The Oklahoma City Thunder are the champs, which is actually a bit of a relief considering the weirdness of the playoffs. It’s refreshing that the team that was the best in the regular season ended up winning the championship.
I know people like weird results and upsets, and trust me, I’m not some wet blanket opposed to fun twists, but I do view the playoffs as a chance to determine who the best team really was that season. As much as I’ve been enjoying the vindication of my Pacers take, it’s good to see that the team that dominated the regular season finished the job and became champion.
Not that they dominated at all, but they figured things out. They got good performances from different guys when they needed them. They got big moments from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Chet Holmgren bounced back from a complete zero of a Game 6 to defend the rim brilliantly in Game 7. They got what they needed from a bunch of young, inexperienced players who struggled with the moment from time to time.
And they got some luck. Whether it was a moon shot 3 from Lu Dort, a complete no-show from Myles Turner, or the devastating Achilles injury to Tyrese Haliburton, the Thunder caught some breaks along the way. No championship is won without benefiting from something out of your own control.
That Haliburton injury was devastating. The snap of the tendon was obvious. His “no no no” reaction was heartbreaking. He knew the risk of playing on the strained calf and the worst case scenario played out in gruesome, real time in front of millions. Over a little more than a month, the NBA lost 27-year-old and 25-year-old superstars to Achilles tears on a national stage, which makes no sense.
The sad reality is that Game 7 could have gone differently if Haliburton was there to engineer another miracle. The Thunder had their moments and made their runs, but the Pacers stubbornly refused to die. There were at least three moments in the second half where I thought Haliburton checking in would have changed things.
This is why I was always so dismissive of all that easy path talk with the Celtics last year. You can put any championship under the microscope and find breaks that made it easy. You can find a dozen titles that probably change hands if something bounces a different way.
If Kawhi Leonard had made both free throws in 2013, Ray Allen’s 3-pointer would have cut the lead to one instead of tying the game. The Spurs would have won the title.
But things happen the way they happen, and as much as I wish someone would have protected Haliburton and saved him from himself, I can also admit I would have made the same decision to play and I would have expressed no regret for doing so even after the injury. Legends are born in Game 7, but every hero’s tale includes a tragedy.
The Pacers are going to change. After being involved in trade rumors seemingly every year of his career, Turner is finally a free agent. His Game 7 won’t juice any of the bidding, but there are teams looking for stretch-bigs out there so there will still be a healthy competition for his services. The rest of the team can come back, but without Haliburton, there is a question of how much of Pacers want to simply put the same team on the floor or adjust to avoid impending apron issues. There isn’t a worry this upcoming season, but there are some big salaries on this team.
What can they be without Haliburton?
The Celtics will likely benefit from whatever that answer is. Any competition removed from their path next season will surely be welcome by Boston’s front office. We could have argued that the Finals run would have given the Pacers the motivation to lock in from the beginning, bringing them to a new level of regular season basketball. Dealing with the new-look and more mature Orlando Magic will be tough enough, so the Pacers having to answer tough questions about their future roster construction helps Boston as they go through their own retooling.
By the way, it also helps Boston that Kevin Durant is staying out west after his trade to Houston. The NBA wouldn’t be the NBA without some kind of drama or unnecessary distraction from something important. Durant going to Houston in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and the 10th pick makes the Rockets better in a crowded Western Conference, and it prevents Durant from being a thorn in Boston’s side in Miami. It also keeps the Heat from climbing out of the dregs of the East.
There will be time for all that later this summer. The Thunder are the champs. And for those in Boston looking to latch on to celebrate something, we can enjoy that fact that a bunch of locals just got their first ring. Thunder GM Sam Presti is from Concord, coach Mike Daigneault is from Leominster, VP of Basketball Operations Rob Hennigan is from Worcester, and scout Hank Smith is from Allston.
Smith was my college coach at Emerson, right in downtown Boston. Presti and Hennigan played for Smith after I graduated. Hennigan is still the school’s all-time leading scorer. So if it wasn’t for this small Boston school with a bunch of Boston guys, the Thunder wouldn’t be celebrating their first title.
There's always a Boston connection.
