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It seems implausible but let's say the Pacers win G2, how much of a shot do you give the thunder, if any? The thunder are a much better team on paper (by season win record they certainly are) so I think them going 4-1 could still be realistic. But 2 or 3 of those wins would have to be on the road.

No.

First to win 4 games, not 2.

No, because we’ve seen it happen where a team comes back to win despite losing the first 2 games at home, and the Thunder clearly have the talent to do it.

But if the Pacers win games 2-4, watch out, I’d say the series is likely over. Possibly.

It's not over, OKC is good enough to win 2 on the road too. 3-0 definitely and even 3-1 you can start thinking about it tho

Suns went up 2-0 on the Bucks in 2021. It wouldn't be over at all given OKC's talent advantage.

Even up 2-0 I'd think the Pacers have a 60/40 chance of winning the series.

I don't back off my initial take easily, Thunder more likely to win game 2 by >20 than pacers win it.

However if the pacers won game 2 i'd seriously reconsider how i view this series. It's not impossible thunder come back but they certainly flip from favorite to underdog.

So far in these playoffs 3 times a team has been up 2-0 on the road and all 3 times they lost game 3 and bounced back and won game 4 and won the series so it would be tough odds for OKC in that scenario.

Hornet Mania wrote:Suns went up 2-0 on the Bucks in 2021. It wouldn't be over at all given OKC's talent advantage.

Even up 2-0 I'd think the Pacers have a 60/40 chance of winning the series.

Everyone knew Chris Paul was going to choke that lead away. Tyrese Haliburton is built different.

I consider the series over at 4-0.
I consider it almost definitely over at 3-0.

Everything else, we've seen with regularity. 2-0 means nothing if the losing team storms back. 3-1 leads are strong, but we've seen a ton of comebacks from that over the past 10 years.

It ain't over but she's warming up. OKC has more talent but sometimes a great team is just better.

pacers haven't dominated anything. they trailed for 99.99% of the game. they snuck up on okc in the final minutes. that won't happen again.

I don't think OKC wants to find out.

It's very difficult to come back from 0-2 , both losses at home and then have to go on the road.

If they win it with under .5 seconds to go again, no.

greekman wrote:pacers haven't dominated anything. they trailed for 99.99% of the game. they snuck up on okc in the final minutes. that won't happen again.

I think okc wins the series but people said this same thing about Bos vs NY after games 1,2, and 3. Now maybe that series ends differently if Tatum doesn't get hurt but they were about to be down 3-1 even before the Tatum injury.

It depends entirely on how it happens. (Insert proverbial Watch the games, people, here.) If it were another game where the Pacers held the lead for a grand total of less than one second, I'd likely still take Thunder in seven.

EDIT: I see a couple people have implied this already.

Nah. I actually do think the Pacers will win game 2 before OKC adjusts...but I also think they'll lose game 3 because they are worse at home, and game 4 is where we'll find out what kind of series we're in for. If OKC can't win both in Indy then I think we get repeat of the Cavs / Knicks series.

Granted I picked the Pacers before the series, so if you're higher on OKC / lower on Indy, I get why you may see things differently.

nbafan38 wrote:

greekman wrote:pacers haven't dominated anything. they trailed for 99.99% of the game. they snuck up on okc in the final minutes. that won't happen again.

I think okc wins the series but people said this same thing about Bos vs NY after games 1,2, and 3. Now maybe that series ends differently if Tatum doesn't get hurt but they were about to be down 3-1 even before the Tatum injury.

Yeah. Like us, this is just what the Pacers do. They never quit while wearing you out both physically & mentally, so that they can take over down the stretch; when their superior coaching & closer can make the biggest impact. That's why they keep coming back against teams, you have to control the pace and slow them down, or they'll just keep punking you at the ends of games. Especially if you get sloppy/nervous late.

jkvonny wrote:I don't think OKC wants to find out.

It's very difficult to come back from 0-2 , both losses at home and then have to go on the road.

Luckily for OKC, I think the pacers players feed more off the hate they get on the road than the love they get at home. So in some ways, they're one of the better teams you could drop the first two at home against, as it's very possible that they lose all 3 in Gainsbridge...but they're just as capable of winning all 4 in OKC, with Hali grinning like the biggest cheeseball, as he drains the game winner in game 7...

It'd be a tough hole to overcome, but no, it wouldn't be over.

therealbig3 wrote:No, because we’ve seen it happen where a team comes back to win despite losing the first 2 games at home, and the Thunder clearly have the talent to do it.

But if the Pacers win games 2-4, watch out, I’d say the series is likely over. Possibly.

Man, some people just refuse to give the Pacers any respect...

D.Brasco wrote:If they win it with under .5 seconds to go again, no.

If they win last second again I think its over and OKC chokes up and folds.