NBA Finals Takeaways: Key Lessons for Thunder and Pacers Revealed!

The Oklahoma City Thunder have clinched the NBA championship by overcoming the Indiana Pacers in the decisive seventh game of the Finals this past Sunday. This monumental victory marks a significant milestone for the Thunder, while the Pacers face a devastating blow, particularly with the loss of their key player, Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury early in the match, sidelining him for the remainder of the game and likely for the upcoming season. This Finals series will undoubtedly be remembered for years within NBA circles.

Throughout this postseason, we’ve analyzed the key takeaways for each team as they were eliminated. It seems appropriate to do so one final time for the last two teams standing. Here are the insights gained by both the Thunder and the Pacers as they head into the offseason with an eye on next year’s campaign.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Success Validates Strategy

The overarching lesson for the Thunder from their championship-winning season is simple: their strategy was successful. Every decision made over the past seven years, whether it was action taken or avoided, guided them to this triumph. Not all decisions unfolded as planned, but each one contributed to this outcome.

The pivotal trades made by Sam Presti in 2019, which sent Paul George and Russell Westbrook away, effectively launched the current era of Thunder basketball, now proven to be of championship calibre. These moves brought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a plethora of draft picks, and shaped a strategy that saw the team lose intentionally for a period to gather more talent. From 2021 to 2023, the Thunder consistently made the right calls at the draft, choosing players like Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace. Despite doubts surrounding these players, the Thunder’s faith in their scouting paid off.

Equally crucial was the decision to retain these players. The Thunder were frequently mentioned in trade rumors for every notable player on the market, thanks to their arsenal of draft picks. Yet, they made no significant trades, holding firm in their belief that their core group could contend for titles if allowed to develop. This patience bore fruit.

The significant trade they did make involved sending Giddey in exchange for Alex Caruso, a decision that proved vital. Caruso’s defensive prowess was instrumental in their playoff success, particularly against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, where his defense on Nikola Jokić was crucial.

This situation exemplifies the Thunder’s strategic patience and opportunism, which has been essential to their success. Many NBA teams have watched potential championship cores disintegrate due to an inability to strike this balance. The Thunder themselves experienced this when stars like James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Westbrook departed after their 2012 Finals appearance.

Ultimately, winning a championship is the ultimate validation for the team’s management and coaching staff, proving their strategies and decisions were correct and contributing to reaching the pinnacle of NBA success.

Yet, There’s Room to Grow

Despite their championship title, the Thunder do not fit the typical profile of an NBA champion, who usually excels in every facet better than their opponents. The 2024 Boston Celtics exemplify this, dominating both perimeter and interior defense, shooting, and slashing, outperforming their opponents consistently. The Thunder, however, excelled primarily in defense, which allowed them to secure most of their victories. In terms of shooting, particularly, they were merely average.

This aspect, however, does not detract from their success. While it may seem trivial to criticize their offense post-victory, focusing on improving their shooting could significantly enhance their performance. During the playoffs, the Thunder ranked 13th out of 16 in three-point shooting accuracy, converting only 33.8% of their attempts. They ranked eighth in three-point shots attempted and 11th in making them. Despite these statistics, they still managed to win, even with a lower average of made three-pointers per game compared to the Pacers in the Finals.

Improving in this area could make the Thunder even more formidable. Lu Dort led the team in the playoffs with an average of 2.1 three-pointers per game, a figure surpassed by 81 players in the regular season. If Presti leverages some of their assets to acquire one or two playoff-ready shooters, the Thunder could easily meet the dynasty expectations currently surrounding them.

Indiana Pacers

Experiencing Unprecedented Heartbreak

The Pacers’ journey to the NBA Finals was one of the most unlikely in recent memory. They faced a statistically superior Thunder team and were fully prepared for the challenge in Game 7. However, the game took a tragic turn when Haliburton sustained a severe Achilles injury. The repeated slow-motion replays of the incident on the broadcast intensified the agony for fans and the team alike, extinguishing any hopes of an Indiana championship victory in an instant.

There are no words that can fully console those affected in Indianapolis, but perhaps there is some comfort in knowing that things cannot get much worse. This is arguably the most devastating scenario imaginable: coming so close to a championship only to have their star player suffer a catastrophic injury that not only removed him from the pivotal game but will also likely sideline him for the following season. Despite rallying to lead at halftime, the Pacers ultimately faltered under the pressure in the second half. Their final attempt in the fourth quarter fell just short, adding to the cruelty of sports.

Pacers fans must remain resilient. Basketball has already delivered the most painful blow; nothing could hurt more than these recent events.

The Future Still Shines Brightly

Despite enduring unthinkable pain, the outlook for the Pacers remains optimistic. Haliburton’s injury, while a significant setback, has somewhat obscured just how ahead of schedule this team’s postseason performance was. Most of the key players are relatively young and early in their careers. Pascal Siakam, a seasoned veteran, has been through this before, but others like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard, and Bennedict Mathurin are just beginning their journeys. Even Myles Turner, the most seasoned member, is only 29 years old. Siakam and T.J. McConnell are the elder statesmen at 31 and 33, respectively, but even they are relatively young by NBA standards.

It’s rare for such a young team to make a deep playoff run, and the Pacers managed to do so without a top-five NBA player, unlike the Thunder. The Pacers have a bright future, and growth in the NBA is seldom straightforward, but the team has every reason to be optimistic about the coming years—before considering any potential enhancements through drafts, trades, or free agency.

Haliburton’s unfortunate injury also presents an opportunity for other players to step up and develop crucial skills for playoff success. Siakam is a proven performer, but players like Nembhard could emerge as significant playmakers, and Mathurin has a golden opportunity to evolve into a more complete offensive threat in Haliburton’s absence. Nesmith might expand beyond just a spot-up shooter role. These are opportunities that might not have arisen if Haliburton were available, offering a silver lining for the Pacers as they develop these secondary creators in future postseasons.

Though the upcoming season may be challenging with Haliburton out, the long-term prospects for the Pacers remain as promising as ever.

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