Yes, folks, we are now down to one last game. The final game of the Finals, the final game of a fantastic season. The final battle. To crown a new king. To herald the arrival of a new set of hardcourt heroes. To etch new names in hoop history. And yes… we still don’t have a clear view of the outcome, as the plot crescendoes to its unpredictable climax.
On one hand, we have the case of the Oklahoma City Thunder. An overwhelming success in the regular season; with a proud 68-14 win-loss slate; tops in the Western Conference, tops in the league. Ranked as the top-seed in the West. Barreling through the 8th-seed Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 in the playoff’s first round; outlasting the former champs and 4th-seed Denver Nuggets 4-3 in the 2nd round; before dusting off the 6th-seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference Finals 4-1. A seeming juggernaut led by the reigning MVP Shae Gilgeous Alexander, a menacing Twin Tower combination of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren in the middle, and a deep roster of athletic, super-talented support crew led by budding star Jaylen Williams, defense guru Lou Dort, and the pesky vet Alex Caruso. This is a wonderful success story of a franchise that went through the process of bringing together individual pieces through the years to get to where they’re at now, at the brink of conquering the cage world.
On the other hand, there is the case of the Indiana Pacers. A ‘middle-packer’ in the regular season; with a decent, yet underwhelming 50-32 record; equivalent to a 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Blossoming and picking up the pace only in the homestretch of the regular season. Shooting down the 5th-seed Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the playoff 1st round; shocking the East’s top-seed Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 in the 2nd round; and stunning the 3rd-seed New York Knicks 4-2 for the Eastern Conference title. Doing all these while unleashing 4 fantastic finishes from 7 or more points down with a minute or so left in the ballgame. A captivating team led by an underrated star in Tyrese Haliburton, a do-it-all workhorse in Paskal Siakam, fringe stars and empowered support elements in Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Tuppin, TJ McConnell and Bernard Mathurin, all of whom could explode cluster bombs as lead gunners any time they’re on the court. This is a magical story of a team rich with patience, persistence and positivity, with some lucky charm to boot.
The Pacers were a long-shot to reach Game 7; with Tyrese hobbling off the court in Game 6, and the momentum clearly in favor of the Thunder juggernaut. But the Pacers dug deep, ‘circled their wagons’ to score a big win in their backs-against-the-wall duel in Game 6. Which turned out to be a big rout, a total beatdown.
Defense played the key to the Pacers’ awe-inspiring triumph. They led the Thunder in steals (16 – 4), rebounds (46-41) and blocks (5-4), and forced the Thunder to 21 turnovers while committing only 10. The Pacers’ quick hands and tireless feet were simply all over the place. Of the 21 Thunder turnovers, SGA committed 8 booboos, a result of the swarming D that befuddled not just him, but the entire Thunder team. The Pacers’ phenomenal defense played the most significant role in the cringe-worthy rout of the Thunder, 108-91. This was only the first time in this Finals series that 1 team was held below 100 points.
On top of all that, the Pacers also demonstrated a well-oiled offense, where they had a significant lead in assists 23-14; and the 3-pt shot, where the Pacers converted 15 of 42 attempts, compared to the Thunder’s measly 8 of 30. On ball movement, the Pacers simply had more passes, while the Thunder had more one-on-one attacks to the basket.
All these figures boils down to one thing: the Pacers played better as a team in this particular game, on both the defensive as well as the offensive end of the court. The Pacers bested the Thunder despite the Thunder’s advantage in raw individual talent. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault will have to figure out a way to outfox his veteran counterpart Rick Carlisle on the Pacer bench, as this series has been elevated to a chess match of sorts.
The NBA has had 19 Finals reaching a sudden-death Game 7 since its creation in 1946. Of the 19 epic battles, fifteen were won by the home team. Only 4 visiting teams have survived the highly-partisan crowd ever. However, the last Game 7 which played out in 2016 was won by a visiting team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by Lebron James.
This Sunday (Monday am, Philippine Time), we shall witness the 20th NBA Finals Game 7 play out in our TV screens, to be held in Oklahoma’s homecourt at the Paycom Center. Whoever wins will take home, for the first time ever, the prestigious NBA crown. Whoever loses will bear the painful memories of the what-ifs, knowing that it could take decades for a golden opportunity to compete for the crown to present itself once again.
Cover photo courtesy of The Oklahoman. Other photos courtesy of CNN, AP News and USA Today. For a closer look, pls click on the pics.
Color My World 
It should be an epic game, especially since two of my fellow alumni, Chet Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard are playing against each other. Watched both of them play together at Gonzaga in 20-21 for only a year since Chet was a one and done. Proud to be a Zag! Go Zags!
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Yo, Matt, how you doing, my friend? So who do the Zags cheer for? Must be tough being pulled both ways, like a zig and a zag. As for me, the head goes for OKC, but the heart roots for Indy.
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