How to fix the Knicks + NBA Finals preview

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily: How to Fix the Knicks + NBA Finals Preview
Release Date: June 2, 2025
Hosts: Dave DeFore, Zena Keda, Esfandiar Baraheni

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Introduction

In this episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, hosts Dave DeFore, Zena Keda, and Esfandiar Baraheni delve into the exhilarating journey of the Indiana Pacers as they clinch a spot in the NBA Finals. The discussion spans their pivotal Game 6 victory over the New York Knicks, the unexpected accolade awarded to Pascal Siakam, and a comprehensive preview of the Finals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Pacers' Route to the Finals

Dave DeFore kicks off the conversation by expressing excitement over the Pacers' achievement:

“We have made it to the finals. The Pacers and the Thunder. It's the final series that we all predicted, guys.” (02:08)

The hosts reflect on the Pacers' performance throughout the season, highlighting their strategic gameplay and resilience that propelled them to the championship stage.

Game 6 Analysis: Pacers vs. Knicks

The hosts provide a detailed breakdown of the crucial Game 6 against the Knicks, emphasizing the impact of Tyrese Halliburton's decisive bounce shot in Game 1:

“A little bit of dumb luck there, by the way, because that Tyrese Halliburton bounce shot in game one really sealed the deal for us.” (02:14)

Zena Keda notes the Pacers' ability to maintain a high tempo:

“They should be mandated to play fast for the entirety of the.” (02:50)

The discussion highlights the Knicks' struggles with fatigue and defensive lapses, which ultimately led to their downfall. The hosts commend the Pacers for their transition play and effective use of offensive rebounds:

“Pascal Siakam has been steady. And not just steady, I mean, he's been great.” (07:10)

Conference Finals MVP Debate: Siakam vs. Halliburton

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to debating who deserved the Conference Finals MVP. Esfandiar Baraheni advocates for Pascal Siakam, citing his consistent performance:

“Pascal Siakam has been steady. And not just steady, I mean, he's been great. He had a 40 point game or 39, finishes up with 31.” (07:10)

Dave DeFore acknowledges Tyrese Halliburton's pivotal role but underscores Siakam's versatility and defensive prowess:

“Pascal is what allows them to be as malleable and versatile as they are. And he uplifts them defensively to a different level.” (07:45)

The debate highlights Siakam's ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor, making a strong case for his MVP selection.

Fixing the Knicks: Coaching and Roster Moves

The conversation shifts to analyzing the Knicks' shortcomings and potential strategies for improvement. Esfandiar Baraheni emphasizes the importance of retaining Tom Thibodeau:

“You can't upgrade on Tom Thibodeau. What you need is for Tom Thibodeau to embrace his newfound discovery of depth.” (11:01)

Dave DeFore discusses the intricate balance of the Knicks' salary cap and the necessity of strategic trades to bolster their roster:

“They are in a situation where if you're trying to get depth, you're likely having to trade one or two of their core players.” (13:25)

The hosts agree on the need for better chemistry between key players Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, advocating for enhanced offensive coordination and player synergy.

NBA Finals Preview: Thunder vs. Pacers

Looking ahead to the Finals, the hosts provide an in-depth analysis of the matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Esfandiar Baraheni raises the critical question of team dynamics:

“It's going to be the series where we determine if you need a guy.” (19:39)

Dave DeFore highlights the Thunder's consistency and defensive strength:

“The Thunder are too consistent. They're a machine.” (25:05)

Conversely, Unknown Analyst points out the Pacers' adaptability and strategic depth:

“This is the NBA at the highest level there is. No, I can't point to a single weakness for either team.” (22:36)

Coaching Matchups and Strategies

The episode delves into the tactical battle between the coaches. Esfandiar Baraheni praises Mark Dagnault's current coaching prowess while acknowledging Rick Carlisle's experience:

“Think about the experience that he's got. Obviously he won a Finals, right?” (23:20)

The hosts anticipate innovative strategies and game plans, anticipating high-level basketball intelligence and adaptability from both coaching staffs.

Predictions and Picks

As the episode concludes, the hosts share their predictions for the Finals series. Dave DeFore favors the Thunder, citing their historical performance and defensive dominance:

“I think it'll be OKC in six.” (25:05)

Esfandiar Baraheni remains optimistic about the Pacers' chances, expecting a competitive and closely contested series:

“I really want to zag so bad because I could sit and talk myself into the Pacers easily.” (27:31)

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a spirited discussion on the imminent Finals, encouraging fans to engage with the content and share their predictions. The hosts underscore the anticipation surrounding the matchup, promising extensive coverage and in-depth analysis as the series unfolds.

“This is going to be a great finals stylistically, especially for me, the, you know, basketball nerd guy.” (23:25)

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Notable Quotes:

• Dave DeFore on Pacers’ Finals presence: “We have made it to the finals. The Pacers and the Thunder. It's the final series that we all predicted, guys.” (02:08)
• Esfandiar Baraheni on Siakam’s performance: “Pascal Siakam has been steady. And not just steady, I mean, he's been great.” (07:10)
• Esfandiar Baraheni on Tom Thibodeau: “You can't upgrade on Tom Thibodeau. What you need is for Tom Thibodeau to embrace his newfound discovery of depth.” (11:01)
• Dave DeFore on Thunder’s consistency: “The Thunder are too consistent. They're a machine.” (25:05)
• Esfandiar Baraheni on Finals anticipation: “This is going to be a great finals stylistically, especially for me, the, you know, basketball nerd guy.” (23:25)

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, providing insights into the Pacers' journey, the Knicks' challenges, and a thorough preview of the NBA Finals. For fans seeking an in-depth analysis without tuning into the podcast, this summary offers all the key discussions, strategic evaluations, and expert opinions presented by The Athletic NBA Daily.

Transcript

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[Esperaheny]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for June 2, 2025. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperaheny and Zena Keda. Coming up, the Pacers are going to the finals. We're going to react to their Game 6 win and the fallout from Pascal Siakam's Conference Finals MVP that he did not know existed. And we're going to look ahead to Game 1 between the Thunder and Pacers. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. We have made it to the finals. The Pacers and the Thunder. It's the final series that we all predicted, guys.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, we were kind of close. You know, we were close.

[Unknown Analyst]

We got one side of it pretty much.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, we got both sides, sure.

[Esperaheny]

Okay. Well, I'm just at the beginning of the year. We all saw the Pacers making the finals. Great run, right for the Pacers. They. They beat the Knicks in six, which all three of us predicted. A little bit of dumb luck there, by the way, because that Tyrese Halliburton bounce shot in game one really sealed the deal for us. Right. What do you guys feel about game six? You know, a little bit of a dud for the Knicks. You know, not quite the heroics that we saw in. In game five. But, you know, you guys, what do you think?

[Unknown Analyst]

I thought that the Knicks did a great job of finally trying something different at the end of this series. The last two. You saw Tom Thibodeau go into his bench. I can't say Tom Thibodeau. My gap is not letting me say that okay, in, in these last two games, you saw fibs go into his bench, use his depth to try and keep up with the pace of the Indiana Pacers, which is, it wasn't funny until like, I watched the game yesterday and I think one of the announcers said, you know the pace of the Pacers. And I was like, I just never thought about that until right now.

[Esperaheny]

But anyways, they should be mandated to play fast for the entirety of the.

[Dave DeFore]

Existing the franchise instead of yes, sirs, they should be whatever we're. We don't need to get.

[Unknown Analyst]

I'm derailing us. I'm derailing us. I'm sorry. But yeah, no, I, I was impressed. The fact that, you know, you saw Delon Wright, you saw Landry Shamma, you saw them early and you saw a lot of Mitch Robinson before you saw Josh Hart. And I was like, okay, Tibbs, you're understanding that legs can run dead towards the end of games. Here we go. Let's get some breathing room between, you know, the first quarter and the fourth quarter. But I also saw what we know to be true about the Indiana Pacers. And that is, remember last show Dave, that I was on? I was talking about the snap of how Indiana runs. That was their saving breath. Like every single time the ball went through the net or off the rim, Indiana was gone the other way. It was like the Knicks didn't have time to react and set up their half court defense. They thought they had time to jog back. And that was really, to me, the. One of the biggest difference makers. You look at Pascal Siakam, a lot of the shots and the buckets he was making wasn't in the half court. It was in transition. It was layup lines, it was off offensive boards. I mean, this is how the Pacers beat the Knicks. It wasn't in these setup situations. It was in their pace.

[Dave DeFore]

You guys, I'm sure all three of us have done this at some point in time in our lives because we've played on basketball teams. Olympic drill. You guys know the Olympic drill. That's how it feels like to play the Indiana Pacers, right? They are constantly running the Olympic Dr. Try. It's like what, three dribbles or less for them to get from one side of the court to the other. We saw that in game six. I mean, like you said Xena, blink of an eye. And they got downhill. I think like six or seven of Siakam's 10 buckets in that game were just layups or dunks in transition. That made it Easy. And most of them were off of Knicks makes, which is the very impressive part. It's like we don't, we don't care that you actually made the shot. Whatever. It's all good. We're just going to keep pushing. Yeah, it was, it was incredible. I do agree that we saw the best version of the Pacers in that second half. We also sort of saw the fatal flaw of the Knicks, which is your defense isn't good enough. Actually, I should say like this. The offense isn't good enough to compensate for the fact that you aren't the greatest defensive team. I think the synergy, and this is kind of looking forward to the summer and to the offseason and kind of what's going to happen with this Knicks team moving forward. It's like the synergy between Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson needs to be better. They went away from the Cat Brunson pick and roll a lot through the second half of the season, and they need to find a way to incorporate their other guys offensively more and to optimize themselves spacing wise. Because their, their offense between the regular season, which was a top five offense to the playoffs, I think it dropped off pretty significantly. And it was Brunson ISO. It's Cat try to get downhill and create something.

[Unknown Analyst]

It was less Mikhail Bridges, less OJ Anunnubi.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I just. That's why the Knicks lost this series. In my opinion, their, their offense couldn't uplift them to match what the Pacers were doing.

[Esperaheny]

Well, you can't keep up with what the Pacers do. When the Pacers are putting up, you know, 1.3 points per possession, you know, for extended periods, it's hard to keep up. You know, they're like an avalanche to a certain extent. And, and the other thing is, you know, the Knicks did look a little bit tired. I thought even though they had tapped into the bench, it's like a little bit too late. Right. But.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, let's talk.

[Esperaheny]

Let's. Let's finish talking Pacers, because I do want to swing back to the Knicks because, you know, big article over at the Athletic, but the Pacers Pascal Siakam wins Finals mvp. I think a lot of people assumed it would be Tyrese Halliburton. I'm not a lot of people. I assumed it would be Pascal Siakam because, you know, you've been on that train.

[Dave DeFore]

I will credit you for that. Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

But I mean, I've watched these games, you know, and it, it Halliburton has certainly hit some amazing highs in this series, but Pascal Siakam has been steady. And not just steady, I mean, he's been great. He had a 40 point game or 39, finishes up with 31. I mean, I just think that he was excellent two ways, right? Like offense and defense. Think about some of the defense that we saw him play on Carl Anthony Towns during this series. So yeah, I mean, again, the, the conference finals MVP is, is just an award created for us to have debate.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, absolutely. And it would be wrong for us to not have this debate since, you know, it's part of the job. But look, I could see the world in which, look, you say Halliburton is the engine that makes everything go for this Indiana Pacers team. Right. Without him, they are not the type of team that they are. They're not playing the pace that they're playing at, all the type of things that you could talk about for a guy that they've built around over the last couple seasons. But Siakam is what kind of allows them to one, be as malleable and versatile as they are. And he uplifts them defensively to a different level. To your point, Dave. So I could see it going either way. I'm completely fine with the fact that Pascal won Eastern Conference Finals mvp. Even he said it in his post game, he's like, man, I didn't even know this was an award. You know, like he, look, he won them game two, he won them the final game in game six. And I think it was just a testament to this being a really a one trade from the Indiana Pacers perspective to add like the cherry on top to what is a championship worthy roster.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yeah. I think when you look at Pascal Siakam and you compare him as a two man to Karl Anthony Towns, for example, look at the way in which Pascal Siakam changes the look of this Pacers team at any given point in the game versus what Karl Anthony Towns can do. Right. It's so much more rigid in terms of the creativity that you can have around a cat or a two guy like Kat versus a Pascal that doesn't need the ball in his hands. That can literally change the way that you play. Just because he runs hard, because he goes up the floor hard. You know, this is what Tibbs said, that he's a hard cover because of just how quick he is and how willing he is to be that for his team. And I think that's why a lot of folks looked at him and said, yeah, he deserves this. Yes. You can look at the stats like, he averaged more points than, you know, I think 24.8 points versus Tyrese being around in the 20, 21 area.

[Dave DeFore]

Exactly.

[Unknown Analyst]

And people, of course, think Tyrese Halberton, as you mentioned, S. He was the Galvanizer, he was the distributor. He's the one that's pushing the ball up the floor to be able to get these points for Pascal. But I also am looking at the timing in which Pascal provides what he provides. Particularly look at game six. When that game started going in the first half, in the first quarter and the Knicks started looking good, I mean, to the point that I was like, my pacers and six look shaky. Okay. It was a Pascal 3.

[Esperaheny]

That's a cooler, right? He cooled it down.

[Unknown Analyst]

Exactly.

[Esperaheny]

About him, I feel like he's always sort of been this guy. He was this guy in Toronto, right, where he's. He's the. The guy you think about second, sometimes third, but he always hits the big shot when you need it. And he. He can give you a post up when your offense is going nowhere. He can, he can spot up from three. He can shoot threes above the break off the dribble. I mean, he can just score in every single way possible.

[Unknown Analyst]

But.

[Esperaheny]

But then it gives you high level defense on the other end.

[Dave DeFore]

That's why I think to. To Zena's point, like, he's the best, maybe one of the best number twos we have. Because of how he's a number.

[Esperaheny]

He is, at least on this team. I think he's a number two.

[Unknown Analyst]

It works that he's not the first.

[Dave DeFore]

Exactly.

[Unknown Analyst]

It works that he's not the first thought because he can be that under the defense, behind the defense, forgotten, trailing behind the defense person that you're like, oh, shoot, that's Pascal Siakam coming up after, you know, to pull up three or shoot in the corner. That's why he's such a good two man. He takes advantage of the fact that he is not the first thought.

[Dave DeFore]

He's also.

[Esperaheny]

We're going to see Pascal at the 5. Oh, wait, let me save that for the. Yeah, for the finals preview. Just versatile too, right?

[Dave DeFore]

I'll just. I'll just say this now. He's also like, to your point, he's a change up for the Pacers offensive system because, yes, they can run and he can heighten that, but if things bog down, it's cool. Let's get Pascal in this match in the post. Let's get him a bucket.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, they got that Obi Top and fastball off the bench. I mean, he was electric in the.

[Dave DeFore]

Fourth quarter in the finals for a reason.

[Esperaheny]

Okay, guys, real quick, one thing, top of your head. Fix the Knicks this summer. I. I'll even go first, okay? I'm gonna go first, and you're gonna fix them by not doing something, okay? Everyone's saying you gotta move on from Tom Thibodeau. I disagree. You can't upgrade on Tom Thibodeau. What you need is for Tom Thibodeau to embrace his newfound discovery of depth. Get him better players on that bench, and let this man, I'm with you now. Does he need help with the offense? Absolutely. Get an offensive coordinator. Joe Prunty is a great offensive mind. If you're just looking for an assistant, there's a lot of people out there that know how to coach an offense. By all means, get one. But, man, Tom Thibodeau is the coach for this team. I like, he just took the Knicks to their first conference. This is the best season that they've had since 19, what, 73? Is that it? Yeah, it's before I was born.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, you could still do the 1999, 2000. You know, they made the finals, and.

[Esperaheny]

This team was better. I mean, come on. This was. This was such a great season for them. I just think that, you know, Tom Thibodeau. Do I Deserves at least another season to try to build on this, but give him a bench.

[Unknown Analyst]

Look, I feel like you're going to be different than what Dave is saying, so I'm just going to go ahead and just.

[Dave DeFore]

Yes. Piggyback.

[Unknown Analyst]

Because that's the same thing. I thought. I thought you finally saw New York wake up at the end of this series and say, oh, my God, there's more people available to us than the five that we've been running into the ground all season. And so find a way to just take this elucidation into next season and, like, let's. Let's keep it going. Next. All right, Sorry.

[Dave DeFore]

Go.

[Esperaheny]

I.

[Dave DeFore]

You know what? On the coaching front, I do agree with you guys, but I agree with you guys for a different reason. I agree in the sense that, like, okay, you let go of Tom Thibodeau, who is coming in that door, that's going to fix things.

[Esperaheny]

Who.

[Dave DeFore]

Who is out there? Like, give me a name. Give me a tangible.

[Esperaheny]

People are saying Michael Malone.

[Unknown Analyst]

Right.

[Esperaheny]

And Michael Malone is a very good coach. But, yeah, so is Tom Thibodeau. I mean, I just.

[Dave DeFore]

So is Tom Thibodeau.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, exactly. There's not much different.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, and also Malone has some of the same issues with his rigidness in terms of playing young guys and all that type of stuff. That is something that's very similar to what Tom Thibodeau does. I want to just be a nerd a little bit here for a second and say I think the cap situation for them is interesting. Yeah. Because they're in a situation where if you're trying to get depth, you're likely having to trade one or two of their core players. Maybe not the Cat and Brunson or OGs of the world, but maybe it's Josh Hart, maybe it's Mitchell Robinson, maybe it's a combination of both. Mikhail Bridges is contract extension eligible. They just traded a million because of all those picks. Right. So do they. Do they pay him the max, assuming he's just obviously how much they paid for him?

[Esperaheny]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Or do they try to move on from Bridges and try to add their depth that way? That is what's really interesting about this Knicks offseason. And also one more thing, guys. They made a Carl Anthony Towns trade two days before training camp.

[Esperaheny]

Right.

[Dave DeFore]

Like they needed, they needed a season to just figure out who they were and now they get a summer to also figure out how to optimize this thing. I think you need time in the NBA now.

[Esperaheny]

Somebody's got to figure out a way for their two best players to play together, Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns. Right now they are like, they're. They basically play individual sports on offense.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

And until those guys and we saw a little bit, I, I do think in, in game six, Brunson had some really nice passing moments in that game. A couple to Cat when Cat was cutting. So I don't know. Look, it's basketball and ultimately chemistry will win out and I think just having a season under your belt is a good thing. But yeah, they can get some more.

[Dave DeFore]

Maybe less players only meetings. You know, hopefully.

[Esperaheny]

By the way, go and read James Edwards and Fred Katz. As soon as the Knicks season was over, they had the inside exclusive on PJ Tucker hosting player only meetings and the things that pulled this team together over the course of the last few months to make it to Game 6 of the conference finals is a great read. I mean I got up and read it first thing this morning, so highly recommend that guys stick around after the break. We're going to look ahead to Thunder Pacers NBA Finals.

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[Zena Keda]

You were made to be rechargeable. We were made to package flights, hotels and hammocks for less. Expedia made to travel.

[Esperaheny]

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers are tipping off Thursday, June 5th so we got a long time without any games, which means we're gonna have wall to wall preview content. We're gonna find a way to preview the halftime entertainment. Once we get that leaked to us, you know we're gonna be all over the NBA Finals. S and I are actually gonna go to the NBA Finals. We're going to be in Oklahoma City for Game one. Xena is just far too busy with everything else. That's right, wnba. Catch her on the Valkyries broadcast with the weird green screen. I mean, it's gonna take some getting used to.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm not gonna lie though, it is. It is funny to watch the green screen.

[Unknown Analyst]

How you really feel. Tell us how you really feel, Dave.

[Esperaheny]

It's funny. It's taking some getting used to. But the second broadcast I thought was much better than the first. It was much easier on my eyes because I was kind of ready for it anyway. I digress Thunder Pacers. Guys, I just. I mean, look, we. We're gonna have time to think about this this week, but just initial thoughts on the matchup. Zena, if you want to go first. I mean, look, we've. We've watched these teams all year. The Thunder have just been ridiculous and the Pacers have really changed. Starting, I think, January 1st. You know, if I was pointing to just a date on the calendar off the top of my head.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

What's your first thought?

[Unknown Analyst]

I have so many thoughts, but the one that came. That's good. No, the first thought that comes to mind is I feel like. I feel like this is going to be the series where we determine if you need a guy. And the reason why I say that is I look at the way that the. The Pacers close out their series, and we literally just spent five minutes talking about the fact that Pascal Siakam as a number two, ended up being the MVP of their Eastern Conference finals. But look at the SPL in the voting. It was 5, 4. Tyrese Halliburton, Pascal Siakam vs. How Oklahoma City finished their series. And it was a clear, clear decision that Shea Gildas Alexander was the MVP of that conference finals. Now, I'm almost curious what's more important, having a guy like a Shay Gildas Alexander when your team's not doing well, not doing so hot, because these teams are going to be really well matched up against each other, or is it going to be more important to have guys and that you have a Tyrese and a Pascal to kind of share the burden?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Unknown Analyst]

So this is something that's going to be interesting to see how that manifests in this series, because these teams are perfectly matched to undo what the other does really well at Indiana is a team that runs. Guess who's the best at transition defense, you know, the Thunder. So it's just like there's so many different layers to it.

[Esperaheny]

Pacers don't turn it over.

[Dave DeFore]

That's my thing. Turnovers versus it's like, you know, unstoppable force versus an immovable object in the sense that one team loves to force turnovers and the other does not turn the ball over and has the least turnover prone player in the NBA and tyres Halliburton. Right. Like, that's fun. The other thing is ball pressure. We see both of these teams put tons of pressure on the ball. They're forcing you to chew a bunch of shot clocks. So it's like Andrew Nemhard and his ball pressure against, you know, SGA and Aaron Neesmith doing the same thing. Hopefully that ankle feels better in a week. And then on the other side, Lou Dort and, you know, Jalen Williams and SGA for their own in their own right. Pressuring Halle, forcing him to pick up the ball a lot. So it's. It's a really fun series because both of these teams have similar characteristics. They both like to write, they both like to pressure the ball. They both, you know, on the whole star thing, which I think is a really interesting aspect to talk about here. Like, OKC has the guy, but they also have the guys.

[Unknown Analyst]

That's the reason, part two. That's the next part about it.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, it's like they are so good because they also have the next level that they can hit. They have the depth and they have the star, which is why ultimately, like, we'll see who ends up winning the series. We'll do a prediction after.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

You have to favor the team that has won 68 games and just actually 80 games before the NBA Finals, which only four other teams have done. It's unreal.

[Esperaheny]

I'm thinking about the coaching matchup as I usually do. You've got Mark Dagnault, who right now, I mean, he. Look, if you were to take a straw poll of NBA media, for sure he's going to be one of the first five guys that comes up that gets mentioned. This guy is a great coach right now, but Rick Carlisle has been a great coach for a long time. You think about the experience that he's got. Obviously he won a Finals, right? But he won a Finals where felt like the odds were stacked against his team. You know, he found ways to win against that Miami Heat team that was loaded and was set up just to everyone assume they were going to win the title. And he figured out a way to beat them. You know, even with Dirk being sick.

[Dave DeFore]

Shout out to the zone. Shout out JJ So I am very.

[Esperaheny]

Interested to see what curveballs that we get out of the coaches. You know, this is where you throw everything you've got. This is where we, we saw the NBA breakout. A box and one to guard Steph Curry in the NBA Finals. So we're going to see the kitchen sink from the coaching staffs of both teams. And these are like incredible coaching staffs. Think about some of the end of quarter, end of game plays that we've seen out of the Pacers just in the playoffs. So I just think that what we're going to see. This is the NBA at the highest level there is. No, I can't point to a single weakness for either team that I'm like, there's a. There's no reason as a basketball fan you shouldn't watch this. You know, this isn't some fluky finals appearance for the Pacers, in my opinion. They follow up an Eastern Conference finals run with an improved roster, better health, and I mean, an excellent run to the finals where. Where they beat everyone in front of them. So, you know, there's a lot of people that don't really watch the NBA that have these preconceived notions about what it's about. Both these teams play defense. Both of them move the ball on offense. I mean, it's just. It's awesome. This is going to be a great finals stylistically, especially for me, the, you know, basketball nerd guy. All right, guys, time for our picks. The bet MGM pick of the week. Make a fast break for on court action with a WNBA odds boost token. Use your token to get a bigger payout on a winning WNBA bet. Okay, Thunder Pacers, who's winning how many games?

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, so again, the Thunder, our favorites here. And I right now think that people are discrediting the Indiana Pacers a little bit when it comes to the series. I do not think it's going to be a sweep. I actually don't even think it's going to be five games. I think it'll be okay seeing six. I think there is. Basketball gods are sort of with the Pacers here. They've pulled off some miraculous wins in these playoffs. They will get at least one miraculous win in these finals. There will be a game where OKC maybe doesn't shoot the ball that well and Indiana shoots the lights out. That's the second game. So I think OKC in six. But also, I was just going to say, you know, I don't think I'm going to lose in this series. I don't think I'm going to lose at all in this series. Either way, I'm winning, you know, I mean, on either side, really.

[Esperaheny]

It does.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm just saying, you know, there's.

[Unknown Analyst]

There's four.

[Dave DeFore]

Four, you know, Canadians. And there's an honorary Canadian in Pascal Siakam, but regardless. Yeah, four Canadians. That is tied for the most in an NBA Finals ever. Last year they did it, too. So I don't lose either way, guys. You know, I'm just saying, I do.

[Esperaheny]

Not lose the ultimate home way. The Seattle thing doesn't swing you one way or the other.

[Dave DeFore]

It doesn't? No, because there's. It's even. It's even at this point a perfect.

[Unknown Analyst]

Opportunity to plug our YouTube because if you're listening on the podcast, you're not getting the opportunity to see this incredibly well fitted Canada jacket has just pulled out of his, I don't know, like it was just sitting to the side. It's always there. It's always on the back of his chair. We don't know. It's just been there. That's great. I, I, I want, I was going to also say OKC and 6, but you know what's so funny? You did such a great job of telling me, hey, I might be underestimating the Pacers and if we don't get a first half defense like we saw the Pacers have in game six, which was questionable.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Unknown Analyst]

And also, you know, Aaron Neesmith and that injury, like he is going to be a major factor. Nah, I'm gonna go. Okay. CM5 baby.

[Dave DeFore]

I thought you were gonna do it.

[Esperaheny]

Oh, she had us in the first half.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

You know, I really wanna, I really want to zag so bad because I could sit and talk myself into the Pacers easily.

[Unknown Analyst]

I could too.

[Esperaheny]

The, the thing is I can't talk myself out of the Thunder. They're too consistent. That's a machine. I do think the Pacers are going to keep it competitive probably in every game. My, you know, I want to go at least Thunder and seven, but it's probably going to be Thunder and six. They are just, they're a juggernaut. And this Pacers team is really good. I think the, this Pacers team set up for next year pretty well. Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Oh man. I mean the east is wide open.

[Esperaheny]

It's going to be an easier path to the, to the finals potentially depending on what happens. So yeah, Thunder in six feels a little boring to go that way. But the truth is when you games getting to the finals things.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yeah, right. People can't find flaws in this team. And barring injuries knocking on wood, I don't see new ones popping up at this level in this stage. For the OKC Thunder, they feel very comfortable in, in these moments.

[Esperaheny]

This is basically figured it out.

[Dave DeFore]

This is, this is how you look at the like, I mean like the Thunder, if you're running up against them and you lose, you have to chalk it up to you went up against one of the best defensive teams of all time. You know, and you look back at that Denver series and like, oh wow. They were very, very close to being in this exact situation. Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

If you're Denver, you're, you're thinking about what? One or two pieces? Maybe we can do something. All right guys, let us know who's gonna win the finals. We've got time. We're gonna ask you this.

[Dave DeFore]

Seven.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, yeah. And of course S never loses because Canada well represented. That's gonna do it for the show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. Leave us a five star review wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe like this video, leave us a comment. For Xena, Keda and Esperahenny, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Foreign.

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[Esperaheny]

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