The Hali injury will dominate convo coming out of Game 7. Will OKC be given credit for their title?

[Effigy]

Well OKC don't have the heart of a champion, as we saw in Game 6 vs. Denver, and Game 6 vs. Indiana
Even when OKC beat Minnesota 4-1, it included a game where Minnesota scored 70+ points in each half, the first time in NBA playoff history!
And OKC only won Game 4 of that series because the officials put 0.3 on the clock instead of 0.6

It's alright, they have the whistle of a champion, and that was enough.

The scary thing is, this was the year to get them. Like Boston when they lost to GS in the finals. OKC was not ready to win this year, but they talented their way to the title. And yes, they did benefit from some luck with who their opponent was and what happened to them in game 7. I personally think they'd have won game 7 either way but it would have been a better and more interesting game. But with that young team they have and all those assets, hard to see them not winning more titles in the future, TBH.

[Kobe187]

Horrific Injury to Haliburton soured the game. Not sure who would’ve won if Hali was healthy, but OKC still deserves the credit.

[Tottery]

Ofc they get credit. It does suck we were robbed of a potential nail biter.

Pacers fans have to be gutted. Not only a loss, but next season without the conductor.

[Black Jack]

I dunno but this feels like the KD injury where it was known he was on a bad wheel and played anyway. Just me but Indy should have shut him down to protect the future.

[MoneyTalks41890]

I dunno but this feels like the KD injury where it was known he was on a bad wheel and played anyway. Just me but Indy should have shut him down to protect the future.

I agree that would’ve been the right move for his future.

But seriously in what world is a star going to sit a Finals game 7?

I guess I don’t know how high the Achilles risk really was, but seems hard to say anyone would sit out in that spot.

[Lalouie]

okc will get credit

you're asking if they will get just due

not for the immediate future(read: for the next year until and if they win #2 next year)

the narrative will the topic,,,by fans, by right here on realgm, and by the media

fact...indy was keeping pace and ahead of okc by the end of the half
fact...haliburton had 9pts in 7min when he got hurt

for those who think the okc win was an inevitability, they are just looking at the final score as a validation

[bonita_the_frog]

Well OKC don't have the heart of a champion, as we saw in Game 6 vs. Denver, and Game 6 vs. Indiana
Even when OKC beat Minnesota 4-1, it included a game where Minnesota scored 70+ points in each half, the first time in NBA playoff history!
And OKC only won Game 4 of that series because the officials put 0.3 on the clock instead of 0.6

It's alright, they have the whistle of a champion, and that was enough.

The scary thing is, this was the year to get them. Like Boston when they lost to GS in the finals. OKC was not ready to win this year, but they talented their way to the title. And yes, they did benefit from some luck with who their opponent was and what happened to them in game 7. I personally think they'd have won game 7 either way but it would have been a better and more interesting game. But with that young team they have and all those assets, hard to see them not winning more titles in the future, TBH.

But i think OKC will lose to a superTeam if Giannis teams up with another superstar and all-star i think
They aren't good enough at shooting, they were out-shot by Indiana in Game 7 in field and threes and frees !!!

[TheGOATWill]

From an OKC standpoint, you play who's on the floor. Life happens.

The Haliburton injury has a multiple tentacles from sports medicine to shoe structure to pace of play to risk management. What struck me the most was how quickly the OKC crowd went from cheering the turnover and layup to almost dead silent. They knew. Mike Breen knew what happened before the ball crossed halfcourt. 7 torn achilles in one season feels like a lot. 6 guys under 30. Throw in Kyrie tearing up his knee doing something he's done ten thousand times in his life.

I say all that to circle back to the Kawhi/Spurs debacle. Kawhi listened to his own doctor and got crushed for it. By fans. His teammates. His organization. Makes me wonder if Lillard and Tatum had symptoms. Or if part of the reason Luka was traded was because he was taking advice outside Mavs medical. Tyrese Haliburton is 25 and has a game built more on savvy than athleticism. He'll probably return to form. But NBA players talk to each other. Expect more personal doctors and load management.

[Jailblazers7]

I don’t discredit OKC at all due to the injury it’s more that I feel like we were robbed of a classic game 7. Even if Hali plays, OKC can absolutely win that game at home - game was tied at 16-16 when the injury happened.

[JayMKE]

They will get plenty of credit, game 7 was disappointing but I don’t think anybody can claim this was easy for OKC and their RS record speaks for itself. There is a “what if” people can ask wondering how the game might have played out had Halliburton hadn’t gotten injured, it happened and it’s a question that will naturally be asked but I don’t think that lessens OKC’s championship

[ryguy613]

can i ask a question... do some of yall think there is an invisible arbiter in the clouds who burns asterisks into the record books when they deem a title unworthy? This whole idea of "credit given" is silly... who do the Thunder need credit from specifically? Redditors? NBA Twitter? RealGM Message Boards? Those who want to discredit practically ANY title can do so, and already have. If you dont like the outcome of any playoff series, its easy to just discredit the results. Curry beats a Cavs team missing Kyrie and Love. Cavs beat a Warriors team where Draymond got suspended a game. Kawhi beats the Warriors without KD and Klay. Lakers win the title in the bubble. People love to cope when they dont like the results...

At the end of the day, if it goes in the record books as a title, it is a title just like every other title. I really dont think it matters who gives a team some imaginary prerequisite amount of credit.

[bkkrh]

Yes they will get credit.

The asterisk mentality is beyond dumb.

Yep, I also think that probably 95% if not more of Basketball fans don't care at all about the circumstances. It is a team sport and you can find a reason why I title should have "an asterisk" for almost every title in every single sport. I'm not aware though that this is a discussion that happens in any other sport community.

To give an example, this isn't happing at all in Football/Soccer, where there are way more factors that can impact, like drawing luck, players being suspended for the following games based on yellow and red cards and the impact of referee decisions related to goals and fouls. Yes, it can happen that your best player is suspended for the championship game, but that's just part of the game. There really has to be some super special situation like the "Wembley goal" in 1966 to get stuck in people's heads.

It sucks for Indiana, but on the other side they had it in their own hands. They led the series twice and still needed to win a road game in game 7. OKC on the other side was the title favorite from the start of the season, they were dominant the whole season and did beat every opponent that was put in front of them, which included the team of the other MVP candidate and the team that beat Denver last season.

[Damkac]

Oh no, this BS again?
Just put an asterisk on every champions team ever because every one faced some injured teams.

[Black Jack]

I dunno but this feels like the KD injury where it was known he was on a bad wheel and played anyway. Just me but Indy should have shut him down to protect the future.

I agree that would’ve been the right move for his future.

But seriously in what world is a star going to sit a Finals game 7?

I guess I don’t know how high the Achilles risk really was, but seems hard to say anyone would sit out in that spot.

I get it. I thought Durant then Klay should have sat before getting catastrophic injuries too. Nobody else agrees on this obviously.

[JayJayJay]

The obviously biased whistle (OKC's 'elite defense' was allowed to grab, hold and blatantly foul all year while SGA gets calls that would make 06 Finals Wade blush) was the first big asterisk and now also Hali's injury?

Unfortunately people will forget all of that in a year and believe OKC were regular champions.

[TheGeneral99]

You can literally find injuries to major star players every single post-season.

What about Kyrie and Harden in 2021, allowing the Bucks an easier road to a chip?

Or Curry missing the entire 2020 season?

Or KD missing the entire 2020 season?

Or KD being out in 2019?

Or Embiid getting hurt in the 2023 playoffs?

Or Kawhi being hurt in the playoffs from 2021-2024?

Or Kawhi getting hurt in the 2017 playoffs?

Or Paul missing game 7 against the Warriors in 2018?

Or Lowry getting hurt in the 2017 playoffs?

Or Love and Kyrie being hurt in the 2015 playoffs?

Or Rose missing the 2013 and 2014 playoffs?

Or George missing the 2014 season?

Or Dwight having back surgery in 2011?

We can go on and on and on and on and on and on.