On Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers defended their home court one final time to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers, who entered the series as massive underdogs and will be again for Sunday’s winner-take-all matchup, still have a big mountain to climb in order to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
But fear not, Indiana. Draymond Green detailed what he believes the Pacers’ game plan should be if they want to come out on top in Game 7.
On Thursday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis,” the Warriors forward and four-time NBA champion explained why he believes the Pacers have a coaching edge that could be pivotal.
“I think the Pacers win this game by Rick Carlisle coming out and out-coaching Mark Daigneault,” Green told co-host Baron Davis. “This is the biggest game in Mark Daigneault’s coaching career. This is his first time playing in a game of this magnitude. Rick Carlisle coached a team to a championship.”
Carlisle won the 2011 NBA Finals as the coach of the Dallas Mavericks, while Daigneault has no previous Finals coaching experience.
“I think that’s their upper hand, is Rick has been there, and I think Rick has something in his back pocket,” Green continued. “If I’m Rick, here’s my game plan.
“OKC, at times, struggles to score. I think we all can agree on that. Every time [Jalen Williams] comes off a pick-and-roll, I’m all-out blitzing him. … He’s also not accustomed to getting blitzed, so you can throw something at him that he hasn’t seen, and he has to try to adjust to that in the biggest game of his life, with all the money on the line.”
Meanwhile, Green advocated for a less aggressive defensive strategy against NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He believes the Pacers should guard the Thunder’s top scorer one-on-one with Andrew Nembhard and not help off their outside shooters, including Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins.
“I’m staying home on all of those guys,” Green explained. “If Shai goes for 50 [points], beat us with your 50. We’re not letting these guys get anything. Because if Caruso gets 16, Lu Dort gets 12 to 14, and Wiggins gets 12 to 14, [the Pacers] stand no chance at winning.”
On the other end, Green’s game plan for the Pacers offense revolves around Tyrese Haliburton quickly pushing the ball up the floor to Pascal Siakam in transition.
“I’m telling Haliburton — which he does, but I’m telling him to make it a point — advance the ball to Pascal out ahead every time. Pascal can then get to the paint,” Green detailed. “He’s the only player on their team that can draw a double team, and he even does it in transition.”
Then, Green says, Siakam can either finish at the rim against a single defender or kick it out to the perimeter against a double team, allowing his Pacers teammates to take advantage of the added space.
Will Carlisle opt to mimic Coach Draymond’s game plan? If so, will the strategy work?
Millions of NBA fans will tune in Sunday evening to find out.
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