Holmgren (16.4 points & 8.6 rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (9.2 points & 7.9 rebounds). The Pacers have Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner (15.6 points & 6.5 rebounds). While the guard play is more of a focus, the battle inside will have a huge impact on this series. 

Prediction: I gotta roll with the Thunder in six games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been amazing and the Thunder have home court advantage. It's definitely their series to lose. 

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The Knicks-Pacers rivalry is simply awesome

 

                                             (Credit: Frank Franklin II/AP Photo) 

The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are locked up in an intense Eastern Conference Finals right now. The Pacers are up 2-1 with one more game in Indiana on Tuesday before things go back to New York for Game 5. The Pacers will look to go up 3-1 and put all the pressure on the Knicks. The Knicks will look to even up the series 2-2 and get momentum back. 

Just three games in, the series already feels like an instant classic. Tyrese Haliburton's overtime forcing shot in Game 1 led to what is now being dubbed "Choke 2.0" after Haliburton re-enacted Reggie Miller's choke sign to Spike Lee from Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers went on to win Game 1 138-135 in overtime and while Haliburton's shot is the most iconic moment from that game, Aaron Nesmith's 30 points on 8/9 shooting from 3-point range cannot be forgotten. Nesmith looked like Miller did in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals in which he scored eight points in 8.9 seconds. 8 of 9 shooting from 3-point range; 8 points in 8.9 seconds. To quote Mark Twain, history doesn't repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. 

While the Pacers delivered the first blow in this year's series, the Knicks bounced back in a big way to take Game 3 after being down 0-2. With Jalen Brunson in foul trouble Karl-Anthony Towns took over for the Knicks, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds to help them come back from 20 points down to win 106-100 on the road in Indiana. Towns played with a lot of passion and fire, showing that the Knicks care about this rivalry just as much as the Pacers do. 

When looking at this rivalry from the big picture, I think what makes it awesome is the combination of it being big market versus small market while also featuring two places that are rich in basketball history. It's Hoosiers versus Rucker Park. And then on top of that, both teams have had big time names. In the 90s, the Pacers had Reggie Miller and the Knicks had Patrick Ewing. This year, the Pacers have Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam while the Knicks have Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.  When you put those elements together, you have the potential for a lot of amazing basketball moments. 

Looking ahead to the rest of the series, while the Pacers remain the favorites at the moment, the Knicks still have a pulse. There's still plenty of basketball left and if history is any guide, there will be more twists and turns in this series before it gets decided. I for one can't wait to see how it all unfolds. 

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Five things to look for in the Eastern Conference Finals: Knicks vs. Pacers

 

                                            (Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images) 

The Eastern Conference Finals begins this week between the 3rd seeded New York Knicks and 4th seeded Indiana Pacers. Game one will be on Wednesday at 5:00 PM PT on TNT/TruTV. Below are five things to look for in the series. 

#1. Can the Pacers slow down Jalen Brunson? Jalen Brunson is coming into the series averaging a ridiculous 28.8 points and 7.7 assists per game during the playoffs. He's really in the zone right now. Something to look for is whether or not the Pacers will be able to do a better job defending him than the Pistons and Celtics did. If not, the Knicks are going to be extremely tough to stop. 

#2. Can the Pacers' ball movement make the difference? The Pacers averaged 29.2 assists per game during the regular season, which is 3rd in the NBA while the Knicks averaged 27.5 points per game, which ranks 11th in the NBA. During the playoffs, the Pacers have taken it up a notch with 29.7 assists per game as Tyrese Haliburton's 9.3 assists per game during the playoffs leads the NBA. If the Pacers are going to win the series, their ball movement is going to have play a major role. 

#3. Will the Pacers' rest help them out at all? The Pacers come into this series with more rest having taken out the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games while the Knicks had to play a game six to dispatch of the Celtics. Getting a couple extra days to rest should certainly help the Pacers, but will it make any meaningful difference? Game one should tell us a lot. 

#4. Can the Knicks close the gap on the 3-ball? The Knicks are shooting 35.8% from 3-point range in the playoffs while the Pacers are shooting 40.6%. If the Knicks want to win the series, it would help them a lot if they could get more threes to fall while defending the Pacers from the perimeter. The Pacers are coming in with a lot of confidence in their 3-point shooting, so slowing them down in that department will be no easy task. 

#5. Will the rivalry feel rekindled? The Knicks and Pacers had a lot of battles in the 1990s and have formed one of the more iconic NBA rivalries. This series certainly has a chance to add an exciting chapter to it. The fans should be fired up on both sides. It certainly would be good for the NBA to have this be a competitive series given the history between these two teams. 

Prediction: The Pacers seem to have really taken things up a notch during the playoffs. I got them winning this series in six games. 

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The Indiana Pacers are shifting into another gear

 

                                            (Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images/Reuters) 

The 4th seeded Indiana Pacers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, taking out the top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, closing out the series with a 114-105 victory on Tuesday, May 13th. Power forward Pascal Siakam (pictured above to the right) had a strong performance with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block while guard Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 31 points, six rebounds, eight assists, one block, and one steal. Small forward Aaron Nesmith also had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Just an all-around great team victory. 

The 4-1 series victory over the Cavaliers comes after a 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, making the Pacers 8-2 so far in the playoffs. Haliburton is leading the league in assists per game this postseason with 9.3 to go along with his 17.5 points per game while center Myles Turner's 2.5 blocks per game is leading the league in the postseason as well. Turner is putting in 16.5 points and grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game, so he's playing fantastic. When you have the NBA's top assist guy and top shot blocker on your team, you're going to be tough to stop.

During the playoffs, the Pacers are averaging 117.7 points per game while their opponents are averaging 112.2 points per game. That's an average margin of victory of +5.5, which is pretty solid. Especially when you consider they took out the top seed. Their three largest margins of victory have been a 117-98 (+19) home victory over the Bucks in game one, a 129-103 (+26) road victory over the Bucks in game four, and a 129-109 (+20) home victory over the Cavaliers in game four. Those are dominant wins. They also have a pair of one point victories over both teams, one of which came in overtime. So they've shown they can win close games as well. 

Looking ahead to the Eastern Conference Finals, whether it's the Knicks or Celtics that they play, the Pacers should be feeling confident right now. They've taken out the top seed in the East in the Cavaliers and a Milwaukee Bucks team that isn't that far removed from a championship. They're also getting a chance to rest up while the Knicks and Celtics still finish their series with game six coming up on Friday. Honestly, I don't think it's at all crazy to have the Pacers favored. They seem to be shifting into another gear and so far nobody has figured out how to slow them down. 

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