i dream of sushi

I’ve got to admit, I didn’t see this coming. I had the OKC Thunder winning the chip months ago. But these pesky Indiana Pacers didn’t seem to get the memo.

Now I don’t have a horse in this race. I have no deep emotional attachments to either team. I just figured that OKC’s swarming defense, couple with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive brilliance, was going to be enough to win this year’s Larry O’Brien trophy. And who in the hell is Larry O’Brien, anyway? Any relation to Conan O’Brien? Hehe. A little basketball humor there.

So what are the Pacers doing right? First, we have to say that the level of basketball talent in the NBA today is unmatched. Everybody is literally more skilled and more athletic than the players of yesteryear. If you disagree with this, you don’t believe in evolution. People get better with time. It’s a fact of life. I say this to point out that it is no longer a league where a couple of stars can get you a championship. Depth matters. From the 1st guy to the 15th guy on the roster, everybody needs to be able to make plays on a high level.

Would Michael Jordan still be a superstar if he played in today’s game? Absolutely. He’s a freak of nature athlete, with solid fundamentals, with a psycho-like competitiveness to him. Will he be 6-0 in the finals? No shot. Opposing teams would pack the paint and force him to shoot 3s.. which he is terrible at. And that’s why the Pacers have a real shot.

They push the ball up, limiting turnovers. Everybody can shoot the 3, drive to the hole, and is athletic enough to compete with OKC. This is modern basketball at its best. It’s definitely not as exciting without the superstar highlights, but the math usually wins out. And that’s what we’re seeing here.