Rick Carlisle certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to win an NBA Championship, and, recently, he essentially revealed the path for the OKC Thunder to do so against his Indiana Pacers.
Following Monday's Game 5 win, the lion's share of attention has been focused on the stupendous 40-burger performance of Jalen Williams, coinciding with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 points on the night.
Considering they joined the likes of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving as the only other duo to record such scoring feats in a Finals game over the last 40 years, this type of production certainly warrants the praise that it's been receiving.
However, during his post-game press conference, coach Carlisle made it a point to note that while his Pacers "could do better" with their defensive efforts against the drive-happy tandem, in the end, he believes this was not what lost them the game.
Instead, he pointed out that their turnover-prone ways were what ultimately did them in, insinuating that no team should be able to win when they played as sloppily as Indiana did in the possessions department.
Winning the turnover battle is what will lead Thunder to NBA title
"Nobody's asking about turnovers! We had 23 turnovers for 32 points. I mean, that's the game. We got to do a heck of a lot better there," Carlisle said.
During the regular season, the Thunder proved themselves to be the most effective team in forcing turnovers, as their opponents committed a league-leading 17.0 per night.
What's most impressive about their ability to wreak such havoc is the damage they managed to inflict as a result, as they also led the league in points off turnovers with 21.8 per night.
Throughout the majority of this year's postseason, Oklahoma City has surprisingly become even more elite in this area of play, ranking first in both categories while increasing their averages to 18.1 forced turnovers and 22.7 points off turnovers per game.
However, during the 2025 NBA Finals, Indiana has somehow found a way to cut the Thunder back down to size, especially during losing efforts, holding them to just 12.5 points off turnovers compared to their 16.3.
Over the past four contests, the winner of the turnover battle has ultimately gone on to claim victory.
To someone like Rick Carlisle, this should not come as a great shock to anyone, for, as he suggested in his post-Game 5 presser, limiting turnovers is one of the key ways to win in this league.
If the Pacers don't find a way to do "a heck of a lot better" in this particular department, the Thunder may wind up being crowned as NBA Champions as soon as Thursday night.