Su Qun gives advice to the Pacers, two major advantages + limiting SGA methods! But he is optimistic about the Thunder winning the championship in 6 games

As the NBA Finals are about to begin, basketball famous Su Qun gave his professional insights. This time, he made some eye-catching remarks around the finals against the Pacers and Thunder.

Pacers defeated the Knicks 125-108 at home in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, successfully advancing to the finals with a total score of 4-2. Their opponent, the Thunder, had also won the championship in the West and successfully entered the finals.

Su Qun pointed out that the Pacers suddenly took out super defense in the last game of the Eastern Conference Final, completely disrupting the Knicks' offense. By the end of the game, the Pacers had extended their advantage to more than 20 points. He believes that if the Pacers can maintain this defensive intensity in the finals, they will still be comparable to the Thunder.

Su Qun also mentioned that the Pacers have two unique advantages to reaching the finals. First, the team's offense and defense transitions quickly, and can quickly transition from defense to offense, and catch the opponent off guard; second, the Pacers have long rotations and many people play, which means that the players' physical fitness can be better protected and they can always maintain vitality during the game. But he also said that the Thunder also has these two points, and the Thunder is even slightly stronger in terms of the number of rounds brought by offense and defense conversion. For example, in the playoffs, the Grizzlies ranked first, the Thunder ranked second with 100.60 times, and the Pacers ranked 98.44 times.

In addition, Su Qun emphasized that when the Pacers play the finals with the Thunder, the key is to curb the personal offense of the Thunder star SGA. He proposed that the defensive strength shown by the Pacers’ Nismith and Nemhard against Bronson in the Eastern Conference Finals is extremely critical to reappear against SGA. However, SGA has a higher figure, sharp breakthroughs, excellent mid-range shooting, and flexible layups are even better. He is not something that Nismith or Nemhard can do with one-on-one defense. He needs big men to help delay, assist in defense, and even pinch attacks. But in this way, it will create a lot of mobile phone opportunities for Thunder’s outside.

Despite this, Su Qun was optimistic that the Thunder would win the championship in 6 games, and the Pacers were once again not favored.

Pacers do have their own advantages, with fast offense and defense conversion speed, and can play a lot of fast-paced offenses in the game, which can disrupt the opponent's defensive rhythm. For example, in some games in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers can quickly launch fast attacks after grabbing defensive rebounds. Halliburton's rapid advancement, coupled with the active running of teammates, can often score easily. Long rotation is also their magic weapon. The players can get enough rest and maintain high-intensity defense and offense in the second half of the game. Just like the last game of the Eastern Conference Finals, by the end of the game, the Knicks players' physical fitness declined and the number of mistakes increased; while the Pacers relied on long rotations, the players were still full of vitality and finally won the game with a big score.

But the Thunder is too strong, and the Pacers also face considerable challenges. SGA has outstanding personal abilities. This season, he played against the Pacers, and he played an MVP-level offensive and defensive performance. The Pacers wanted to limit him, but they really had to rely on team defense, relying on team defense, and the big guy helped to help defend. However, if you do this, players like Dolte and Caruso on the outside may get more opportunities to take open positions.

From the perspective of the Thunder, there are reasons why Su Qun is optimistic about winning the championship in 6 games. The Thunder's overall strength is not weak. Except for SGA, other players have strong offensive firepower and are threatening to hit the basket. They are both second in the league in breakthroughs and scores in the inside. Moreover, the Thunder have done a good job in offense and defense conversion, with more rounds than the Pacers, which means they are not afraid of their opponents at all when they run and play. The stage pressure in the

finals is huge and experience is also very important. Although the Thunder has never won the championship in the team history, some veterans in the team, such as Caruso, have experienced many major competitions, and may have more experience in dealing with such high-pressure environments than the Pacers. Of course, the Pacers also have champion players. Siakam once won the championship with the Raptors in 2019, and this season he became the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. It is impossible for the Thunder to completely limit him.

Fortunately, these are just pre-match analysis. The game has not started yet, and nothing is possible. Coach Carlisle may find a way to limit SGA and make good use of his advantages to cause trouble for the Thunder. After all, in 2011, he led the Mavericks to the championship without being favored. Who can laugh to the end? Let's wait and see this wonderful final.