In this YouTube segment, former NBA players Draymond Green and Baron Davis dissect the upcoming Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. They begin by contrasting the veteran coach Rick Carlisle with the rookie Mark Dagnall, suggesting Carlisle’s experience gives Indiana a strategic edge. The bulk of the discussion centers on defensive game plans: Green proposes an aggressive blitz on Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander’s pick‑and‑roll, assigning Andrew Nembhard to guard him side‑by‑side rather than fronting, and emphasizes staying home on perimeter shooters such as Alex Caruso, Luke Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe to prevent three‑point runs. They also highlight using Pascal Siakam as a paint‑penetrator who can draw double teams, allowing kick‑out passes to open shooters. Davis adds that OKC should be forced to the three‑point line, with the Pacers packing the paint and rotating bigs to contest rim attacks. The conversation ends with a narrative‑driven prediction, framing Indiana as the historic underdog with “destiny” on its side, while both analysts express confidence in the Pacers’ defensive adjustments to secure the win.
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I wanna see the Pacers come out. I think Rick Carlisle has not showed everything. And I think the Pacers win this game by Rick Carlisle coming out and outcoaching Mark Dagnall. This is the biggest game in Mark Dagnall's coaching career. This is his first time playing in a game of this magnitude. Rich Carlisle coached the team to a championship. And I think if I'm Rick Carlisle, Rick Carlisle game plan need to be so crazy in order for the Pacers team to come out and win. And I think that's their upper hand is Rick been there. And I think Rick got something in his back pocket. And if I'm Rick, here's my game plan. OKC at times struggle to score. I think we all can agree on that. Every time J Dub come off a pick and roll, I'm all out blitzing him. You're not getting downhill. You're not finishing at the rim. You're not getting comfortable. I'm gonna all-out blitz on him every time he come off a pick and roll. He also not accustomed to getting blitzed. So you gonna, you can throw something at him for game 7 that they don't really have much time to adjust to. You can throw something at him that ain't seen and he gotta try to adjust to that in the biggest game of his life with all of, all the money on the line. I'm guarding Shea one-on-one with Andrew Nembhard, and I'm telling Nembhard, don't play in front of him, play on the side of him. If you play on the side of him, he can't get the step back like that to create all the separation. If you sit in front of him, he gonna drive you down, he gonna step back, and he gonna create this much space, and he's shooting the wide open. So we not helping. We not in the gaps on Shai either. You are just guarding him one-on-one. If he give you 50, if he give you 40, and you guarding him one-on-one, fine. Reason being, I'm staying home on Luke Dort.
No assist.
I'm staying home on Aaron Wiggins. I'm staying home on Isaiah Joe. I'm staying home on Alex Caruso because I think these guys If they start hitting threes and they at home so they could get feeling good, Jake, Jake getting his 35 anyway. And if you got J Dub getting off and you got, it's too much. So I'm staying at home on all of those guys. Shay, go for 50, beat us with your 50. We not letting these guys get nothing because if Caruso gets 16, Lou Dort get 12 to 14, Wiggins get 12 to 14, they stand no chance at winning. So my game plan is we're not overreacting to stay driving them hard. You're gonna force 'em to drive. And at the rim, the big need to rotate over late and just get a contest at the rim. Oftentimes when that big come over and Shay gets it all the way to the rim, he fall down. And now I'm Indiana, I want my advance pass. If I'm Rick Carlisle, I'm telling Halliburton, which he does, but I'm telling him, make it a point. Advance the ball to Pascal out ahead every time. Pascal can then get to the paint. He penetrates the defense and get to the paint. He's the only player on their team that can draw a double team. And he even do it in transition where he get to the paint, he get to the middle of the rim, get to the middle of the lane, front of the rim, and everybody come down. That's what I think. Mm-hmm. They have to do and let Pascal create that double team and then kick it out and they offense flow from there. You know what I'm saying? But you also, when they don't come down to double team, that's how Pascal get the 14 to 16 points in the first quarters. You know what I'm saying? And so that's my game plan in a nutshell. If I'm Indiana, that's what I'm doing. That's how I'm coming in and getting this win. That's what need to be the focus in my opinion.
That's great coaching.
So we'll see.
Yeah, it's, and then if, you know, if you could, okay, see, then it's pack the paint, make them get 3-point happy. Don't let Indiana get points in the paint 'cause that's kind of how they've been beating you. That's how they been staying in games. That's how they been getting back in games. Make them 3-point happy, make them jump shooters. Don't let TJ McConnell probe, right? No more probing. No more probing. I'm staying in the lane, I'm making them kick out. And then as soon as I close out, if they don't shoot the 3 and I close out, I'm in man. 'Cause you see they get paralyzed if their offense is not in flow and they had to play one-on-one basketball. So you start making every player a one-on-one player, but not a play— not a, not an offensive playmaker, because they want to draw and kick, get to the elbow, kick out. I don't have nothing, kick out. And they move well. So just stay tight, give them the three, contest. And then if they don't— if they don't shoot the three one-on-one, 'cause Myles Turner just sitting at the 3-point line and I gotta live with that today.
Yeah.
And I'm gonna have to live with that on game 7 on the road, right? Like you saying, it's tight, man. Go get 40 hitting 7 threes.
T-Lou did it to me. We was at home, we still lost.
Yeah.
So.
'Cause after a while, like, you know, it's a volume thing at that point.
For sure.
Yeah, but that was a great take, man. Come on, Rick Carlisle, the Yoda, the Yoda, the Mr. Miyagi, right? Versus Danielson. This is the oldest NBA coach, right? Versus one of the youngest NBA coaches. And it's gonna be a battle of the minds. So that's great analysis, my bro. Appreciate it, man.
Great analysis. May the best man win. So who you taking to win it, BD?
All right, this is what I'm saying. If Indiana is anywhere down 6 with 6 minutes to go, I'm taking Indiana. I just think the basketball gods may favor history. Indiana has been at it longer, the story. You know, the underdog. This reminds me of the year Golden State won the championship. There's always Seattle, there's always those underdog teams that the Warriors' first title, right? There was these underdog type of storylines that, that happened in the league.
So.
Yep.
I, I mean, Some of the shots they hit this playoffs does seem like they have destiny on their side. So.
Man, man, like the angels in the outfield.
It does feel like they have destiny on their side. So we shall see.
