Category: NBA

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana secured the split it needed on the road in Oklahoma City, and now it comes home… but will that be enough? Game 2 was the kind of commanding performance we have seen from the Thunder all season long, and it's the kind of game that should put doubts in the minds of Pacers faithful.

Game 3 will be crucial, and here are four key factors to watch.

Indiana can’t dig another hole

It's the most telling statistic of these NBA Finals so far: Through two games, the Thunder have led for 91:22 minutes and the Pacers 1:53. As impressive as the Pacers ability to come from behind and win close games all postseason has been, if they are going to have a chance this series they can't keep falling behind by double-digits early then having to dig themselves out of a hole against the Thunder.

In Game 1, a 15-5 first-quarter Thunder run put them up by double digits and the Pacers spent the rest of the game playing catch-up, but because the lead never got beyond 15, they were able to, leading to Haliburton's dramatic game-winner.

In Game 2, a more focused Thunder team took charge with a 19-2 second quarter run that stretched the lead out to 23, and the Pacers never recovered.

Indiana knows it can't keep doing this. The change has to start with a more aggressive Tyrese Haliburton early, he has to be more willing to hunt his own shot.

"I think playing two games against these guys is really good. It gives me more film to watch, see where I can be better," Haliburton said. "I feel like I haven't been great by any means the first two games. I'm just trying to take what I can to prepare me for Game 3, just trying to be the best version of myself. Keep watching film, see where I can get better."

Haliburton has seen defensive pressure before; the difference with the Thunder is that they have a wealth of high-quality point-of-attack defenders.

"There are similarities," to how the Knicks tried to pressure Haliburton, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "The difference is Oklahoma has more people to throw at a great player, really at both of our All-Stars. They can throw bigger, smaller, medium guys at Tyrese, and at Pascal. It's one of their strengths."

It's one thing the Pacers have to navigate, and do so early in the game, so they aren't trying to climb out of a hole.

Pacers defense

While much of the focus out of Game 2 has been on the Pacers' offense and the need to get Haliburton going against the high-pressure Thunder defense, that wasn't Indiana's biggest problem in Game 2.

Oklahoma City put up a 126 offensive rating in Game 2 — six points better than their regular season average and 19 points better than in Game 1. The Thunder shredded the Pacers' defense on Sunday night. That started with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who actually scored four fewer points in Game 2 compared to the series opener, but was more efficient (52.4% shooting).

Oklahoma City began setting its picks out much higher on the floor, which gave SGA room to get going downhill and deal with the Pacers' more unconventional pick-and-roll coverages. Gilgeous-Alexander then put on a masterclass of getting his teammates involved with Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams having strong first halves, while Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins scored 38 of the Pacers' 46 bench points in the game.

The Pacers need to clean up their defensive end fast, because if Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder keep scoring at the rate they did in Game 2, all the other adjustments will be moot.

Time for Carlisle to shrink the rotation

Through two games, Indiana is +7 when Haliburton is on the court and -22 in the 23 minutes he has sat.

It's not just him: Indiana is +4 this series with Myles Turner on the court, and +5 with Aaron Nesmith on the court.

Depth and a Warriors-esque "strength in numbers" is part of the Pacers' identity, but to win this series, Carlisle is going to have to stick with what is working, and what's working is his core starters. Play Haliburton for more than 40 minutes and increase the minutes for Turner, Nesmith, and others. Carlisle has to lean into what is working.

Keep an eye on Haliburton

Tyrese Haliburton had a slight but noticeable limp after Game 2. By the time he was out on the Pacers' home court practicing on the eve of Game 3 there was no sign of that limp, and he played it down.

"I'm fine. Really just a lower leg thing. I'll leave it at that," Haliburton said. "I don't think there's anything more to elaborate. I feel fine and I'll be ready to go for Game 3."

It's probably nothing, but it's something to keep an eye on.

With the series tied 1-1, the NBA Finals will shift to Indiana for Game 3 on Wednesday, June 11, at 8:30 PM ET.

After the Pacers had another magical comeback in Game 1 of the Finals, the Thunder took control in Game 2. OKC took the lead late in the first quarter and never gave it back for the remainder of the game to tie the series up 1-1.

The Pacers dominated the rebounding battle in Game 1, but the Thunder were able to out-rebound Indiana 43-35 in Game 2. OKC also got a much better performance from Chet Holmgren, who scored 15 points after being held to just six points in Game 1.

Still, the focus remains on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has scored 72 points through the first two games, which is more than anyone else has scored in the first two NBA Finals games of their career. It has been an amazing start to the series for the MVP, and if he keeps it up, he’ll certainly be named Finals MVP if OKC wins the series.

As for Indiana, they did a great job cleaning up the turnovers in Game 2, but it still wasn’t pretty. They had 15 team turnovers after turning it over 25 times in Game 1. They averaged 12.2 turnovers per game during the regular season and have averaged 12.8 turnovers per game during the postseason so far.

Of course, OKC’s suffocating defense makes it difficult for every team to avoid turning the ball over.

Indiana has utilized a balanced attack on offense so far. Seven different players scored in double figures in Game 2, and six players had at least 10 points in Game 1. However, they haven’t had a 20-point scorer in either game. That could certainly change as the series heads to Indianapolis for Game 3.

How to watch Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers Game 3:

• Date: Wednesday, June 11
• Time: 8:30 PM ET
• Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
• TV Channel: ABC
  

When is Game 3 of the NBA Finals?

Wednesday, June 11, at 8:30 PM ET.

What channel is the Thunder vs Pacers game on?

The Thunder vs. Pacers series will take place on ABC.

Thunder vs. Pacers Series Scores and Schedule:

*All times listed are ET (* = if necessary)

• Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
• Game 2:Thunder 123, Pacers 107
• Game 3: Thunder at Pacers - Wed. June 11, 8:30 PM on ABC
• Game 4: Thunder at Pacers - Fri. June 13, 8:30 PM on ABC
• Game 5: Pacers at Thunder - Mon. June 16, 8:30 PM on ABC 
• Game 6: Thunder at Pacers - Thu. June 19, 8:30 PM on ABC*
• Game 7: Pacers at Thunder - Sun, June 22, 8 PM on ABC*
  

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Path to the NBA Finals:

After dominating the regular season and finishing with a league-best 68-14 record, Oklahoma City has continued to be fantastic in the postseason. They were the best defensive team in the league during the regular season, and that has held true in the playoffs, which helped them reach the Finals for the first time since 2012.

The Thunder swept the Grizzlies in the first round before being pushed to the bring in their seven-game series against the Nuggets. However, things went much smoother in the Western Conference Finals, and OKC beat the Timberwolves in a gentleman's sweep.

Indiana Pacers’ Path to the NBA Finals:

On New Year’s Day, the Pacers held a 16-18 record. It seemed like their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 had been a fluke. However, they finished the regular season with a 34-14 record and had the sixth-best net rating in the league after January 1, which helped them earn the No. 4 seed in the East.

From there, the Pacers beat the Bucks and Cavaliers in five games before going on to beat the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana had to complete multiple miraculous comebacks to make it to the Finals, and they had another in Game 1, which ended with a Tyrese Haliburton game-winner.

Victor Wembanyama is in China, and it's not all about vacation.

The San Antonio Spurs star is in the midst of what's expected to be a 10-day stay at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.

The NBA China office confirmed that Wembanyama is at the temple, and some Chinese media also confirmed his presence there with the temple itself. “Concentrate on training!” read part of a social media post on the NBA's Weibo account, which also revealed the plans for a 10-day stay.

Then again, the secret was getting out through other social media means anyway.

Some photos of Wembanyama with a shaved head - it wasn't shaved when he arrived in China - and wearing a robe similar to the other monks began widely circulating this week. One of the photos showed the 7-foot-4 center sitting on a Chinese style chair in front of multiple Buddha sculptures.

There evidently was some sightseeing going on earlier in the trip as well.

“Victor Wembanyama, live from China, on the Great Wall itself, having an amazing time. It's crazy," he said on a video posted to Instagram by the Spurs' account and others.

Wembanyama is expected back in the U.S. in the coming weeks and likely will be with the Spurs' delegation that goes to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. The Spurs, like many teams, often have many players on their NBA roster with the summer league team for various events.

The 21-year-old Frenchman led the NBA in blocked shots during the regular season, despite his season ending in February - just after his first All-Star Game appearance - because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The Spurs are hopeful that he will be able to play when next season begins, and the French national team also has expressed hope that Wembanyama will be able to play for his country at this summer's European championships.

Wembanyama was the league’s rookie of the year last season and was widely expected to be a front-runner in this season's defensive player of the year race. He attempted 403 3-pointers and blocked 176 shots this season - no player in NBA history has ever finished a season with those numbers - and he was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists when the DVT was detected.

The only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all those numbers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.

It's 2025, DeMarcus Cousins has been out of the NBA for three years, yet we're still talking about him beefing with fans.

Cousins was playing for Mets de Guaynabo in the Puerto Rican Professional Basketball League — "was" because he has been suspended from the league for the remainder of the season and fined $4,250 for a "disqualifying foul, a technical foul, and acts that incite violence or provocation," fines that could jump up to $10,000 if Cousins cannot "show cause" as to why he should not be fined more, reports, Baloncesto Superior Nacional.

Videos of the confrontations went viral. First, there was an incident with a fan courtside.

When Cousins was ejected, he went back to the locker room, and on the way, fans threw their drinks on him, which led him to try an go after those fans.

While the behavior of those fans was more aggressive than anything Cousins would have seen in his 11 NBA seasons, no league is going to let physically attacking fans go unpunished.

Cousins played in 11 NBA seasons, averaging 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, being a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player.

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana struggled to score in the first half of Game 2 against the swarming Oklahoma City defense, putting up just 41 points on 34.9% shooting, including shooting just 46.2% in the paint. The problems started with their all-everything point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, who shot just 2-of-7 through three quarters, with not one of those attempts coming in the paint.

That's happened to the Pacers a handful of times this season and in the playoffs — most notably Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, when he had 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting for the game. In the face of intense defensive pressure, Haliburton defers to teammates — if the defense is loading up on him, someone else has to be open. His instinct is to find that open man.

As fans, we have been conditioned to expect our stars to attack in the face of that pressure — people want Haliburton to go Kobe and start shooting over triple-teams. People want him to be like Mike. Be selfish and pull his team up with him.

That's not how Haliburton is wired. That's not the Pacers' formula.

That's Indiana's dilemma for Game 3 and the rest of the series: The Pacers need more Haliburton, but it can't be just scoring. He's not going to go out and jack up 25 shots Wednesday night in Game 3 — he hasn't taken more than 23 in any game this season. Indiana thrives when Haliburton is setting the table and everyone is eating, but he's got to eat more, too.

Thunder pressure defense

Haliburton's challenge starts with the problem 28 other teams have faced this season: Oklahoma City's physical, high-pressure defense.

"They got more guys than most teams in the NBA that are high level at the point of attack," Haliburton said. "They're really connected on the defensive end. I feel like they mix up coverages. I think coach [Mark] Daigneault isn't afraid to do things on the fly. He doesn't do everything that's like very traditional…

"I think the biggest thing is just personnel. Their personnel is different than everywhere else."

"We've got guys that are hard to screen either because of strength or quickness or both," Daigneault said. "[Lu] Dort comes to mind. [Alex] Caruso comes to mind. [Jalen Williams] comes to mind. Cason Wallace, for sure. They're good pursue guys. Having guys at the rim is helpful [Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein]. You can't spring downhill and assume there's something good there for you. Hopefully, the help is deterring that to a degree."

Haliburton and other Pacers mentioned leaning into watching the film of Game 2 (and the first half of Game 1), seeing what didn't work, and what worked better in the fourth quarter of Game 2 (when Haliburton scored 12 points and looked more like himself, but it was too little to late). "The answers always lie in the film," Haliburton said.

Pacers mixing it up

When discussing the Thunder defense, Haliburton employed phrasing typically reserved for describing how to slow down an elite offensive player.

"You can't give these guys the same dosage, the same look of anything," Haliburton said. "If you try to run high pick-and-roll all game, they just crawl into you, really pack the paint, nothing is open. There's got to be a mix of things. Got to be off the ball, playing off the pitch, coming off ball screens. You can't run the same thing consistently against these guys. You got to mix it up.

"We got to do a much better job of that. I feel like I probably got caught in too many high pick-and-rolls where they can really pack it in and end up getting shots late against the clock, especially the first half of both games."

To a man, the Pacers talked about getting the ball into the paint more and working inside-out to get their attempts, as they have done all season. It also could mean a little more Pascal Siakam with the ball in his hands for the Pacers.

"[Siakam is] one of the few guys on their team that really looks for isolation to score. A lot of other guys, it's through the flow of their offense and pace," Caruso said.

Whatever the Pacers do to adjust, it won't change how the Thunder want to play.

"My approach will be the same. Our approach will be the same," Dort said.

Indiana is going to come out at home Wednesday night in a critical Game 3 (with the series tied 1-1) and throw its best punch — and that punch has to have Haliburton shooting more.

Just not too much.

Kirk Cousins is now prepared to stick with the Falcons.

Cousins spoke to reporters after Atlanta's minicamp practice on Tuesday, saying that he's going to support second-year QB Michael Penix however he can.

"Obviously, you would love to play," Cousins said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. "But I am not going to dwell on things that are not reality. That's not the situation I am in. So, it's better spent to be focused on the situation I am in, controlling what you can control. I think that is the right mindset to have.”

While Cousins confirmed that he and the team had conversations about trading him. But at this point, those talks are over.

“We are moving forward now,” Cousins said.

And what’s Cousins’ ideal situation for 2025?

"Right now it's being in the situation I am in and being the best I can. And hopefully in February, we — as an organization — are holding up the Lombardi Trophy," Cousins said. "And how we do that is more important as a team that we do that, some way, some how. That's where the focus has to be: That we as an organization win a championship and each one of us individually has to do our part in that to get there.”

Having signed a four-year deal with the Falcons last year, Cousins is set to make $27.5 million in base salary in 2025. Unless there’s an injury or an unexpected change elsewhere, Cousins will earn that with Atlanta.

The Atlanta Hawks have always chosen Trae Young. They chose him the night he was drafted, trading Luka Doncic for him. They chose him again as recently as last summer, when Atlanta traded Dejonte Murray to New Orleans and kept Young as the core of its backcourt.

This summer, that could change.

New Hawks new general manager Onsi Saleh — as well as the just-added Bryson Graham (senior vice president of basketball operations) and Peter Dinwiddie (senior vice president of strategy and analytics) — have a decision to make about Young, and by extension the future direction of the Hawks.

Young is eligible for a four-year, $228.6 million max extension this offseason. Do the Hawks pay that, do they try to get Young to re-sign for a smaller amount, or do they look to trade him and retool the roster around their younger stars Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher? The Hawks also could push this decision back, those extension decisions available this summer will still be available all season and up through June 30 of 2026 (the risk by next summer is Young declining his player option and becoming a free agent, potentially leaving for nothing).

Young said during the season what he wants is to win.

“I wanna win… if that’s in Atlanta, that’s where I wanna be," Young said.

Young was an All-Star last season averaging 24.2 points and a league-best 11.6 assists a game while shooting 34% from beyond the arc, but also had a league-high 355 turnovers (4.7 a game), and he is a minus defender targeted by other teams. He is viewed around the league as a good player, but one who puts a ceiling on how good your team can be. However last season we started to see Young evolve his game some, he tried harder on defense, and he worked a little more off ball, positive steps we could see grow.

No max, but also no trade?

First, it's nearly impossible to envision the Hawks re-signing Young for the maximum. This is a team that, if it re-signs players such as Clint Capela and Caris LeVert, would be flirting with the luxury tax, something ownership is highly unlikely to want to pay for a 40-42 team that didn't advance past the play-in. Max out Young and that new management is going to limit its roster-building options in future years because they will be flirting with the tax.

As for trading Young, while those rumors are popular on NBA Twitter, they go nowhere with NBA front offices. Fans tried to link him to San Antonio for a long time, but the Spurs traded for DeAaron Fox (and are about to draft Dylan Harper at No. 2). Zach Lowe said it best on his Ringer podcast.

"I don't think there's a great market for him. So I don't think there's a trade out there that completely just reorients the franchise in a positive way."

That leaves two options. The first is to get Young to sign a more team-friendly contract. ESPN’s Bobby Marks threw out a three-year, $120 million extension, which feels about right. That's a $40 million per season contract ($17 million a year less than the maximum) and a shorter term, which has Young back on the market at age 29. It's also a more tradable contract in a year if the Hawks (or Young) want to go that route.

The other option is to postpone any decision and see how this season plays out, then make a call. If Johnson remains healthy throughout the season and the Hawks add depth through the draft and with the mid-level exception, this could be a team pushing for a top-six seed. After that, both sides might be more interested in a below-max contract extension (and if things go poorly, the ability to part ways is easier).

It's Saleh and the new front office's first major decision, and it will give us a good idea of the direction they plan to take the team in the coming years.