The tension in the air at the Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center was palpable as Game 7 of the NBA Finals tipped off between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
After all, we rarely ever see Game 7’s anymore. This was it: the ultimate showdown as fans roared, hearts pounded and the stakes couldn’t be higher — two young, hungry teams vying for their franchise’s first title in decades.
INJURY. As it turned out, it was a bit anti-climactic to me as the Pacers who were led by a hobbled but defiant Tyrese Haliburton lost their leader right in the very first quarter to injury -- an achilles tear that led to a surgery that would sideline him until perhaps the first half of the season next year.
Almost immediately the momentum swung in favor of the Thunder. And though the Pacers were still able to keep it close up until the first half, there was no denying that the fact that they had lost the engine behind the Pacers pump.
The Thunder outscored them 34-20 in the third quarter and from then on began to pull away.
I don’t want to take anything away from the OKC Thunder. Injuries are part of the game. If you recall, Kevin Durant started out hot in Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors, scoring 11 in the first quarter alone. But he hit the floor early in the second with a torn Achilles, leading to a bitter end to his Golden State Warriors stint. If he had stayed healthy I have no doubt the Warriors would have won.
But then again, those are the breaks of the game, pun intended. It is what it is and if you are a die-hard sports fan, you take it on the chin and stop moping.
THUNDER. As it turned out, the best team all season was the best team in the end. And fittingly so, the best player all season was also the best player in the Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The youngest team to win the title in nearly a half-century is also potentially a harbinger of a culture change in the NBA. Officially gone are the big name superstars like Lebron James, Steph Curry and Durant. The new kids on the block signal a changing of the guard.
Gone, well at least for now, are the reliance on a “big three” of superstars that can take over a game and dominate. We are seeing a return to the team play of basketball, a next-man up mentality. And though players like Haliburton and SGA are still their go-to guys, the load is shared now by several others on the team.
A little known fact is that this is actually the second title, at least for this franchise which used to be known as the Seattle Supersonics who won an NBA title in 1979. However, the Supersonics name and branding remained in Seattle and that is why there’s nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma to commemorate that title.
But now, a banner is finally coming -- an OKC Thunder banner
LAST ROUND. It’s on my brother-in-law Eriek Kurniawan who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!