By DaVince “Dino” Wright
On the Outside Looking In
The NBA Finals is the crowning point of the NBA season. The NBA usually goes all out with decorating the courts, stitching the NBA trophy on the team’s uniform and having the NBA championship trophy plastered all over the TV screens. Instead, YouTube TV was plastered everywhere which made no sense at all (in my opinion). In Game 1, the court looked like a regular season game between the two teams and the uniforms looked plain. If you go back a few months ago and take a look at the NBA In-Season tournament, the teams’ courts and uniforms looked as if they were celebrating something big while playing the championship game in Las Vegas. In Game 2 of the series, the NBA put the Larry O’Brien championship trophy on the Thunder court. This is why the NBA’s TV ratings were their lowest since 1996 (when TV ratings were first tracked for a finals game).
The Series is Tied 1-1
No one thought that the Pacers would win Game 1. Remember in every series this season, the Pacers have won Game 1 after being the underdog this season. The Pacers were down 15 going into the 4th quarter and they never stopped competing! While the Thunder had a lead they fell in love with the 3-point shot and shot themselves right out of the game basically giving the Pacers an open door to stealing Game 1. The Pacers won Game 1, 111-110 over the Thunder. In Game 2, the Pacers struggled on the defensive end while the Thunder rebounded the ball keeping the ball on their side of the court. The result was the Thunder taking a commanding 123-107 win and tying the series up. Game 3 will be in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Both teams will be ready to take the next step in going up a game.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers
6/11 – Wednesday – 7:30 p.m. – TV: ABC
This game will be a huge challenge for both teams. Everyone thought that the Thunder would be up 2-0 right now (me included) heading to Indiana. Indiana is a scrappy team that has some proven veterans and bench. I would love to pick the Pacers to win Game 3, but I don’t have enough faith in Tyrese Haliburton because he’s way too streaky for me. You never know what you’re going to get with him. ESPN has the Thunder with a 55.2% chance of winning Game 3 on the road. I’m taking the Thunder by 12! Keep in mind that OKC has the better bench.
Finals Score: Thunder 121 – Pacers 109
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers
6/13 – Friday – 7:30 p.m – TV: ABC
The Oklahoma City Thunder are again favored to win this game easily. ESPN has the Thunder with a 55.9% chance of winning on the road in hostile territory. The Pacers will put a fight and make timely runs to keep it tight, but OKC is the better team. It will take maximum effort for the Pacers to win a game at home to keep their championship dreams alive. I want to pick the Pacers to get a win to spark some type of NBA excitement for Game 4. I’m taking the Pacers by 3 in my finals upset tying the series 2-2. Keep an eye on that Pacers bench in this one.
Final Score: Thunder 100 – Pacers 104
