The Unstoppable Force vs. The Unstoppable Object
Entering a few thoughts on the Finals into the record
For the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, it has been decades of dreaming in bronze.
The Pacers surely thought they had a franchise superstar, an icon, a statue model, in Reggie Miller. Before Portland had Dame Time, Indy had Miller Time, and a decade dueling with the New York Knicks, followed by a half-decade dueling with the Detroit Pistons, wound up ultimately fruitless as the Pacers’ first NBA championship eluded them through the former1 TNT broadcaster’s Hall of Fame playing career.
When Kevin Durant was ported to Oklahoma City along with the Seattle SuperSonics and all their history, the Thunder figured to have their flagship superstar, their franchise, their statue model already. Russell Westbrook joined in the Thunder’s inaugural season and remained in Oklahoma City after Durant’s heartbreaking departure. No titles for either, but an MVP for each.
Coming over from Indianapolis to Oklahoma City in Westbrook’s waning OKC years was Paul George. George had been the next great hope for the Pacers, had brought them to consecutive Conference Finals, only to be cut down by the Miami Heat led by LeBron James both times. A gruesome break of his leg curtailed George’s Pacers era, he missed almost a whole season and the team never made it past the first round again with George on the roster. After years of rumors of George’s interest in moving to Los Angeles, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti boldly cut the line and struck a deal with the Pacers, replacing Durant with George in an attempt to reload around Russell Westbrook. George somewhat shockingly re-signed with Oklahoma City, choosing to do so instead of leaving for Los Angeles.
After a season and a half together, George requested a trade and was sent to Los Angeles. Days later, Westbrook was traded to Houston. The Thunder’s Durant-Westbrook era was officially ended, and the rebuild that would culminate in this coming moment began.
No statues. Until now.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton bring young frenetic teams into battle against one another, and one of these franchises will finally have a statue model. After a combined 66 years with no title2, one of these franchises is going to hang its first NBA banner.
The Thunder enter as heavy favorites, leaving the Pacers in their comfort zone of being underdogs.
My official prediction on this series is going to be as follows:
Pacers steal game 1. Drop game 2. Win game 3. And lose out to a Thunder team that has shown its ability to learn an opponent and find fatal advantages.
This prediction will be wrong, almost doubtlessly, but that’s my optimistic3 take on what can happen. If I’m wrong, I’m betting I’m wrong in the direction of too much belief in the Pacers.
Through these playoffs, the Thunder and Pacers have been the more energetic teams in every series they’ve played. When teams relax, we’ve seen the Thunder blow the doors off of people and we’ve seen Indy slit throats of teams who’ve gotten big leads and then relaxed. Neither of these teams likes to relax. The pace seems to be a somewhat defining tactical storyline of this series.
Defense wins championships, and the Thunder have the better defense. It’s branded not as immovable, but so aggressive as to become the unstoppable element in most matchups. An unstoppable object for opponents to overcome.
Both these teams want to play very fast, but who wants to play fastest, and who can play better against someone that can match their pace? The Thunder come off as more complete (they have stronger frontcourt depth and more faith in their deep bench options) and versatile. There’s reason to believe they’ll be able to build a significant energy advantage even against the Pacers.
However, if that’s not what happens, the Thunder could be in big trouble.
The Thunder’s defense simply outworks opposing offenses, haranguing them with excessive limbs that knife at any live dribble with assassin-like accuracy. But it stands to reason that part of the reason their defense is able to be so active and aggressive is because the opposing team’s offense isn’t as active and aggressive as the Pacers, who have led the league in offense the past two seasons.
These teams, stylistic kindred spirits, will collide and change one franchise forever while the other swallows the bitter disappointment of missing out on their best title shot ever. In retrospect, the Kobe-Shaq Lakers and James-Wade-Bosh Heat both feel outlandishly unfair opponents for the feel-good stories these franchises respectively presented in those matchups. The funny part of retrospect being that the moment you gain access to it, you’ve lost the ability to objectively compare it to your prospective views.
So, let me record here that I believe this will be a good series, and that the play should feel incredibly jazzy.
I believe Rick Carlisle, as the better and more experienced head coach, will give the Pacers their best chance against the Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton will not shrink from this moment.
Pascal Siakam is the third best player in the series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Bennedict Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard are all from Canada.
I believe the Thunder will win in six, and will be back here many times with this group.
The Pacers keep proving people wrong, and continuing to bet against them feels insane. Yet, how do they win this series? And how long can they stay this elite?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the West, won the MVP, and has a statue to build. Of course, knowing this Thunder team, you’d better leave room on that statue for the entire team. They have a beautiful, singular dynamic being this young, this elite, this competitive, this promising, this unified. They just got here, and yet it already feels like they’re ready for this, and have already earned it.
The story feels written already, but in reality, the final chapter is blank. Let’s finish this thing.
Wrote “current,” realized that was wrong, cried.
It’s 95 combined years if you count the Seattle SuperSonics title in 1979, which you shouldn’t.
In hopes of a more competitive series, not an Indiana win. I find these franchises to be on equal moral footing, even if the Pacers are a bit more prickish and the Thunder swing more geeky.