The NBA Finals are set, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 on June 5. The Thunder are heavy favorites, but the Pacers believe they can rise to the occasion.

All season long, the Thunder have been the best team in the NBA, and the Pacers understand that they don't have the star power to keep up with OKC, but they believe their brand of basketball is conducive to winning.

It might be cliche, but the Pacers will stay true to themselves in their first Finals appearance in 25 years. 

While Tyrese Haliburton proved any doubters wrong this postseason, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only cemented his status as the best player in the NBA, and his supporting cast has risen to the occasion time and time again.

Both teams have lost only four games so far in the playoffs, and the Thunder will be fresher and are perhaps the only team in the league that can match the Pacers' depth. 

"They're great," praised Rick Carlisle on Pat McAfee Live.  "They've got the MVP. They've got Jalen Williams, who's a second star. They've got Chet Holmgren, who's really their third star, and then they've got a supporting cast that's really, really good, and they really defend. You know, Caruso and Dort, Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander, these guys are all elite defenders, and not only do they defend well, but they take the ball from the opponent."

The Pacers are not an elite defensive team, but they are solid. However, their calling card has long been their offense, and they aim to force the Thunder into playing their brand of basketball. 

"We're going to have to do a good job with ball security," offered Carlisle. "I know that's a football term, too. We're going to have to take care of it on the one hand, but we're going to have to play fast, and we're going to have to move it around a lot."

In Game 1, the Thunder are 9.5-point favorites, although Carlisle and his team are unfazed.