2025 NBA FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #4 Indiana Pacers (Series tied 1-1)

[bluemj32]

You would be correct. It’s quite literally anyone who isn’t an OKC fan. Any neutral fan can plainly see how overly biased the officiating is in OKC’s favor. Has been the entire year and all playoffs.

It might be season long reparations for having them lose the mavericks series last year with that garbage 3 pt foul. Hopefully it isn’t like this next season.

It's really not. OKC plays a scrappy brand of defense using smaller players.

Refs aren't gonna call everything, especially not on 6'4 guys digging on 6'9 guys.

This right here ^^^^

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[Tim_Hardawayy]

If I can posit a theory on why it's """neutral fans""" complaining and not Pacers fans... its because the Pacers fans posting in these threads have been regulars here for years, and understand how to post on the general board, aren't extreme homers, and understand their team is at a large talent deficit. And the """neutral fans""" aren't that neutral, they're heavily rooting for the underdog, effectively becoming homers for the Pacers this series, but without the discipline the long time Pacers fans have developed (seriously I remember them all from the Heat/Pacers series over a decade ago).

[azcatz11]

Glad OKC won. I want 7 games! Game 3 is going to be insane

[threethehardway]

Neither is being a scoring guard. IND got this far because Haliburton never let his ego get in the way of a win.

Um... only star guards that can score at will have won championships.


Haliburton just can't score at will.

I wish people would stop letting limitations become virtues. Everyone can see he can't break down defenses at will and score. He knows it and his teammates knows it.

SGA tonight dropped 34 on their head and Haliburton did absolutely nothing, like he always do when the game isn't going his way.

Pacers succeed in spite in Haliburton's passivity, not because of it.

There's nothing admirable about being the highest paid player and being paraded as a star and getting 30 and 40 points on your headtop and you can't do nothing about it.

You can't stop it and you can't respond lol. It's nothing to do with ego, it because he can't. When things don't go his way and his team can't carry him to the finish line so he can steal the show, he's a spectator.

[DCasey91]

The only egregious calls I would def stamp out (which they won't obv) is the wrist grabbing and jumper holding on Siakam. Both games so far dude has 3 defenders rotating on him one after another doing the same thing.

Not gonna hold it against him if he clocks an elbow in their face

Just call it in the first quarter early on because it's been there the whole time

[boomershadow]

The Pacers are going against a historic defense. I thought they fought hard. Wasn't enough this game.

[Chuck Everett]

Glad OKC won. I want 7 games! Game 3 is going to be insane

I keep moving the goal posts, but I had the Thunder in six games before the series started. However, I don't trust their bench players to play well outside of Caruso when they don't have the home fans cheering for them. They've been pretty bad across the board all playoffs on the road. So what I need is for the lights to "not be too bright," word to Jarrett Allen.

[bbms]

who noticed the thunder played a bit of a 2-3 zone to save energy?
game 1 they were a bit gassed in the 4th

[fanofthegreats]

Neither is being a scoring guard. IND got this far because Haliburton never let his ego get in the way of a win.

Um... only star guards that can score at will have won championships.


Haliburton just can't score at will.

I wish people would stop letting limitations become virtues. Everyone can see he can't break down defenses at will and score. He knows it and his teammates knows it.

SGA tonight dropped 34 on their head and Haliburton did absolutely nothing, like he always do when the game isn't going his way.

Pacers succeed in spite in Haliburton's passivity, not because of it.

There's nothing admirable about being the highest paid player and being paraded as a star and getting 30 and 40 points on your headtop and you can't do nothing about it.

You can't stop it and you can't respond lol. It's nothing to do with ego, it because he can't. When things don't go his way and his team can't carry him to the finish line so he can steal the show, he's a spectator.

Facts. Guy rarely scores and people act like he’s prime Steve Nash looking to get his teammates involved.

Literally has no ability to do anything but be a facilitator

[DCasey91]

The Pacers are going against a historic defense. I thought they fought hard. Wasn't enough this game.

Dort, Caruso and Cason would have 2+ fouls minimum starting. Bro I don't know if you know this but if something is holding your wrist with two hands da f are you supposed to do?

If you watch the games again behind the ball you'll know what I mean. It's up to the ref's to say no that's not on.

[Statlanta]

as a netural who only watched the second half, Indiana guards looked low IQ while OKC just rode SGA iso's to victory. I don't get the team ball credit a poster gave to OKC got when the Thunder assists were off broken plays after the SGA iso.

Staying big broke the Pacers. Turner looked like a PF when Daigenault ran the big lineup.

Also Haliburton's statline is way more prettier than the game let on. His PPG were gotten when the game was out of reach. His stats would look like Siakam's if Carlisle pulled a Steve Kerr and gave up in the 3rd quarter.

[bluemj32]

Neither is being a scoring guard. IND got this far because Haliburton never let his ego get in the way of a win.

Um... only star guards that can score at will have won championships.


Haliburton just can't score at will.

I wish people would stop letting limitations become virtues. Everyone can see he can't break down defenses at will and score. He knows it and his teammates knows it.

SGA tonight dropped 34 on their head and Haliburton did absolutely nothing, like he always do when the game isn't going his way.

Pacers succeed in spite in Haliburton's passivity, not because of it.

There's nothing admirable about being the highest paid player and being paraded as a star and getting 30 and 40 points on your headtop and you can't do nothing about it.

You can't stop it and you can't respond lol. It's nothing to do with ego, it because he can't. When things don't go his way and his team can't carry him to the finish line so he can steal the show, he's a spectator.

It's not even about the scoring. Can you control the game regardless. JKidd, Nash, CP3 come to mind as more traditional guards that weren't scoring yet you could tell they were the best player most times on the court.
Hali is still young and has time to grow into that top 15 player. Or superstar .

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[jkvonny]

The 2012 OKC trio were way more talented just lacking in intangibles.

There is no shame in losing to a prime Lebron. They just needed more time

Russ and Harden were never good in the play-offs. KD had to join a winning team, to win. In 2021, I'd admit he was the best player in that bucks nets series. That was the year to change the narrative on his legacy.

Those 2011-2016 Thunder team was too young early on in a tuff Western Conference. Choked in the NBA Finals (Heat were more veteran group), choked often in the playoffs (vs Grizzlies, vs GSW in 2016 WCF blowing 3-1 lead, etc) but also had untimely bad luck with injuries in the playoffs some of those years.

I think this group of Thunder team gets it done tho. This year or the next year. They seem mentally tuffer and deeper/ more depth than those Thunder teams of the past.

[DCasey91]

That Thunder team had Westbrook at the wheel this one has SGA, and is alot deeper I love Wesbtrook and his ethics but that's not a recipe for winning the thing.

[Marvin Martian]

Neither is being a scoring guard. IND got this far because Haliburton never let his ego get in the way of a win.

Um... only star guards that can score at will have won championships.


Haliburton just can't score at will.

I wish people would stop letting limitations become virtues. Everyone can see he can't break down defenses at will and score. He knows it and his teammates knows it.

SGA tonight dropped 34 on their head and Haliburton did absolutely nothing, like he always do.

Pacers succeed in spite in Haliburton's passivity, not because of it.

There's nothing admirable about being the highest paid player and being paraded as a star and getting 30 and 40 points on your headtop and you can't do nothing about it.

You can't stop it and you can't respond lol. It's nothing to do with ego, it because he can't.

If Haliburton was just another score first combo guard, IND wouldn't be in the finals, because those guys would never allow their teammates to shine when they have the hot hand.

IND is a deep team and Haliburton's pass first style allows them to fulfill their potential.

[threethehardway]

Glad OKC won. I want 7 games! Game 3 is going to be insane

I keep moving the goal posts, but I had the Thunder in six games before the series started. However, I don't trust their bench players to play well outside of Caruso when they don't have the home fans cheering for them. They've been pretty bad across the board all playoffs on the road. So what I need is for the lights to "not be too bright," word to Jarrett Allen.

I don't think OKC needs the bench players to play exceptionally well on offense. They just need JDub and Chet to hit their regular season averages.

When those 2 are aggressive on offense, it speeds up the game for them and it prevents SGA from having to play with the ball to get things going.

SGA has the tendency to try to create things that aren't there and turn his Chet and JDub into ball watchers because the offense by design is very stagnant.

When OKC is applying pressure on defense and getting out in transition, the offense has pace and that pace extends to the bench.

[FarBeyondDriven]

scheduled loss. The most predictable result.

[Capn'O]

OKC is just better. Late game heroics don't mean crap other than you was getting your ass kicked for 47 minutes.

They mean a lot when you take a game in a 7 game series.

Carlisle showed me last series just how good he is at gameplanning and counter strategy while the Thunder have been a little uneven these playoffs. I don't believe these Pacers are dead.

[Hoop Hunter]

Random thoughts.

It was a pretty even game except for the 2nd quarter. OKC smoked us in the 2nd quarter.

Still had to many TO's, 15 is high for us. Haliburton had about 3 times the usual amount of TO's.

Haliburton has got to force the action and take more shots. He was something like 1-5 in the 1st half. I'd rather he 1-12 than not shooting.

We shot really bad. Not just because of the D, it was good though. We missed a ton of open 3's. We got mostly good shots.

We actually outscored them by 2 in the second half.

On to game 3, can't worry about this one now. We have to be happy to come out with a split.

[The4thHorseman]

Shai sporting a Lennon shirt.