Oklahoma City Thunder: Isaiah Hartenstein Fired Veiled Shot at Draymond Green After Lu Dort 2025 DPOY Snub 1 Mar 10, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) shoots a three-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder: Lu Dort Drops Obvious Tyrese Haliburton Gameplan Ahead of Exciting 2025 NBA Finals

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 10:24 AM ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the overwhelming favorites to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Despite this, the Mark Daigneault-coached squad is not underestimating their Eastern Conference opponents, the Indiana Pacers.

Tyrese Haliburton has been the head of the snake for Indiana this postseason, and Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort intends to slow him down heading into their NBA Finals clash.

“He’s a good player. He’s their main guy obviously. He has the ball a lot,” Dort said about Haliburton via Clemente Almanza of the Thunder Wire. “The way I approach any matchup is I gotta make it tough. Not only me but the whole team.”

Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton Makes Painful Admission After Subpar Game 5 Vs. New York Knicks 11 May 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts in the third quarter against the New York Knicks during game one of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Besides Dort, the Oklahoma City Thunder also have Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso to try to contain Haliburton. However, shutting down the Indiana Pacers’ high-octane offense is, by no means, an easy task.

Oklahoma City Thunder News: Isaiah Hartenstein touts the team’s stingy defense and team chemistry

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein believes they’re capable of winning it all this season, with defense as their calling card. In the 2025 playoffs, Oklahoma City boasts the league’s best defensive rating at 104.7 points per 100 possessions.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Lu Dort Drops Obvious Tyrese Haliburton Gameplan Ahead of Exciting 2025 NBA Finals 3 Jan 26, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) celebrates with guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during a break in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

“We’re not a team that wants anything given to us. We want to go out and conquer, go out and hunt. For us, it doesn’t matter what happened before. It doesn’t matter even in a playoff series, it doesn’t matter what happened before. We’re always trying to go out there and try to hunt. Not be the hunted ones. Trying to go out there and hunt ourselves,” Hartenstein said.

“The greatest quality of this team is we do everything together. It starts with off the court. We’re a really together team. We support each other. If you’re playing a lot of minutes or not a lot of minutes, that’s what makes it special. We’re very supportive of each other,” he added.