Thunder and Pacers Set To Play for All the Marbles in NBA Finals Game 7

We have witnessed a Hollywood story of a series through these six games. Just as good as the Rocky and Creed movies. A typical sports underdog tale is in the making. If this were Rocky IV, the Pacers would be Balboa and the Thunder would be Ivan Drago. What is supposed to be one of those quick, lopsided matchups is instead a tug of war that is taking longer than expected. From everything that I have seen from both teams, the mistakes to eliminate and the positives to increase on, being called champions has become an even possibility for the Thunder and the Pacers.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are making this harder than it should be. Their offense passed the ball around and found space in opposing defenses better than any team in the NBA. Their defense was irritating to opposing offenses better than any team in the NBA. During the postseason, they neutralized superstars like Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic, and Anthony Edwards to get here. The Pacers have gotten them off their game throughout this series, but we'll get to that later. Oklahoma City has to go back to playing basketball the best way they know.

Games two and five were the only games of the series in which the Thunder had at least 20 assists as a team, and they won both of those games by double digits. In every other game of the series, the Thunder had no more than 15 assists as a team. They allowed the Pacers to force them into playing individual basketball by not moving off-ball constantly like they usually do to find space in the defense. There were not enough back-door cuts, picks set by Chet Holmgren, or kick-out passes for open three-point opportunities by the Thunder. As great as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is to change the course of a game, he still has teammates to be involved in the game plan. Considering how the Pacers have been sending multiple bodies to contain Gilgeous-Alexander, it's a good idea.

They also need to do a better job of adjusting their defensive matchups. Stay aware of the picks the Pacers often set up to throw off their defense. Whenever Pascal Siakam comes to set a screen for Tyrese Haliburton, that's when players on defense start to run around like headless chickens. That is the same reason why Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, T.J. McConnell, and others get so wide-open for three-pointers. If I were to set up the matchups for the Thunder, I would not have anyone not named Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort, or Alex Caruso to guard Haliburton. Take away the lanes to the rim from Haliburton, force him to score from the perimeter, and try to make plays from the top of the key. It's the same way they restrained Anthony Edwards's talents to defeat the Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

Indiana Pacers

If the Pacers want to pull off the upset in Oklahoma City, then they will have to play from start to finish. Come out of the gates sprinting and not slowing down. The last game is exactly how the Pacers need to set the tone. No more playing from behind and then shooting nothing but three-pointers to chop down the deficit. They can do this by being more careful with the basketball. They turned the ball over eleven times in game six, the fewest turnovers they had among the six games they played in this series so far.

Keep pressuring the Thunder's offense by swarming toward the ball handler, especially if it's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They keep being physical with their playmakers, especially in the paint, with Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner battling Chet Holmgren under the hoop. Forcing the Thunder to shoot more threes, as they were cold last game, shooting at 26.7 percent. Forcing them to take contested shots and eliminating space on the floor. Making contested shots has been something that the Pacers have been best at throughout the postseason.

Continuing to facilitate the basketball and baiting the Thunder's defenders to collapse toward the paint and distract them away from the three-point range will help as well. The Pacers did a great job at that in game six. Creating more scoring opportunities by baiting the defense and allowing their shooters to shoot away like they have been throughout this series. Creating more fast-break opportunities to keep the defense on the run with steals, like in game six, shall make it easy to produce points. Constant motion and constant pressure are becoming what used to be the Thunder's game, and the Pacers shall make it their own.

Prediction

As the Thunder are beginning to lose touch with their game and the Pacers are giving them a taste of their own game, Indiana could have their first-ever NBA title. The Pacers have already captured the momentum from the moment they outplayed them in game three. Their physicality and blue-collar mentality are helping the Pacers outplay the best team in the NBA. The Thunder are forced to play one-on-one basketball as if they're playing it in someone's driveway. They are being exposed as a finesse team that is being outplayed in the mind by the Pacers.

Game 7 Pick: Indiana Pacers

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