The West’s Los Angeles Lakers guts it out with the East’s Indiana Pacers in a battle of contrasts for the NBA’s first ever In-season tourney championship. The Lakers have the size, the Pacers will counter with speed. The Lakers have the big stars and the veteran IQ, the Pacers have the upcoming names and the new breed cage savvy. The Lakers are a big market team, the Pacers will take the cudgels for the small market teams. In an ironic reversal of roles, the Showtime Lakers will try to slow down the game, while the Pacers will try their darndest to outpace the supposedly razzle-dazzle Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers, with undoubtedly the most lethal dynamic duo in the league in Lebron James and Anthony Davis Jr, are taking this abbreviated tournament seriously, as this could be the last chance for them to win a crown with the clearly aging King Lebron. This competition suits Lebron and AD perfectly, since the format for the long grueling best-of-seven playoff series used in the regular season will definitely sap the strength off the duo’s tired and fragile bodies. With the college-style knockout format, they have steamrolled their way against the top In-season teams in the west.
After finishing with an unblemished 4-0 slate in the group games (against the Phoenix Suns, the Utah Jazz, the Portland Trailblazers and the Memphis Grizzlies), the Lakers squeezed past the dangerous wildcard qualifier Phoenix Suns 106-103 in the quarterfinals, and then bludgeoned a playoff neophyte in the New Orleans Pelicans 133-89 in the semis to take the Western Conference seat to the Finals.
The amazing Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, are off to a Cinderella in-season experience. Currently toting only a modest 12-8 slate in the regular season (good for 5th overall in the east), the Pacers were immaculate in the group games, with a 4 wins – no loss slate (against the favored Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons). In the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, the Pacers went berserk, taking down heavy betting favorites and conference regular season leaders Boston Celtics 122-112, before outsmarting a Giannis Antetokounmpo/Damian Lillard-led Milwaukee Bucks 128-119. Most people – me included – never thought that the Pacers could take down the 2 heavyweights and claim the eastern ticket to the Finals.
The Pacers are led by a vastly-matured PG in Tyrese Haliburton and interior defense specialist Myles Turner, both of whom learned much from their international stint with Team USA in the recent FIBA games in the Philippines. They also have a veteran coach, Rick Carlisle, who has clearly rewired the Pacer team culture. Rick is one of only 12 former players who later made the transition to coach in the NBA, and have won titles both as player and coach. Due to the lack of established stars, coach Carlisle has the Pacers playing an intense, yet organized speed game, and they hope to counter the Lakers’ size advantage with the same. This frenetic pace they’ve weaponized has brought them more points and more assists than ever before. What is even more remarkable and fearsome with the Pacers is that it is a young team with so much potential. A little more time together, a little more experience and maturity, and this team could be the toast of the East.
The match-ups will show a great disparity in talent, with Lebron and AD head and shoulders over their counterparts. With both King Lebron and AD healthy and tireless and practically invincible in the in-season playoffs, the Lakers are certainly the huge favorites to win this first-ever NBA Cup.
But the Pacers have a lucky charm in fresh NBA winner, Bruce Brown, who was instrumental in the Denver Nuggets’ regular season title win last season. The Pacers have also displayed the seamless teamwork of a well-oiled machine. Their supporting cast can also be as lethal. The Pacers are presently tops in the league in points scored (128.4 per game) and assists (30.2 per game), while the Lakers are ‘middling’ in all significant stats. That said, the Lakers got the talent, the Pacers got the teamwork.
What makes the Finals different? The sudden-death winner-take-all format for the finals favors the Lakers. The format takes away the stamina factor that is a great advantage in a long best-of-seven series. Luck has also played a big role in this abbreviated competition, in that the West’s big guns were all minus some key personnel in their rosters during the course of the games. The Wests’s conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves (17-4) had dominant big Karl Anthony Towns injured during parts of the period. The OKC Thunder (13-7) were without star guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander for a while. The defending champs Denver Nuggets (14-8) played without point laureate Jamal Murray during this stretch. The Lakers (14-9) were lucky to have run the gauntlet while these top teams were not in tiptop shape.
For the record, the Lakers and the Pacers have met 98 times since the start of the NBA, with the Lakers emerging victorious 64 times as opposed to the Pacers’ 34 wins. They have met once in the NBA Finals in 2000, with the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant joining hands to win 4-2 over a Reggie Miller-led Pacers team. The past 2 seasons however have seen the both teams split their games 2-2. The two teams met twice last year, with the Pacers winning the first game 116-115, while the Lakers won their second meeting 112-111. That both games were decided by a single point tells us how competitive these 2 teams have been against each other. This, folks, tells us that this first In-Season Tournament championship will be a match worth watching.
This Sunday, it’s gonna be Lebron and AD with back-ups D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reeves going up against Haliburton, Turner with lesser known back-ups Brown, Buddy Hield, Obi Toppin trying to stem the tide. It will be a cat-and-mouse game with the Lakers trying to outmuscle the Pacers. The smaller but speedier Pacers on the other hand will try to outspeed and outwit their bigger, brawnier, but older Lakers squad. Who you got?
Cover photo courtesy of Fox Sports. Other photos courtesy of X.com, The Globe and Mail, Rocky Mountain Outlook)
Color My World 
very nice effort the Lakers gave against the Pels. I’m sure if they can do that with the Pacers they will wear them down. But I won’t completely count out Indiana’s support squad.
Hope all is well with you CB
– Archer
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The emphatic win against the Pels suggests that the Lakers are poised to take the crown. They should be the overwhelming betting faves today. But the Pacers seem to be in a dream ride. Having run the gauntlet against the Celts and the Bucks, they have acquired a belief in themselves that could turn the tide. Rooting for the underdog Pacers this time around, Archer.
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