The OKC Thunder and Indiana Pacers are gearing up to duke it out in this year's NBA Finals, and, though the former may be viewed as heavy favorites to run away with the Larry O'Brien Trophy, in truth, this championship round is far from a gimme.
From their postseason-leading long-range scoring game to the unspoken edge they have in the experience department, Indiana is by no means a pushover opponent. All-Star Jalen Williams has even gone as far as to refer to them as the "ultimate test."
Because of this, finding weaknesses to exploit will be a must if Oklahoma City wishes to improve their odds of pulling away with the title.
When looking at the numbers, there's one specific area of Indiana's game that could be rather vulnerable, and, in turn, could help lead to a huge series for one of the Thunder's more underutilized role players from throughout the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
OKC Thunder should let Isaiah Joe cook in NBA Finals
To the surprise of many, key second-unit spark plug Isaiah Joe has seen a major drop-off in playing time during this playoff run.
After wrapping up a career-best campaign with the Thunder, where he dropped 10.2 points on 44.0 percent shooting from the floor and 41.2 percent shooting from distance in 21.7 minutes per game, the 25-year-old has seen his usage fall off a cliff through these first three rounds, seeing just 10.6 minutes and, in turn, just 5.2 points a night.
Now, while this may have been due to the fact that more than half of their opponents throughout this run have ranked as some of the top defensive units when it comes to containing bench scorers, Indiana has fared rather poorly against such units. They were 17 in points allowed to opposing second units during the regular season and, now, third-worst in this year's postseason.
On the year, Oklahoma City sported one of the most efficient bench offensive punches in the game, as they ranked eighth in offensive rating and 10 in true shooting percentage, with Joe serving as one of the unit's primary leaders.
What bodes well for the idea of the Thunder leaning into their second unit and, in turn, their sniper wing moving forward is the fact that, in their two face-offs during the regular season, he averaged the fourth-most points on the team (12.0) while shooting the lights out of the ball with a 52.9 percent clip from the field and 42.9 percent from distance.
While there are many key game plans OKC should be looking to run against the Pacers during the 2025 NBA Finals, there's a strong case to be made that letting someone like Isaiah Joe cook should be one of them.