2025 NBA Finals: 4 things to watch for in Game 6 of Finals

INDIANAPOLIS – Facing elimination, playing their final home game of the season no matter the outcome, the Indiana Pacers will deal with one of three scenarios in Game 6 of the 2025 NBA Finals:

• Point guard Tyrese Haliburton, hobbled by a right calf strain, will heal sufficiently by tipoff Thursday (8:30 ET, ABC) against the Oklahoma City Thunder to play his usual minutes as the Pacers’ floor leader and best clutch performer.
• Haliburton won’t be fully recovered but will play as well as he can, for as long as he can, with fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse hoping at least for an inspirational moment a la Willis Reed limping onto the court for New York in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals.
• Haliburton is ruled out in the hour or so before the game, forcing Indiana to extend the championship series – or not – without him. For the record, the Pacers have gone 60-34 with Haliburton this season, including playoffs, vs. 4-5 without him.

The 25-year-old guard had ankle soreness after Game 2 but suffered the calf injury in the first quarter of Game 5 on Monday. He returned to play 34 minutes but ended the night with little to show for it: 4 points, all on free throws, with seven rebounds, six assists, three turnovers and 0-for-6 shooting in the Pacers’ 120-109 loss.

Haliburton was on the court Wednesday when the end of the Pacers’ light practice was opened to the media. He had on sweatpants with a lightweight hoodie under his practice jersey – if his right calf was wrapped, it wasn’t bulky enough to show. He got up shots without jumping or otherwise expending much energy.

“He participated in all our walk-through stuff,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “But it’s a walk-through, so there was no real running. We’ll see. We’ll see where we are tomorrow.”

Said the fifth-year guard: “I’m a competitor; I want to play.”

A definitive answer on Haliburton’s Game 6 availability will have to wait. Of the things to look for heading into Indiana’s fight for survival vs. OKC’s first of two shots at the championship, it looms the largest by far:

1. A little Hali is better than none

Some folks may point out that when Haliburton missed the final two games of Indiana’s season a year ago – he had aggravated a persistent groin injury and could not play in Games 3 and 4 against Boston in the East Finals – backcourt mate Andrew Nembhard stepped into the void and did well. The Pacers outshot the Celtics both nights and outrebounded them by 10.

And, of course, lost, Boston completing its sweep. It wasn’t what Nembhard did picking up Haliburton’s responsibilities, it was what his replacement in the lineup didn’t do. Reserve Ben Sheppard, pressed into duty, shot 1-for-8 for just three points – total – in those games.

Nembhard had a miserable second half Monday in Game 5, perhaps wearing down from his time spent shadowing Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. T.J. McConnell has applied jumper cables to his team’s offense at least twice in the series, but the Pacers rely on his spark off their bench.

Certainly, if the team’s medical and training staffs feel Haliburton would be at risk of a more serious injury if he played – calf strains have correlated to Achilles tears for several NBA stars in recent seasons – he won’t play. If not, he’ll make the call and it seemed clear Wednesday how he’d lean.

“There’s been many situations through the course of my career where they’ve trusted me on my body,” he said. “They trust me to make the right decision on my body when the power is in my hands. … I want to be out there. That’s the plan.”

2. More minutes for McConnell

Even if Indiana’s feisty backup point guard doesn’t start in Haliburton’s spot, he probably will play more than the 22 minutes he logged in Game 5. And that’s not just because of the possible manpower shortage. McConnell should have played more Monday night, given his effectiveness.

The 33-year-old scored 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting and was a plus-4 on a night Indiana lost by 11. He had 11 points and six assists in 18 minutes in Game 2 and, in the Pacers’ Game 3 victory, 10 points, five assists and five steals in 15.

Given Haliburton’s limited production after he hurt his leg in Game 5, McConnell seemed a candidate for more minutes down the stretch. Carlisle said he saw that McConnell was tired, and the player didn’t disagree with his coach Wednesday.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember. I trust Rick wholeheartedly with his substitutions,” McConnell said. “Let’s make one thing perfectly career: Rick is a Hall of Fame coach. He knows what he’s doing.”

3. Watch those rebounds and turnovers

The W’s have been in the details so far in this series. The Thunder have disrupted Indiana’s pace and efficiency by forcing turnovers and patrolling the glass.

In Oklahoma City’s three victories, it has a 131-118 edge in rebounds and has given up 49 points off turnovers while pouncing on the Pacers’ for 71. The problem lately for Indiana has been playing slower – Haliburton didn’t have much burst off that right leg – and winding up in halfcourt offense.

That’s when the Thunder’s league-leading defense becomes its stickiest and most impenetrable.

OKC coach Mark Daigneault spoke Wednesday about his team’s defensive foundation, laid in 2020 after his promotion to the top job and built upon ever since.

“There’s no new material,” he said. “We’re not walking in today with a new riff. We’re walking in and pounding away at the same stuff we’ve been pounding away at for five years.”

4. More ball movement by the visitors

The Thunder had assists on 24 of their 40 field goals in their Game 5 victory, but in their two games at Gainbridge, it was 27 on 74. OKC’s ball movement in the Finals has been off overall – they are averaging 216 passes, about 25% fewer than during their 68-victory regular season. Part of that, apparently, is facing an opponent that gets more amped at home.

“We have to play better offensively out here to win,” Daigneault said. “They do a great job at home. They play with a lot of energy. They really pressure. They’re up the floor. We can expect them to bring that [in Game 6].”

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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