Thunder losing the finals would be horrible for NBA parity

[Wagonband]

I feel like OKC has an insane team, sometimes it feels like their 10th rotation player could easily start for every other team in the league. They don't have fake 3 and D players who can't dribble, everyone knows how to play it feels from every part of the court. Their only weakness is that their 2nd-10th player are fairly evenly matched in skill. This can be a huge advantage, but it might not be the best option if you could be a bit more top heavy.

If they lose the finals i'm afraid they might be like YOLO, let's make a superteam. Let's trade some of our depth and draft picks and bring Giannis or other stars that might be available for the right price, let's just empty the clip and put an insane team on the court for the next 5 years.

Honestly i feel they have the assets to go Durant GSW level. I don't know how it would work with the cap for them, but it's a scary thought for the future for non-OKC fans

[Black Jack]

Warriors dynasty depended on previously injury prone Curry signing a super cheap deal AND the onetime cap spike that enabled signing Durant.

OKC has the most assets almost imaginable but the capology probably is more limiting now than the peak dubs had to deal with.

So sleep tight children, parity will prevail.

[Lalouie]

I feel like OKC has an insane team, sometimes it feels like their 10th rotation player could easily start for every other team in the league. They don't have fake 3 and D players who can't dribble, everyone knows how to play it feels from every part of the court. Their only weakness is that their 2nd-10th player are fairly evenly matched in skill. This can be a huge advantage, but it might not be the best option if you could be a bit more top heavy.

If they lose the finals i'm afraid they might be like YOLO, let's make a superteam. Let's trade some of our depth and draft picks and bring Giannis or other stars that might be available for the right price, let's just empty the clip and put an insane team on the court for the next 5 years.

Honestly i feel they have the assets to go Durant GSW level. I don't know how it would work with the cap for them, but it's a scary thought for the future for non-OKC fans

?? at what point did okc EVER make big panic move in the way you imply???

kd even criticized them for drafting "younger but not better" after he split from okc

i think presti is smart enuf to see that panic moves dont work,,,,,especially in parity. parity is like,,everyone's the same, so it only makes sense to tweak, especially a team like okc. good teams tweak

[cgf]

Sounds like you’re over-rating OKC’s depth and under-rating Indy’s.

[Alatan]

Im not scared of OKC getting Giannis. They dont have the shooting/spacing Giannis needs to operate and he is a terrible fit with SGA as they are both ball dominant slashers.
Add to that that they would need to trade away some of their depth and the team would be a sum less than its part.

[Lalouie]

the whole point of parity is a small market non superstar team winning on a cinderella underdog run.

what's more egalitarian than that

[durden_tyler]

Pacers winning will be a win for parity.

[rand]

If OKC can acquire Giannis this offseason, they should do so regardless of whether or not they win this Finals. Declining on ideological grounds would be foolish.

[dans1230]

I feel like OKC has an insane team, sometimes it feels like their 10th rotation player could easily start for every other team in the league. They don't have fake 3 and D players who can't dribble, everyone knows how to play it feels from every part of the court. Their only weakness is that their 2nd-10th player are fairly evenly matched in skill. This can be a huge advantage, but it might not be the best option if you could be a bit more top heavy.

If they lose the finals i'm afraid they might be like YOLO, let's make a superteam. Let's trade some of our depth and draft picks and bring Giannis or other stars that might be available for the right price, let's just empty the clip and put an insane team on the court for the next 5 years.

Honestly i feel they have the assets to go Durant GSW level. I don't know how it would work with the cap for them, but it's a scary thought for the future for non-OKC fans

If they have an opportunity to create a super team they need to do it regardless of the outcome of this series. You need to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself because obviously as these rookie contracts expire there will be a number of players on this team looking to cash in. I dont think Giannis is a good fit next to Shai, but if they can make a play at KD they should obviously do it.

[Optms]

Sounds like you’re over-rating OKC’s depth and under-rating Indy’s.

Everyone was. Go look at the game thread poll, everyone had OKC in 4. Reality wake up call for everyone.

[tonyreyes123]

Giannis is going to NY or TX if he leaves

[ballzboyee]

Depth doesn't work that way. OKC's 2nd string would be a lottery team. Guys coming off the bench don't get exposed and hunted as much as starters. Jalen Williams is OKC's no. 2 and he's a significantly better all-around player than even Caruso who has arguably been OKC's best bench wing so far this playoffs. OKC losing would just prove that Indy also has a deep championship roster that can matchup in situational lineups. Both these two teams are well constructed from a roster perspective based upon their overall offensive and defensive philosophies. A top heavy team stuck playing five-man rotation in the playoffs would fair no better and plus that team would soon be in second apron hell. I feel like this playoffs is proving that if a team does not marry depth, roster construction, and coaching, they are not winning. We just saw it with the Knicks and Denver and to a lesser extent with the Wolves. Denver lost because their lack of depth. Same with the Knicks. Neither team could run with the OKC and the Pacers all those playoff minutes off of one day of rest.

[robbie84]

Giannis is going to NY or TX if he leaves

Toronto is reported to be his preferred destination isn't it? That was reported on Hoopshype a few days ago.

[cgf]

Sounds like you’re over-rating OKC’s depth and under-rating Indy’s.

Everyone was. Go look at the game thread poll, everyone had OKC in 4. Reality wake up call for everyone.

Not quite everyone

[Stan]

Overreaction much. This dude worked himself into a frenzy over nothing

[sammo89]

If I'm OKC, I'm looking at Harden if we lose. As a sub for Shai so there are no gaps in playmaking when he sits

[phanman]

Their only weakness is that their 2nd-10th player are fairly evenly matched in skill.

In what world of reality did you actually believe this statement to be true?

Do you honestly believe that Ajay Mitchell or Kenrich Williams is as skillful as JDub? Or even to compare it to their bench unit in Joe, Caruso, Wallace or Wiggins.

[Indomitable]

Sounds like you’re over-rating OKC’s depth and under-rating Indy’s.

Because it aligns with their NBA 2k mind set.

Indy traded,drafted, and signed players.
Indy did not do the dynasty mode. Where they traded all their own players and get a ton of draft picks.

OKC is nerd sexy and most people love the fantasy of building their team up that way.

Indy has 10 solid players but will not receive the credit.
The NBA media is so busy trying to push the superstar. They put down a great team.

Indy plays for each other and lays it on the line.

I respect Indy because they believe in themselves. This is literally what sports are about.

People win or lose we will never see a team pull together like this again.

That is an overstatement. The Pistons did it 2004 and the Supersonics did in 1979. Maybe those Knicks 1970 and 1973 teams because they sound like the Pacers of today.

People we are seeing something that almost never happens. Instead of enjoying it. We are overanalyzing it.

[ball_takes23]

they might be able to stack the talent that the warriors had, that doesnt mean they will end up with the same results. I think the end result of a Giannis-Shai pairing would be an increase in Steph's perception after they dont even come close to the dominance that the Steph-KD pairing yielded.

[HotelVitale]

Not sure that we’ve fully hit the era of 2nd aprons shutting down super teams—the Celtics have multiple super maxes and 3 other big ol contracts (and 5 AS candidates) plus some other decent sized ones, the Knicks have 4 guys who could be on maxes plus some other significant deals, the Suns of course have 3 giant super maxes, Lakers two supermaxes and like 7 other guys making $10m+, etc. The 2nd apron has scared some of those teams for sure but it’s not emptying out super teams yet. They’re just not winning this year.

I think the current play style is a major contributor to the parity. The pacers play fast and dogged—and of course can really shoot—so they’ve been beating slower and more skilled teams with better one on one guys etc. The Thunder have SGA but they also win because the whole team plays crazy fast on defense and everyone can shoot too. Feels like guys like Dort or Cason are often contributing as much as a OG or Bridges would because of the system and style, and guys like Nembhard and Nesmith obviously have too. It seems like this style just rewards teams with the right 7 man chemistry and ability to play that way well, it’s simply been beating the more top heavy talent teams this PO and we’ve all seen why. (Also helps that all the super/multi-AS teams now haven’t meshed or have some really faulty top talent).