
Loading summary
Ryan Seacrest
This is an iHeart podcast.
Colin Cowherd
AI is redefining what's possible for your business. With more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further and faster by unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenges come next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers okay.
Zoe Saldana
Have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. Their fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back, and Degree listened. That doesn't happen often. They admitted that they effed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one men's antiperspirant and is back in Walmart, Target and other stores for under $4. So try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local stores to try the OG Cool Rush for yourself.
Ryan Seacrest
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report hi, it's Colin.
Jason
From the Colin Coward podcast. I've been around long enough to know quality when I see it. Or in this case, when I taste it. Tito's Handmade Vodka. Good stuff. No flash, no gimmick. Smooth, clean tasting. Made the right way. Tito's made in Austin, Texas. Real attention to detail. I like to keep it simple. Tito's Soda one lime, lot of ice. Refreshing, easy. Summer, winter, spring. Totally versatile. Always works. Listen. Baseball season's here. The perfect time to kick back with some Tito's. It's what I pour. You should too. Distilled and bottled by 5th Generation Inc. Austin, Texas 40% alcohol by volume. Savor responsibly the volume.
Colin Cowherd
The NBA Finals are here. This is your last chance to bet on the NBA until next season. And DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA, is pulling out all the stops to make this a finals to remember. One team will be crowned champ and the other will be lost to history who you got winning it all. Put your hoops expertise to the test. All season long, DraftKings has been the go to spot for NBA player props and that doesn't stop now. Who's going to carry their team to the chip? Try placing a bet on your personal MVP to drop 30, 40 or maybe even over 50. Ready to place your own bet? Download the DraftKings sportsbook app, lock in your bets and finish the season as a winner. Here's something special for first timers. New DraftKings customers bet $5 to get $300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, don't miss your last chance to bet on the NBA this season. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code HOOPS. That's H O O P S. That's code hoops for new customers to get $300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins when you bet five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling Problem Call 1-800-Gambler in New York, call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY to 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Minimum minus 500 odds. Required bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng co Audio.
Zoe Saldana
Foreign.
Colin Cowherd
Welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the volume. Happy Friday everybody. Hope all you guys are having a great end to your week. Well this morning I woke up and I re watched game six of the finals and I looked at it through the lens of what from this game is translatable forward to Game seven. Is there anything from this that we can take in terms of giving Indiana a better chance to win on the road? I talked about after the Pacers lost Game 2 in Oklahoma City, I talked about how Oklahoma City can hit a point in terms of leveraging their athleticism that makes me feel like Indiana might not be able to win in Oklahoma City if they needed to to get a game there. And so at that point in the series after Game two, I had talked about how I thought Indiana needed to win all three of their home games if they were going to win the finals. But alas, that's not what happened. They lost Game four, obviously with what happened down the stretch in that game. And so now Indiana needs to win another game in Oklahoma City. So now they're staring down the barrel of a Game seven on the road. And so I want to look into some of the stuff that I noticed on film from last night's game and to see if any of that translates forward to a Game 7. We're going to talk about one specific adjustment that Indiana made in the game. They didn't really change really their coverages, but they changed their pickup points. So we're going to dive into that concept a little bit. Just like what it does to these coverages, what it took away, what it did change, what it didn't change, what Has Oklahoma City seen this before? Has Oklahoma City had success against this before? I really want to dive into that topic and then just some of the key swing factors as we head into a Game seven on Sunday. You guys know the drill before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at_jason lt so you guys don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and a review on that front. Jackson's doing great work on our social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us there. And last but not least, keep dropping mailbag questions in those YouTube comments so we can get to them in our mailbags. Next one will be on Sunday after the final buzzer of Game seven. All right, let's talk some basketball. So there's a hot button NBA buzzword every playoff run, and it's usually attached to a specific basketball dynamic that is prevalent in that playoff run. So for instance, last year we had lots of talk about point of attack defense, right? Because there's so much of a narrative surrounding Luca and the Dallas Mavericks and like his point of attack defense was a story from the Clippers series all the way through to the Finals, right? We also had a similar dynamic with the Wolves and what they were able to do to the Suns and Nuggets on both ends of the floor, really strangling and containing the ball on one end and then having the ability to penetrate the defense easily on the other end of the floor. In 2021 and 2022, we talked a ton about drop coverage, right? Because that was one of the most common coverages we saw in the league at that point in time. And there were teams that were starting to have success against it, right? And in 2021, we talked about Trey Young and the damage he did to the Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, right? In 2022, Steph Curry against Boston's drop coverage and the dynamic at play. Emea Udoka talking about how he wanted to run drop coverage to try to prevent the warriors from getting into their easy four on threes where the ball's popping around. They wanted to force Steph to take contested pull up threes, and guess what? He took them and he made them. Right? But that was kind of the hot button issue in that couple of seasons. And this year, it's the pickup point. And once again, it's tied to the teams that are playing. And again, all the pickup point means and all these are just fancy words that mean basic things. Point of attack defense is literally just one on one defense, right? It's just containing the ball at the beginning of possessions, right? The idea of a pickup point is just where are you guarding the ball? Are you guarding the ball like right when it's inbounded? Are you guarding the ball at half court? Are you guarding the ball at the three point line? Where are you deciding to offer resistance to the guy holding the basketball? And the reason why it's been such a hot button issue in this postseason run is the Thunder and Pacers are two really good ball pressure teams, right? And the Thunder in particular have faced two very different pickup points throughout this postseason run. Like stuff like the Nugget series where teams are sagging back and trying to. Or where the Nuggets are sagging back and trying to contain the ball in front. Then to the Wolves series, and for much of this Pacers series where there's a lot of full court pressure and it's a very, very different dynamic for the ball handler, right? Well, we did get a slight adjustment from the Indiana Pacers last night. Right out the gates, they changed their pickup point for both Shay and J Dub. Basically right at half court. Like you could see Nemhard for Shea or Niecemith for J Dub, literally waiting like toes just beyond the half court, just behind the half court line, just waiting for the guy to come at them. And that kind of moved back and forth. There were portions of the game where they were still up at half court. There are portions of the game where they were a little further back, like in that. Like just outside the. Above the break line, like 25, 30ft from the basket. But it was a change from the earlier portions of the series where they were picking up full court and trying to deny the basketball more on inbounds and things along those lines. Now, it's important to mention this did not change the coverages that Indiana was using against action. So in ball screens, they were still chasing over the top with ball pressure, they were still meeting the ball handler up at the level with their bigs, they were still hedging and recovering hard with Tyrese Halliburton, and they were using Tyrese Halliburton to rotate the chat when he would pop out of ball screens. Many of the same dynamics that we've seen throughout this series, right? And all of that is still the same for Oklahoma City's ball handlers in terms of making reads out of that action. We're going to talk about that a little bit later in the show today. But in terms of process for Oklahoma City, it's still more or less the same. The, the main thing that that did accomplish for Indiana is it neutralized one of the specific actions that Oklahoma City has torched Indiana with all series. And that's the extended ball screens. When they were attacking Indiana's ball pressure, they were bringing Hartenstein and Chet out to screen, sometimes past half court, sometimes just inside a half court. But all of these ball screens were really far extended. And so Carlisle had Turner and Thomas Bryan and going all the way up to the level. Tony Bradley coming all the way out to the level 50, 60ft from the basket sometimes. And Shea or Jdub was able to pretty easily get around that guy. And they gave up a lot of layups and fouls and things along those lines because of that extended ball screen coverage. Now in this coverage where you're sitting further back on the ball, there were no examples of Turner or Bradley needing to come out that far. Now they're never having to come out further than 25, 30ft from the basket. That's just a little bit more achievable for them. Now again, it's still the same dynamic. There were still plays in this game where Shea was able to beat Turner at the level and get into the teeth of the defense and generate advantages. But Turner did log some of his best at the level reps of this series because there were some real like relatively normal looking ball screens. I talked about this after game five, but if you guys remember, I don't have a problem with the at the level coverage. I have a problem with running the bigs up to the level when it's at half court. At the level at the three point line is a lot more achievable in terms of preventing Shea from getting ahead of steam when he's coming over the top of the ball screen out at half court because he's beating ball pressure. There's just such a Runway for him to get going and it's just really difficult. But if you're not picking up Shay until, you know, 30 to 25ft from the basket and here comes the ball screen and he's chasing over the top. Shea doesn't have a running start and so it just gives Turner a little bit better chance of staying in front. And he did have some of his best at the level reps of this series. But to me, the biggest impact by far was just the change. This is not some foreign coverage that Oklahoma City's ball handlers haven't seen before. This is more or less what Denver did, and it's something we've seen a little bit in the Minnesota series towards the end and now a little bit at the end of the finals. But for the most part in this series and in the Minnesota series, they haven't seen this coverage. So it's just a little bit different. And it served as a catalyst for triggering some of the variants that they needed to pull off this Game six win. But as we've talked about extensively on the show, the Thunder have solved these puzzles in this postseason every time they've absolutely needed to. So for instance, I talked about how in the aggregate before before last night that Denver actually logged the best defensive rating of any team versus Oklahoma City. It has a lot to do with the coverage. We'll talk about that in a minute. But in Game five and in Game seven, the two final games that Oklahoma City absolutely needed to win, with the Nuggets running a similar lower pickup point, The Thunder logged two games in game five and in game seven of half court offensive ratings over 105, which is really good. They've gone over 105 in the half court just once in this series, even with the extended ball pressure. So even though in the aggregate Denver did a good job guarding Oklahoma City in the two biggest games of the series. Pivotal game Series tied to two, Game five Series tied to three, Game seven They were able to score against Denver's scheme at a very efficient level in the half court that, as I mentioned before, the actual coverages in action are still more or less the same. It's still similar reads as a similar decision making process.
Jason
Blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world of sports, Vice Sports brings an exciting and diverse range of programming that goes beyond the game. From action packed live events to gripping behind the scenes documentaries to hard hitting investigative pieces and in depth profiles of athletes, coaches, teams, Vice Sports captures the raw energy, drama and passion that makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive sports programs Only on Vice TV. Go to Vicetv.com to find your cable channel.
Colin Cowherd
Hi Zoe Saldana welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.
Ryan Reynolds
Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
Colin Cowherd
You don't need a trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro.
Ryan Seacrest
Plus we'll help you pay off your.
Colin Cowherd
Old Phone up to 800 bucks and.
Ryan Seacrest
You still get to keep it.
Ryan Reynolds
There's always a trade in.
Colin Cowherd
Not right now.
Ryan Reynolds
AT T Mobile I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma. That's okay, I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
Colin Cowherd
I'm good.
Ryan Reynolds
Seriously, Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
Colin Cowherd
Really, I'm fine.
Ryan Reynolds
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
Jason
It's our best iPhone offer ever.
Colin Cowherd
Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line 100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement 999.99 and qualifying ported for well qualified plus tax and 10 connection charge. Pay off via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits and imbalance due if you pay off earlier.
Ryan Seacrest
Cancel CT mobile.com hey it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Celsius energy drinks, Quaker chewy bars and sparkling ice flavored water. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event Long Savings Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery so subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
Jason
Did you know your credit card points and miles lose value while they collect dust. Imagine a credit card with rewards that can grow in value. Introducing the Gemini Credit Card. With a Gemini Credit card you can Earn Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos instantly with no annual fee. Every swipe at the store gas pump earned you Instant Rewards deposited straight into your account. Plus sign up now for a $200 bitcoin bonus. To kickstart your rewards, go to gemini.comcard that's gemini.com card to learn more and start earning today. Terms apply again. Visit gemini.com card now. Terms apply the Gemini Credit Card issued by Web bank in order to Qualify for the intro $200 crypto bonus, your application must be approved by June 30, 2025 and spend 3,000 in your first 90 days. Terms apply. Some exclusions apply to Instant Rewards, in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts this content is not investment advice and trading. Crypto involves risk. For more details on the rates, fees and other Gemini credit card terms, see Rates and Fees.
Colin Cowherd
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a.
Ryan Seacrest
Thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium wireless everybody.
Colin Cowherd
Get 30, 30 better get 30, better.
Ryan Seacrest
Get 20, 2020 better get 20, 20 better get 15, 15, 15 15. Just 15 bucks a month.
Zoe Saldana
Sold.
Colin Cowherd
Give it a try@mintmobile.com upfront payment of.
Ryan Reynolds
$45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slower after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra cmobile.com if.
Colin Cowherd
Anything, if there was a key mistake that Shai made last night, he got baited by the lack of ball pressure into some mediocre isos. He logged 10 isos in last night's game. That was his second highest total of the series behind, you guessed it, Game four, when I thought he was pretty bad by his standards. And so when Shay gets baited into those ISOs and takes a bunch of those mediocre shots, it does disrupt Oklahoma City's flow. So I'm sure that'll be a particular sticking point for Mark Dagnal in the film room. We got to run action against this defensive look. You could literally see it like the Pacers guys would be sitting back and kind of like a passive look. But then here would come the ball screen and when the ball screen would come, Ben Shepard or Andrew Nemhardt, whoever it was, would all of a sudden jump up, pressure the ball and fight over the top of the screen, which is more or less the same dynamic that they've been seeing throughout the series. And so all of a sudden the same openings are there, right? Like if Turner's at the level, Shay can still try to beat him with his speed and get into the teeth of the defense. Chet is still wide open when he's popping out of those ball screens. They're defending at three on two by having Tyrese Halliburton rotate off of Dortmund two, Chet popping above the break. That's a three on two, meaning you can get the defense in rotation if you make simple reads and make good decisions out of it. The openings are still there. Even on the isos when Shay's driving, they're still helping hard and that kick to the opposite wing is still open every single time. When Shea is posting up on the block, he's still drawing a double team from the guy who's making the post entry. They're doubling from the top side. Shea had examples last night where he passed out of it well and they got decent looks. He had other possessions last night where he turned the ball over against that double team. So like the openings are still there. It's still a similar decision making process to what Oklahoma City has seen throughout this postseason. But that shift, that abrupt change after doing something different for most of the series, served to shake Oklahoma City's foundation enough for Indiana to get a big win. Now for the record, from the Pacers perspective, I do think this is the appropriate game plan. As I said before last night, Denver did actually have the best defensive rating against Oklahoma City of any playoff team. This is despite Denver being a piss poor defense for most of the year. Contain the ball, force Oklahoma City to process with their brains and to make the kickouts and for guys to knock down semi contested catch and shoot threes. But again as I said last night, there is no magic adjustment at this point in the playoff series. It's all about execution. I have seen Indiana beat Oklahoma City twice in this series with full court ball pressure and I've seen Oklahoma City beat Denver and Minnesota in multiple important late series games against a passive contain the ball approach. None of the game plan stuff matters if it's not executed properly. So that containment of the ball issue will be the primary swing factor in game seven for both teams focusing in on the on Indiana. They need to keep Shea and J Dub in front now again in their more aggressive looks. They did it with hard help on the back line, forcing Shay to make kickouts in this more contain the ball approach. It's more about like kind of digging down and like stunting and recovering in the off ball guys and and for the on ball guy anticipating movement and beating the player to the spot and absorbing contact with his chest right it looks a little different in this coverage, but it's still the same kind of idea. If they can keep the ball in front, they can make Shay and J Dub make kickouts, and they can force role players to make shots. I do think that approach gives Indiana their best chance, but on the other side of the floor, they. There's a similar containment issue in the sense that if Oklahoma City prevents Indiana from getting out in transition, keeps the ball in front, forces them to do all that weird dribble, handoff, interchange stuff at the top of the key where no one's actually turning the corner, they will force turnovers, they will get out and transition, and then Oklahoma City doesn't have to solve your coverage because they're living in transition where they can do a ton of damage. I think this coverage gives Indy their best chance, but it's still about execution, and ultimately, they'll need to pass that test. The. The final test that no team has been able to pass in this postseason run, which is when Oklahoma City's back is against the wall and all. All of it's on the line and all the pressure is there. Oklahoma City tightens the screws with their defense, and Indiana is going to have to not turn the ball over, and Indiana is going to have to get the ball into their flow and try to generate quality shots. That's going to be the big swing in Game 7. Now, a couple of other takeaways from the film session this morning before we get out of here. I thought Tyrese was incredible all night in his help and recover situations. You know, we're going to talk a little bit about release speed when we get to Chet Holmgren, but Lou Dort has a similar issue where, like, his release is a little bit loaded up and it takes a second for him to get it off. And now he makes up for that by kind of leaning back and shooting a moon ball. So it kind of makes up for some of that lack of release speed. But Tyrese Halliburton is so fast that he in his ability to kind of shade off of Dort and towards the ball. Whether it's like double teaming in action, like he would throw double teams at Shea post ups, or he'd come in the lane and put his body in front in a drive, or he'd rotate to the popping big or whatever it is, he's able to get out to door relatively quickly and get a good contest. And so Tyrese has found a defensive role in this series that has been very impactful, which is his ability to get off of Dort and to get back to Dort and basically function as a disruptor off the ball, Chet Holmgren needs to quicken his release. He got nearly blocked by Tony Bradley on 13 and then did get blocked by Miles Turner on another three. And on both plays he looked open. And what's happening is he's really got this slow load up and he already shoots the ball pretty much right in front of his face. And. And he shoots it without a ton of arc. And so it's an easy shot to contest under any circumstances. That's not a problem. Steph shoots the ball from down in front of his face. But Steph has the quickest release in the sport. And so the idea there is Chet, when we get into the summertime, needs to have a little bit more of a focus in terms of streamlining his release. He's got to get that thing off quickly because even if he is knocking down threes, it's not going to be effective if teams are able to get good closeouts on him because his release is too slow. Pascal Siakam's individual defense on Shea, he got Shea a bunch in transition cross matches and then in switches where he was applying like kind of a soft switch approach, meaning he'd meet Shea on the other side of the screen and kind of sit further back, which I think is smart because again, like as we talked about early in the series, Toppin and Siakam have both given up splits when they've been really aggressive in their switches when they come out too far to the perimeter. But I thought last night Siakam was excellent on Shay, sliding his feet, keeping his hands out and not fouling and getting great contests on Shay's over the top shot making. And then lastly, I thought the double teams of Shays back shoulder, especially when he's driving against an engaged defender. So like again, we talked about this last night, but like if a guy cleanly beats his man off the dribble and he's just screaming downhill, he's unguarded and he's surveying the floor and he's going to be able to make decisions relatively easily. But if you stay relatively attached, meaning Shay's driving but you're on his hip and got your arms out, he's engaged with the defender, it's a little bit harder for him to see what's happening around him. And Indiana had a lot of success last night doubling the ball behind him when he would get on those drives. And so on the one hand for Shea, he's got to anticipate that sort of thing and take advantage of those kickouts. Again. The kickouts to the opposite wing on his drive is open every single time. And then on the Pacers front, it's something to explore in Game seven is another opportunity to try to force turnovers and get out in transition. So yeah, that's my takeaway after rewatching the game. I think the pickup point change is certainly Indiana's best chance, but it doesn't really change too much about the dynamic in Game seven. It's still going to be the same concepts on both ends of the floor that are going to dictate win or loss for these two teams. The bit the final test, the final boss in the video game for Indiana is Oklahoma City's defense under desperation, and we're going to find out really quickly on Sunday whether or not they're up to that challenge. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show. We'll be back on Sunday after the final buzzer of Game seven. Not sure if we're going to have Colin yet. I'll let you guys know. I would imagine we probably will, but we'll be live with Colin after the game and then we'll be on playback after the YouTube show finishes, taking callers and just talking hoops with our fans for a little bit after that. We will see you guys on Sunday. What's up guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting hoops tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us if you guys would take a second and leave a rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could take a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.
Jason
The volume.
Ryan Reynolds
Traveling is one of life's greatest joys. Honestly, can anything be more exhilarating? Well, actually, yeah. With Chase Sapphire Reserve, it's your gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. First, you'll earn three times points for travel and dining and the card gets you into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide and access to one of a kind experiences. Whether you're booking a once in a lifetime trip or your next weekend escape. Discover more with Chase sapphire reserve@chase.com Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th, score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Dove Ice Cream Bars, Chips Ahoy Cookies, Arrowhead Bottled Water and Charmin Bath Tissue. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online. For easy drive up and go, pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
Zoe Saldana
Okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. Their fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back and degree listen, that doesn't happen often. They admitted that they effed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one men's antiperspirant and it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores for under $4. So try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local stores to try the OG Cool Rush for yourself. In golf, precision is everything, on and off the course.
Colin Cowherd
PGA of America chose advanced 5G solutions.
Jason
From T Mobile for Business for smooth operations and seamless transactions.
Colin Cowherd
Together we enhance ticketing and concessions for better fan experiences from gate to green.
Jason
This is pro level efficiency.
Colin Cowherd
This is PGA of America with T Mobile for Business.
Jason
Take your business further@t mobile.com now.
Ryan Seacrest
This is an iHeart podcast.
Podcast Summary: Hoops Tonight - How Haliburton & Pacers Can Upset Thunder in Game 7 of NBA Finals | Hoops Tonight
The Herd with Colin Cowherd, hosted by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, presents a deep dive into the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the episode titled "Hoops Tonight - How Haliburton & Pacers can UPSET Thunder in Game 7 of NBA Finals." Released on June 21, 2025, this episode offers comprehensive analysis, strategic insights, and expert commentary aimed at sports enthusiasts keen on understanding the dynamics that could influence the championship outcome.
Colin Cowherd opens the episode with a reflective analysis of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. He emphasizes the critical nature of Game 7, especially for the Indiana Pacers, who find themselves needing a decisive road victory to clinch the championship.
Quote:
"Is there anything from this that we can take in terms of giving Indiana a better chance to win on the road?" – Colin Cowherd [04:13]
The series has been a rollercoaster, with Indiana struggling to secure all their home games—a necessity for their championship aspirations. After a pivotal loss in Game 4, Indiana now faces the daunting task of overcoming the Oklahoma City Thunder on their home turf in Game 7.
Key Points:
Colin re-examines Game 6, focusing on the adjustments made by the Pacers and their effectiveness against the Thunder's strategies. The primary adjustment discussed is the change in pickup points, a defensive strategy alteration intended to disrupt Oklahoma City’s offensive flow.
Quote:
"They didn't really change really their coverages, but they changed their pickup points." – Colin Cowherd [04:13]
The Pacers implemented a strategic shift in their pickup points for players Shay (likely Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and J Dub (possibly Jalen Duren or another key player), positioning them closer to the half-court line. This adjustment helped neutralize Oklahoma City's extended ball screens, which had been a significant source of Indiana’s defensive challenges.
Details:
Quote:
"This shift... served to shake Oklahoma City's foundation enough for Indiana to get a big win." – Colin Cowherd [17:39]
Haliburton has been instrumental in Indiana's defense, particularly in his ability to anticipate and disrupt Oklahoma City's offensive plays. His quick rotations and defensive engagements have limited key Thunder players from getting easy scoring opportunities.
Quote:
"Tyrese has found a defensive role in this series that has been very impactful, which is his ability to get out to door relatively quickly and get a good contest." – Colin Cowherd [24:15]
Holmgren's shooting mechanics have come under scrutiny, with his slower release time making him susceptible to defensive pressure. Colin suggests that Holmgren needs to streamline his release to increase his shooting effectiveness.
Quote:
"Chet, when we get into the summertime, needs to have a little bit more of a focus in terms of streamlining his release." – Colin Cowherd [22:47]
Siakam's defense on key Pacers players, particularly Shea, has been notable. His ability to keep defenders engaged without fouling has been crucial in stifling Indiana's offensive drives.
Colin outlines the pivotal strategies both teams must adopt in Game 7:
Indiana Pacers:
Oklahoma City Thunder:
Quote:
"It's all about execution. I have seen Indiana beat Oklahoma City twice in this series with full court ball pressure and I've seen Oklahoma City beat Denver and Minnesota in multiple important late series games against a passive contain the ball approach." – Colin Cowherd [25:50]
Colin emphasizes that while strategic adjustments like changing pickup points are critical, the ultimate determinant of Game 7 will be each team's ability to execute their game plan under intense pressure. The Pacers have made significant strides in their defensive approach, but Oklahoma City's resilience and adaptive strategies will test Indiana's newfound tactics.
Final Thoughts:
Quote:
"The final test that no team has been able to pass in this postseason run, which is when Oklahoma City's back is against the wall and all of the pressure is there. We're going to find out really quickly on Sunday whether or not they're up to that challenge." – Colin Cowherd [26:58]
Upcoming: Colin wraps up the episode by thanking listeners and hinting at an in-depth post-Game 7 analysis. He encourages fans to engage through social media and to leave ratings and reviews to support the show.
Note: This summary intentionally excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections of the podcast, focusing solely on the substantive analysis and discussions pertaining to the NBA Finals.