NBA Finals Preview: How do Pacers Fare Against Versatile Thunder?

The 2025 NBA Finals matchup is set: The West’s No. 1 seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, will take on the East’s No. 4 seed, the Indiana Pacers.

One of the more intriguing storylines of this Finals matchup revolves around the various trades involving both teams that led to the rosters each of them has now:

• In 2017, Indiana traded Paul George to Oklahoma City for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo.
• In 2019, Oklahoma City traded George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks, and the rights to swap two first-round picks from the Los Angeles Clippers.
• In 2022, Indiana centered a trade package that sent Sabonis to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton.

As George was the centerpiece of each trade that allowed the Pacers and Thunder to acquire their superstar, this matchup may as well be known as “The Paul George Bowl”.

Now the two sides square off with the NBA Finals on the line. Oklahoma City swept Indiana in the 2024-25 regular season, winning by a combined 27 points. Let’s take a look at the tape from each of their two games.

The MVP vs Nesmith/Nembhard

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander squaring off against Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, two of the more underrated perimeter guards in the league, will certainly be a treat to watch.

Indiana has decisions to make: They can trust Nembhard and Nesmith to stay out of foul trouble while defending the MVP, making his shots difficult while the rest of the defense can stay home on perimeter snipers, or they can load up on Gilgeous-Alexander and be in defensive rotation against the sixth-most accurate three-point shooting team in the regular season.

Indiana’s defensive duo has strived in screen navigation in the postseason when having to slow down All-NBA guards Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson.

In this play from their first matchup in Indianapolis, Nembhard shoots the gap, going under the screen, and meets Gilgeous-Alexander on the other side. He initially squares up with SGA, getting in front of the ball, before Gilgeous-Alexander finds a driving angle, only to lose balance and chuck up an off-balance shot.

Isaiah Hartenstein is a fantastic screener for the Thunder offense. He flips the high ball screen at the last second to get Myles Turner leaning the wrong way and Hartenstein’s screen takes Nembhard out of the play.

Gilgeous-Alexander waltzes into the lane and finishes with the off-hand. Indiana is going to have to have insurance plans for when Nembhard and Nesmith get taken out by screens. 

Now focusing on an isolation play.

Part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s repertoire is a jab step leading to a pull-up 3-pointer.

It’s a rare signature shot that’s taken at a low and efficient volume.

SGA attacks Nembhard’s top foot to create separation with one of those signature step-backs. The league leader in drives uses a punch dribble — a hard dribble — to walk into a rhythm three-pointer.

Because of how much fear Gilgeous-Alexander creates on drives, he can get to his patten pull-up three-pointer anytime. It’ll be on Nembhard and Nesmith to handle that on their own.

Oklahoma City’s transition defense

Oklahoma City’s transition defense against the fastest team in the league is going to be tested. If they prevent a few easy transition points, that can slow the brakes on the series from becoming a track meet. 

Oklahoma City survives a transition defensive possession despite being outnumbered here. 

Haliburton makes a terrific outlet pass to Pascal Siakam at the doorstep, only for Gilgeous-Alexander to react, close in, and alter a layup. Hartenstein cleans up the miss.

In another fastbreak opportunity, Siakam receives the pass, but two orange jerseys are back, with Jalen Williams in the gaps to show another body. Lu Dort displays his ability to close ground and get a hand up on Nembhard’s corner attempt, which misses.

Thankfully for Indiana, there are four orange jerseys in the paint and Bennedict Mathurin just happens to be in the right place, right time for an offensive board.

X Coverage

In this halfcourt set, as Haliburton flows into a dribble handoff pick-and-roll, Jaylin Williams is up on the screen to keep him out of the lane.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the low man — the furthest defender away from the action. He has to tag (make contact with) Turner on the roll and force the pass elsewhere.

Oklahoma City finishes the defensive possession by completing the “X coverage.”

This coverage is when two defenders swap assignments on the perimeter. 

After Gilgeous-Alexander leaves his man to protect the rim, Kenrich Williams closes out to Gilgeous-Alexander’s man in the corner and challenges the shot to end the possession.

Williams’ closeout was so phenomenal that Gilgeous-Alexander walked halfway to Williams’ man to complete the “X coverage.”

This defensive possession utilizes X coverage and showcases Oklahoma City’s small-ball lineup of five guards who all five collectively blew up the play:

• Dort face guards Haliburton to deny him a touch.
• Kenrich Williams forces two dribble pickups on drives.
• Cason Wallace tags Turner’s roll and then shows his speed to recover back to his man and negates a three-point attempt.
• Isaiah Joe splits the distance between two shooters and  closes out to the corner.
• After Jalen Williams forces a kickout pass on the initial drive, he closes out to Joe’s original assignment and finishes the X coverage. 

The X coverage requires athletic ability to cover ground and trusting your teammates to cover your assignment when you leave to help. Look for OKC to use it heavily against Indiana’s quick-passing halfcourt sets. 

Siakam vs Oklahoma City’s versatility 

Oklahoma City’s vaulted defense presents multiple strategies that Indiana must have counters for.

Some of Oklahoma City’s most notable lineups are its small-ball ones.

Indiana flows into a Haliburton-Siakam pick-and-roll. Oklahoma City chose to trap, putting two defenders on the ball as soon as Haliburton came off the screen by the sideline.

Siakam, receiving the pass out of the double-team, short rolls, stopping at the free throw line to catch the pass.

This is where Indiana attacks the small-ball lineup. While Siakam could make the right read and hit a teammate on the weakside corner with a two-on-one advantage, he takes the chance of attacking a smaller defender, Joe.

Siakam lowers his shoulder to put Joe in the weight room and the result is one of the highest percentage shots — a layup.

Don’t forget about Chet Holmgren, who did not play in either matchup this year. 

While Holmgren’s frame looks like he needs to be in the weight room, if he is the weakside defender on this play, Siakam may be inclined to take the two-on-one advantage rather than try to finish over Holmgren’s 7-foot-6 wingspan. 

The former 2019 NBA champion also has beautiful footwork in the midrange area.

Working on Hartenstein, Siakam plants his right foot as he turns back to his left shoulder. He’s comfortable turning to either shoulder in the post.

When Siakam turns back to his left shoulder, notice the subtle ball fake he utilizes, only to quickly process that he has created more than enough space to cash in a turnaround fadeaway jumper.

Again, working on Hartenstein, (notice Hartenstein point to communicate that he’s picking Siakam) Siakam catches the ball at the nail.

With a slight footspeed disadvantage, Hartenstein gives Siakam a step before Siakam uses a jab step. He then cans the uncontested face-up jumper.

No dribbles or wasted movement. This may be a favorable matchup Indiana will want to hunt.

Haliburton Must Step Up

Now to the most “overrated” player, Haliburton.

Haliburton averaged 18.6 points in the regular season. 

An aggressive Haliburton is crucial. When he scores over 20 points, Indiana is 7-0 in the postseason. 

In the next clip, Indiana runs a staple play that every team runs: Spain Pick-and-Roll.

On this play there is an on-ball screen, followed by a back screen (typically by a shooter) on the roller’s man. 

The player who sets the back screen will pop out to the perimeter.

In this variation of Spain Pick-And-Roll, the back screen by Haliburton is just a light brush screen (minimal contact) before jumping out to the three-point line.

The initial on-ball defender, Wallace, appears to want to stay attached to Nembhard before latching off for a veer-back switch — a switch that occurs because he cannot get over a screen.

Wallace gambles on the pass and has poor foot positioning. Haliburton takes advantage of Wallace to drive into the lane and connect on a floater with on his back hip.

As the lead guard, Haliburton does all the little things. 

The number one priority in defensive transition: stop the basketball.

With a two-on-two developing in the frontcourt, Haliburton moves the ball towards the middle to bring Gilgeous-Alexander with him.

Haliburton’s eyes are always up and he sees Obi Toppin on the trail towards his side. With Gilgeous-Alexander engaged on the ball, Haliburton created a two-on-one advantage. He then flicks it to Toppin, who swings it to Nembhard for a wide-open catch-and-shoot three-pointer.

Nembhard shot 30 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the regular season. In the postseason, he’s up to 44 percent.

Talk about a playoff riser.

Now it’s time to rise on the biggest stage.

Finals prediction:

Oklahoma City in 6