CHARLOTTE — The Panthers watch a lot of film during OTAs and minicamps, and almost all of it is football.

But in the middle of a gripping NBA Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana, Panthers head coach Dave Canales has found a way to incorporate what his players are already watching into what he's trying to teach them.

Unprompted in the middle of an answer about the back-and-forth of Thursday's final minicamp practice, Canales referenced the Thunder-Pacers series.

"The nature of competition, that's what it is; how do you respond to adversity?" he began. "We got the gift of watching the Pacers and OKC play and go back and forth, and you see the guys, you see the energy all the way through it. So I love seeing the response, and it just makes everything; you've got to be that much sharper. You've got to be that much cleaner in your technique, you know, and that's where you start to separate the details, the fundamental execution, because of the talent is so good right now with our group that that that part can go back and forth so I love the challenge of it."

He also loves basketball, and has incorporated it into the team's daily routine.

The Panthers have a hoop in the team meeting room that they use from time to time. If there's a tie that needs to be settled between offense and defense during a meeting (competition is baked into everything), it's normal for Canales to pull two players out to shoot free throws to settle it.

And this week, he's been showing Pacers-Thunder highlights, including Tyrese Haliburton's last-second winner in Game 1, OKC's bounceback in Game 2, and the Pacers reclaiming the edge at home Wednesday night.

"We've been following the NBA playoffs, and I think the thing that I keep talking to the guys about and pointing to is to look at the teams that play together, look at the teams that talk on the bench when they come off," Canales said. "There's an exchange that happens when the coach addresses them. They get their full attention, and they make those micro-adjustments, and that's great team play. Then, look at the teams that finish. Turnovers are just as important. They show the stats on TV, 21 points off turnovers versus 7. Those types of things matter to us too. . . .

"Great teams, these teams that play together and talk. That doesn't mean they all made it to the championships, but the ones that did were in constant communication. And Halliburton and SGA (Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), they're constantly talking to guys about defense, where to be at when they got the ball, you know, so all those micro adjustments are so huge."

When he starts talking about it, it sounds a lot like his football conversations.

That's why Canales has been incorporating basketball highlights into their meetings, and the message is getting through.

"Just seeing how the importance and like the little details matter in those games," rookie running back Trevor Etienne said of the film study. "The turnover margin, controlling what you can control, giving the effort, finishing the game, just taking little things that we can go out here and work on ourselves and add it to our game."

And make no mistake, these games have been classics already, which is why Canales called it "such a gift" to be able to learn a lesson in a new way.

Quarterback Bryce Young, who picked the Thunder to win the Finals before they started, said Thursday he's sticking with that prediction despite their 2-1 disadvantage.

Canales deferred on a prediction, saying, "I just want teams to play up to their full potential," which is a lot like saying he hopes both teams have fun.

But mostly, he wants to keep teaching in a way that gets his guy's attention.

"I don't like it when I see a team; you know what they can do, and they're just not achieving it," Canales said. "That's my goal for us. That's what I want to see. I want to see both teams playing at their best."