In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers had (25) fastbreak points. In Game 4, they had 22. For the series, they're averaging over 17 fastbreak points per game, and running out — as it has been all season — was a weapon for the Pacers in the Western Conference Finals.
That probably won't fly in the NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City is giving up 9.3 fastbreak points per game in the NBA Playoffs — best in the league. In the regular season, they gave up 12.3 fastbreak points per game... best in the league. They don't let teams outrun them, and it's been the case all season. It's why they had a historically good point differential, and it's why they've been waiting for their opponent in the NBA Finals
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Pacers pace won't play vs. Shai and the Thunder
It doesn't matter how you try to attack the Thunder defense; you can't speed them up because they have about a dozen small, quick guys who get back on defense every possession. You can't really slow them down either, because everyone is comfortable switching, doubling and recovering in the halfcourt.
There are numerous reasons why OKC won 68 games in the regular season and has gone 12-4 in the playoffs; the lack of weak links on their defense might be No. 1.
Indiana is still going to run on OKC. Whether or not those runs actually leads to points might be what determines who wins the NBA Finals. Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and the rest of the Pacers got here by exploiting teams' in the open court. Oklahoma City got here by not letting that happen. Unstoppable object versus immovable force. Or whatever they say.