Rick Carlisle Gets OKC Thunder Bulletin Board Material Ahead of NBA Finals Game 7

Rick Carlisle was bothered after spotting a video of the OKC Thunder's possible parade buses if they win the NBA title.

Rick Carlisle Gets OKC Thunder Bulletin Board Material Ahead of NBA Finals Game 7

Rick Carlisle (Image via X)

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It is safe to say that the Pacers and OKC are playing out the best NBA Finals in recent memory. These are two teams from small markets that have built homegrown talent and depth. They’ve put their coaches in position to succeed, both in the short as well as the long term. Rick Carlisle has so far outdueled Mark Daigneault on the drawing board, but the series is level and the Thunder are at home for Game 7.

OKC were prohibitive favorites to win it all ahead of the series. They started off at -750 odd ahead of the series, with many onlookers feeling they would win the Finals in five games or six. However, their 68-14 regular season record hasn’t helped them a lot in the Finals against the Pacers, who’ve won nearly 75% of their games since the turn of the calendar year.

Yet, a home game 7 is all any fanbase can ask for in the Finals. The team has prepped its parade bus and kept it ready at Paycom Center ahead of the game. Footage of the vehicle has circulated online.

It has also wormed its way into Rick Carlisle’s attention sphere. The Pacers’ head coach admitted as much while answering pre-game questions at the venue:

I just saw a video that’s probably going to go viral, with open-top buses presumably for the parade, already painted with them as champions. So that’s what I’m thinking about right now.

Depending on how the game plays out, this video has a lot of potential to go down in NBA history. After all, the legendary Bill Russell saw balloons for the Lakers at the Forum ahead of Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals and promised Jerry West and his other opponents that they would not have the opportunity to release the balloons in celebration after the game. The parade buses could have the same kind of fate if OKC lose tonight.

Rick Carlisle will be faced with a tough choice in tonight’s Game 7

There’s no denying that the Indiana Pacers would not have made it as far as Game 7 of the Finals without Tyrese Haliburton going nuclear. The former Kings guard has made game-winning shots in each of the four playoff rounds thus far. He has been clutch in almost every game that the Pacers have been able to keep close. His late-game execution, both as a scorer and as a playmaker, will go down in NBA history.

Tyrese Haliburton has to overcome his injury again to play in Game 7
Tyrese Haliburton has to overcome his injury again to play in Game 7 (Image via Indiana Pacers/X)

However, Haliburton has been nursing a calf injury on his strong right foot in the NBA Finals. He has visibly been in a lot of discomfort from Game 2 onwards, and it has affected his playing style. More specifically, he has been unable to create separation or make layups since being diagnosed. This has messed with the Pacers’ rhythm offensively.

TJ McConnell had the performance of a lifetime in Game 6, putting the OKC defense to the sword in a display of fundamentally sound scoring. However, McConnell is more of a ball hog, and isn’t nearly as good as Haliburton at maintaining their offensive rhythm as a team.

It will fall to Rick Carlisle to make a decision on how many minutes to give to his point guards. The Pacers will need size on the floor to counter the two-big lineups run by Mark Daigneault. But they have to choose between scoring and playmaking from the point guard on the floor.

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