2025 NBA Finals Ruminations (Game 4)

I finally got around to watching the highlights from Game 4, and I would say the biggest mistake the Pacers made down the stretch, with about 30 seconds left in the game, down by 4 with approximately 10 seconds on the shot clock, was having Turner shoot a three instead of Haliburton.  But it wasn't all Myles's fault, because Tyrese, if he really wanted the ball like that, would've bolted out to the perimeter, away from defenders, after passing the rock to Turner.

The media has been making it sound like SGA was the big hero of the game.  He made some tough shots, as usual, but it wasn't really like that.  But I guess that's how it is when you're MVP, like your name always has to be mentioned in the headlines.  Meanwhile, Jalen Williams proved just as important down the stretch, not to mention Chet Holmgren and, to a somewhat lesser degree, Lu Dort.

The Thunder basically won on fouls and free throws.  I would further go on to say that the officials were on their side but not go as far as to proclaim, based on the small sample I've seen, that the game was rigged.  The NBA powers-that-be probably don't favor either team, but I would presume that a longer series benefits the league financially.

Everyone thought Indiana were just going to get their asses kicked, but it hasn't been like that, at all.  These victories have been down-to-the-wire affairs, to the point where I can no longer definitively say that OKC is the better team.  They have a superior or better-rounded roster but don't have that type of offensive firepower the Pacers have become known for.  Indiana's offense has really impressed, matching up with the best defense in the league.

Speaking of which, another pivotal play was when Andrew Nembhard, with about 2:30 left in the game, for whatever reason decided to drive to the basket, even though he was being firmly defended by Alex Caruso, and Holmgren, the best shotblocker in the series, was lingering right there under the rim.  That was a very poor decision in a contest of this magnitude, even though the other four Pacers on the court, all of are noticeably taller than Nembhard, were lingering behind the three-point line, as if they didn't really want the ball.  Maybe the Pacers actually called an isolation play for Andrew, which again, all things considered, would be stupid.

SHOUTOUT TO ALLEN IVERSON

I intend to write an article in the near future the about most-influential NBA players of the last five decades, of which I only intend to mention like three or four, not the most-popular or winningest per se but those who actually changed the way the game is played.  One of the handful of people to make that list, the only one who didn't win a championship, is Allen Iverson.  And I was thinking about him because you see a couple of players on OKC wearing those forearm braces.  That's a style that AI brought to the NBA, not to mention the cornrows which, due largely to his influence, went on to become a society-wide cultural phenomenon, not just one practiced in the NBA or basketball circles.