Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam have led the Indiana Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals. Following their 125-108 Sport 6 victory over the New York Knicks, Indiana makes their first journey to the championship sequence since Reggie Miller and firm confronted off towards the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
The Pacers discover themselves as large +500 underdogs heading into the NBA Finals. However, all will not be misplaced. Indiana will not merely go quietly into the night time. Led by the distinctive skillsets of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, this Pacers staff has the chops to take this NBA Finals to OKC, and develop into the “David” to the Thunder’s “Goliath”.
Listed below are three the reason why the Indiana Pacers will win the 2025 NBA Championship:
1. Indiana’s Offense is An Traditionally Nice Help Manufacturing unit
The Indiana Pacers are averaging an insane 28.1 assists per sport this postseason.
Solely 10 NBA groups all-time have averaged 28 assists or extra a sport in a playoff run with 10 or extra wins: the ’85 Lakers who received the title, ’82 Lakers additionally received the title, ’84 Lakers who went to Sport 7 of the NBA Finals, ’80 Lakers title, ’86 Celtics title, 1986 Houston Rockets made the Finals, ’19 Warriors fell to Toronto within the Finals, and the ’87 Lakers received the championship, as did the 2017 Warriors. The ultimate staff on the record is this 12 months’s Pacers. The widespread denominator of these groups? A high-IQ, slick passing level guard, who not often turns the ball over. Enter Haliburton, who simply put collectively essentially the most assists in a Convention Finals sequence (63) since Magic Johnson in 1991.
Gamers in NBA HISTORY to common at the least 10 assists, a number of made threes & lower than 2.0 turnovers per sport in a single playoff sequence:
Tyrese Haliburton – 2025 vs. Knicks
That’s it. pic.twitter.com/qAWGm0N9hg
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) June 1, 2025
The Sacramento Kings draft decide is a throwback level guard, within the sense that he excels at creating simple scoring probabilities for his teammates. Haliburton’s extraterrestrial basketball IQ has aided the Pacers find options to each downside to this point. The 2-time NBA all-star finds a option to break the conventions of basketball each time he steps on the courtroom, and his mend-bending playmaking retains defenders off stability. Haliburton typically baits defenders into making the fallacious transfer, earlier than discovering teammates for straightforward buckets. He is an intuitive passer, able to dissecting even essentially the most stifling defensive puzzles. The fixed stress Haliburton places on defenses permits his teammates to thrive.
However, the remainder of the Pacers can even make performs, as Indiana’s 2.21 assists to turnover ratio, and 20.3 help ratio lead the postseason. Perhaps this Indiana staff is a bit more uncommon offensively then we’re giving them credit score for.
2. The Pacers Can Flip Each Sport into A observe Meet
Indiana greatest likelihood on this sequence is to show each single sport of the NBA Finals right into a observe meet and try and outscore the Thunder. Rick Carlisle’s squad must tip their cap to Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni, as they’ve basically replicated the well-known Phoenix Suns seven seconds-or-less offense.
The Pacers are by no means going to win a straight up sequence within the half-court towards the bully ball protection of OKC. Nonetheless, if they’ll remodel each sport right into a transition based mostly contest up and down the ground, as they did at instances within the Japanese Convention Finals – Indiana has a shot.
Within the 2025 common season, Indiana averaged 17.5 quick break factors per sport. That has carried over to the postseason, the place the Pacers are operating on 18.1% of possessions, and scoring an NBA-leading 25.8 factors per sport in transition. They’ve outscored opponents by 8.5 factors per sport in transition, together with a 46-18 whole within the deciding Sport 6 towards the Knicks. Crucially, they’re taking pictures a wild 64% from the sector on the run, and drawing free throws on 16% of transition possessions, all which rank within the a hundredth(!) percentile of transition offense.
Furthermore, the Pacers personal the league’s biggest protection in transition. Indiana permits the fewest factors per sport in transition (8.9) within the playoffs, whereas surrendering simply 0.96 factors per opponent possession on the run, and might want to press that benefit at each alternative.
Indiana created simple bucket after bucket towards the Knicks in transition, typically even getting simple uncontested dunks off a made New York basket. Now, OKC has way more depth and athleticism than the Knicks. Nonetheless, few groups have tried to go toe-to-toe with the Thunder offense. Once they did, like Minnesota in Sport 3 of the Western Convention Finals, these groups had success. Indiana should proceed to lean on their transition offense within the NBA Finals and run at each alternative.
3. Indiana is Capturing the Lights Out
In 12 playoff wins, Indiana has shot 50% or higher 10 instances. Rick Carlisle’s Pacers are taking pictures the lights out with their 57.6% efficient area objective proportion, and 61.2% true-shooting proportion main the playoff area.
Should you hadn’t observed, the Pacers are making it rain from three. Indiana is pulling down 40.5% of three-point makes an attempt – main the postseason by a large margin. On the flip aspect, Oklahoma Metropolis is taking pictures simply 33.8% from past the arc. Indiana’s long-range taking pictures is their biggest hope, because the Pacers should look to capitalize from past the arc at any time when attainable, and try to show each sport right into a shootout. Plus, Rick Carlisle has finished an impressive job of scheming open appears, as his staff have knocked down an insane 46.9% of nook three-point photographs in 16 playoff video games.
Rick Carlisle is laughably good. First possession, Knicks overload the empty aspect motion to attempt to cease the short Turner PnPop once they’re operating hedge/get better. Sheppard relocates to get away from Mitch who has to scramble out.
Then the following possession, Carlisle runs identical… pic.twitter.com/Sda4Q73SOp
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) May 24, 2025
On prime of that, Indiana has additionally been the simplest mid-range taking pictures staff within the postseason, pulling down an insane 48.7% of mid-range jumpers. Haliburton is a wizard at creating open appears for his teammates, whereas Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith amongst others proceed to knock them down.
When Indiana throws the ball to a spot up shooter, they’re scoring 1.15 factors per possessions, and averaging 28.3 spot up factors per sport. To make a protracted story even longer, the Pacers are scoring on a wild 45% of spot up makes an attempt, which ranks within the 93rd percentile in NBA historical past. Not dangerous.
Moreover, Indiana has gone 7-1 SU in clutch video games (outlined because the final 5 minutes of a contest inside 5 factors), whereas taking pictures 48% from the sector and 42% from three. Thus, if Indiana’s tempo and taking pictures can preserve festivities shut heading into the ultimate minutes, with Haliburton’s clutch gene coming to the forefront – they’ve a fantastic shot at out-executing the typically slowed down Thunder offense and pulling off the victory.
The Pacers should proceed their excellent taking pictures, particularly from past the arc, to be able to win the 2025 NBA Finals.
Trending Merchandise
