OKC Thunder Coach Touches on Key to NBA Finals Win

The Oklahoma City Thunder are officially four wins away from their first Finals win since relocation. The only thing between them and hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy is the Indiana Pacers.

Having defeated the Bucks, Cavaliers and Knicks en route to their own Finals appearance, Indiana is playing white-hot basketball, and are sure to give Oklahoma City their best shot with a championship on the line.

At the NBA Finals media day on Wednesday, the Thunder gave the inkling they won’t be taking the Pacers lightly. In his short stint on the podium, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked at length about one of the Pacers X-factors: Pascal Siakam.

As a whole, Siakam’s flown somewhat under the radar alongside star guard Tyrese Haliburton, only last series earning his flowers as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Across the six games, he averaged 24.8 points, five rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 52% overall and 50% from three.

Where others have potentially overlooked Siakam, Daigneault and the Thunder won’t.

“Somebody we have high respect for and obviously a huge part of the series,” Daigneault said. “Great versatility on both ends of the floor. Offensively he can play in the pick-and-roll game as a handler, setter — he's kind of a matchup problem, quite frankly on that end.”

The Thunder will, of course, look to limit one of Indiana’s leading scorers. Especially with the volatility of Haliburton on a game-to-game basis. But Siakam present defensive challenges, too.

“Defensively he's one of their best help defenders. He's always eating space like all the help defenders. Got great length. He can play outside, inside. He's about as rangy and versatile a player as you can get at that position.”

Limiting Siakam’s impact on both ends will be key for Oklahoma City. Potentially equally so with Haliburton, who present other challenges, especially in the passing department.

The good news for Oklahoma City is that they should have the tools to do so. Jalen Williams earned All-Defense honors this season, and size-wise feels like a decent bet to matchup with Siakam at different points in the series. Additionally, interior threat Chet Holmgren could spend time on Siakam given his shot-blocking and general fluidity on the wing.

Game 1 tips off on Thursday, June 5, at 7:30 p.m. CT.