The Thunder’s nose has seemingly perked up. It can sense another team with a strong sense of self.
All it takes is a watch of Indiana’s Game 6 win over the Knicks on Saturday, punching its ticket to the NBA Finals, to understand that its identity is almost aromatic.
Watch the way Andrew Nembhard clings to superstar guard Jalen Brunson like a holster. His ball pressure is a mark of their identity as a dimple. Or the fact that a player like Thomas Bryant, who averaged 15.1 minutes this year, could help lunge the Pacers to the promised land; they’re hardly surprised. Or Tyrese Haliburton’s vindicated glares in the face of being labeled overrated.
This team is proud. Groomed internally, dismissive of the notions that they needed some farm of superstars to stun the East. Almost everything they needed, it seems, was in their backyard.
“We have a lot of respect for them from afar,” Daigneault said of the Pacers on Sunday. “The program they’ve built, the way that they play, the identity they’ve built on the court, the way their guys play together. The whole is better than the sum of the parts with their team, which I think is the sign of a good team.”
Not unlike the Thunder, the Pacers withstood this postseason in large part because of their depth. Haliburton is the head of the snake, but they click on multiple cylinders to work.
Pascal Siakam won MVP of the East finals, a sign of his consistency. Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith have proved necessary on both ends. Myles Turner is a proud part of the foundation. Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin have also been relied on.
If you need to know anything, know that the theme of their tunnel walk on Saturday was all-black: a coordinated, team-wide preparation for a New York funeral. They’re even connected when they Ether teams.
“Mark made a really good point,” OKC star Jalen Williams said. “Like, they’re feeling the exact same way we feel. They’ve had to win three series, we’ve had to win three series. So they’re coming in extremely confident.”
OKC Thunder vs Indiana Pacers in NBA Finals is ultimate small-market clash
Pacers versus Thunder — for those not thinking of TV ratings, the pockets of billionaires or what David Stern would do — is being presented as an all-time defense against an all-time offense. A matchup where OKC’s stingy defense, which leeches off turnovers, faces a competent Indiana offense that refuses to cough it up so easily.
But the Thunder offense has been the third-best in the league this postseason, just behind the Pacers, even if its shooting can be shaky and its halfcourt presentation is sometimes questionable. And while there aren’t nearly as many pests to call on, the Pacers defense has a sense of self — and frankly can beset more offense with how much they score.
“The way they defend contributes to their team identity,” Daigneault said. “It’s not just offense. Their defensive philosophy is very much aligned with their offensive philosophy. So it creates a certain air to the game when you play against them that is difficult to play against.
“They play the same way in January as they do in May. They play the same way up 20 as they do down 20. They’ve got unbelievable integrity to the way that they do things.”
Perhaps no one has been asked to look in the mirror as often as Haliburton. A player whose future was once promised in Sacramento, only to be traded as sophomore, to then be questioned as an All-Star as recently as this winter.
He wasn’t selected for February’s All-Star game, and yet was selected as an All-NBA Third Teamer. Some weeks after being voted among the NBA’s most overrated players in The Athletic’s annual anonymous player poll, Haliburton has laughed and emoted and smiled through series wins, even grabbing his throat to revive haunting memories during the Knicks series.
“What makes him very good is that he’s very confident,” Williams said of Haliburton. “To be able to play as well as he’s been playing through a lot of the ‘overrated’ stuff, you gotta tip your hat to him for that.”
Haliburton’s rise and demeanor have mirrored that of Indiana during this playoff run. Proud. And hardly overrated.
OKC Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers playoff schedule
All times are Central
