2025 NBA FINALS: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 1-0)

[durden_tyler]

The question really is if the Pacers can cover the +2.5 (games) spread. A very tasty proposition if you're backing the Pacers since all you need is for the series to reach six games but even then that's a toss-up. Poor Indiana, i really want this series to be close.

[boogiezen]

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Social media is not real life.

[Primedeion]

This 2025 pacers team reminds me of the 2008 pau gasol Lakers. A second half season team which peaked after January, and then destroyed teams with overwhelming offensive talent. Up until the finals there was no team who could slow them down. Then they ran into an absolute juggernaut 67 historic defensive team in the Celtics and their offense completely fell apart in the finals. Pacers will win a game or maybe two but this won’t be close.

Pau Gasol's Lakers? What the hec is this crap.

Also this Pacers team is absolutely nothing like the Pau and KOBE Lakers. No idea where that is coming from. Like what? Boston isn't anything like OKC either. Random AF.

The Kobe Lakers weren't doing too hot in the playoffs til Pau got there tbh...
05 - Missed playoffs entirely
06 - Bounced in first round
07 - Bounced in first round

After Pau got there, they went 22-5 in games he played (81.4%)

They were 30-16 with a 5+ SRS and the #3 seed before Pau got there. And that's with his #2 missing a bunch of games.

Also, Pau missed the PS in four seasons with Memphis and was swept in all the playoffs he did make.

Nice try tho.

[irfunk_]

This is going to be brutal. Thunder in 5. Even though I don't think Pacers is a team can lose that easly the series OKC is just the perfect counter for their way of play. I sadly don't see them to win just one game thanks to a good shooting night.

Thunder's matchup with Nuggets made them a championship team. Mentally and on the court they are ready to do what it takes to become a champion.
I don't think Pacers got tested like that.

[bisme37]

Numerous Finals debuts are in store as only four players in the series – three for Indy and one for OKC – have played in the Finals, with a combined 18 games of experience

The combined average age of 26.3 between the Thunder (25.6) and Pacers (27.1) makes this the 2nd youngest Finals since 1954-55, trailing only the 1977 Finals between the Trail Blazers (25.03) and the 76ers (26.2)

(From NBA.com)

[bisme37]

[bbms]

i agree with some of the guys (like nash and lebron, check today's mind the game) that have been preaching about thunder and the pacers being a gaze into the future of the nba.

okc plays a totally different brand of defense of almost everyone else and is probably superior by tactical and schematic design, it'll be copied by the teams with speed to do so. same applies for the pacers, but on the offensive end.

i think okc is favored and it's not even close because of personnel superiority (bigger, faster, stronger, higher iq on a game that's supposed to be defined by being big, fast, strong and high iq), but from a tactical level, the pacers are the real deal on offense, and i hope as a thunder fan that my team takes a lot from them.

this is a lot like that peyton manning's broncos x legion of boom seahawks super bowl imo. i hope the result is the same.

[Patches Perry]

Happy game 1 eve everyone

[bbms]

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this probably hurts the annoying trolls that have pushed those outrageous narratives about sga and the thunder mor than their teams missing the finals.

i love it, even if i don't give a damn about who's "face of the nba". let those idiots suffer.

[Iwasawitness]

i agree with some of the guys (like nash and lebron, check today's mind the game) that have been preaching about thunder and the pacers being a gaze into the future of the nba.

okc plays a totally different brand of defense of almost everyone else and is probably superior by tactical and schematic design, it'll be copied by the teams with speed to do so. same applies for the pacers, but on the offensive end.

i think okc is favored and it's not even close because of personnel superiority (bigger, faster, stronger, higher iq on a game that's supposed to be defined by being big, fast, strong and high iq), but from a tactical level, the pacers are the real deal on offense, and i hope as a thunder fan that my team takes a lot from them.

this is a lot like that peyton manning's broncos x legion of boom seahawks super bowl imo. i hope the result is the same.

Not really sure I'd call the thunder bigger faster and stronger...

[durden_tyler]

i believe line opened at Pacers +8.5 and now up to +9.5. Let’s see if the public continue backing the Thunder— could be good news for Indiana


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[NyKnicks1714]

Whoever created this graphic had to have done it with the goal of making people think this is a near-even matchup.

[sikma42]

I don't know if the refs will allow Dort to bully Halliburton. He's really skinny and usually they want you just bump those guys off their spots.

Would also watch out for Chet and a to a lesser extent Jalen Williams. Both have been shaky at times in big spots. If the pressure ramps up, Im curious to see how they both respond. So far its been fine, but there have been moments when it was shaky.

[Clav]

I want to leave a song here for both fan bases...

https://open.spotify.com/track/6Va6xYjGNwbZs6tRE3cCYI?si=uzBNYDGYQyK99bOrt-E6Bg


This is the moment - son mieux


Key lyric-

Right here
Right now
This is the moment
This is the moment

It's only a matter of time
Just a matter of days
So for tonight
This is the moment

[bbms]

I don't know if the refs will allow Dort to bully Halliburton. He's really skinny and usually they want you just bump those guys off their spots.

Would also watch out for Chet and a to a lesser extent Jalen Williams. Both have been shaky at times in big spots. If the pressure ramps up, Im curious to see how they both respond. So far its been fine, but there have been moments when it was shaky.

good question

in the regular season the thunder held haliburton to his lowest usage of all matchups all season. 4 points, 8 assists, 1 to in 6 fga on a loss in december 26th (4th quarter comeback). 18 points, 3 assists, 0 to in 12 fga on a loss in march 29th (blowout). no chet both games, dort on haliburton both games.

completely blanketed in my opinion.

we could see some tweaks in refereeing to allow haliburton to play more freely.

[Tomhomes33]

I heard rumours Shai will miss first two games due to nasty viral infection??

[MrSparkle]

I think OKC in 5.

Caruso, Cason, Jaylin, Dort… lot of options to throw at Haliburton. He’s their engine; can’t see Indiana scoring as much as usual against the #1 defense. Pacers are a great team with lots of 3P shooters, but Thunder have zero defensive sieves.

Indy has the rim protection, but their perimeter defense is not nearly as disruptive. Seeing how OKC carved up the MIN defense, it’s all gonna come down to how hot Indiana will shoot the ball.

[DonaldSanders]

I heard rumours Shai will miss first two games due to nasty viral infection??

Get off twitter Grandpa

[dakomish23]

I’m so excited for this series to get underway. Most NBA media is already writing the obituary for IND. I don’t think it’s going to be as lopsided as these folks think

[Marvin Martian]

I’m so excited for this series to get underway. Most NBA media is already writing the obituary for IND. I don’t think it’s going to be as lopsided as these folks think

If it isn't then the OKC coach needs to be fired ASAP. An average coach would wrap this up in 5 at worst