Charles Berkley believes that significant changes in the NBA Finals will cost the OKC Thunder The NBA Championship almost.
Although fans were initially not enthusiastic about the teams involved in the NBA Finals, it is difficult to argue that they didn’t get great basketball from the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
The NBA Finals rating was down by historic margins, but the incredible competition between the two has resulted in excellent viewing for those who tuned it out.
Ultimately, despite some hurdles, the OKC Thunder beat Pacer in seven games to win the franchise first NBA championship.
However, Charles Barkley believes the Thunder is approaching making mistakes that could potentially cost the title. It’s a mistake that fans haven’t seen since the words “We believe” echoed through the streets of Auckland.
Charles Barkley was a guest on Bill Simmons’ podcast, discussing the 2025 NBA Finals and why he opposed changing the OKC Thunder lineup.
He believes it will never work to disrupt the starting lineup in the playoff series and adapt to another team. Berkley pointed out Avery Johnson and the 2007 Dallas Mavericks.
This decision from Nelson left the Mavericks eliminated in the first round despite being #1 seeded in the first round and the Warriors being #8 seeded.
“The only thing they thought they’d lose was when (Mark Dean Alto) switched the starting lineup. I thought, ‘What the heck is he doing?’
“The only other person I saw was Avery Johnson the stupid thing to do. We were sitting in the studio that night, like, ‘What happened here?’
“Avery Johnson changed his starting lineup to play against Don Nelson’s little ball. Why do you do that? You’re the number one seed, and you change.
“When (Daiigneault) did that, I was like, ‘What a god!’ After that they lost Game 1. They blew them off in Game 2, but they saw Split (Pacer) win Game 3 and he finally returned to his huge lineup.
“Yo, when you have the best team, you don’t change things. You’ve been the best team in the NBA all season. Don’t do that again.
While Charles Berklee has had a strong argument about OKC Thunder changing the lineup, in fact Mark Daigneault has made little comment on the issue.
The Indiana Pacers are well prepared for lightning and have made these changes to effectively force lightning and stay competitive.
If anything, the series has led to a change in lineup, but it was not something that Berkley refers to. Rick Carlisle claimed he won the title by replacing Tyreese Halliburton from the Pacers lineup in Game 7.
If Tyrese Haliburton was not injured, it’s hard to say whether the Pacers won Game 7 or not. They had a very strong start, but the Thunder’s defensiveness was just too good in the second half.