I am picking the Thunder to win these NBA Finals in five or ‘maybe’ six games, but I will add with a tone of serious concern for Thunder fans—Rick Carlisle is a coach I put right there at the top of my NBA list for the last two decades or so. I’d put Coach Carlisle right there in my Top Four grouping of Pop, Steve Kerr, and Eric Spoelstra.
He’s a ball coach for certain. One of those rare coaches I actually enjoy gleaning knowledge from with every one of his comments during a presser. You know, real pressers…where a coach isn’t shielded by their own team like the Thunder do with Little Nick Gallo and all of that nonsensical nonsence when ‘Momma Gallo” is asking the questions and trying to steer the tone. Even on the cusp of a Thunder championship…this still bothers me. Don’t talk down to your fanbase.
His teams move the ball. His teams know how to play with transitional pace…and they move the ball outside the three point-line as well as any team in the NBA currently. When I’m watching Rick Carlisle coach a game…I try to take the time to note each secondary hockey assist because I love the way the ball moves with his teams. Rick Carlisle would strangle Julius Randle with his ball stopping antics and I don’t think that’s an overstatement.
But here’s what facsinates me most about tonight…how will Coach Carlisle insulate Tyrese Haliburton’s space and time from Sam Presti’s dobermans-pitt bulls when the Thunder bring their Forty Minutes of Hell?
Sam Presti has given Coach D a very unique tool box of sorts. That’s why we’re stilll chirping about the historic defensive metrics this Thunder team has displayed this basketball season.
Coach D has the luxury of defending Haliburton with Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, JDub when not on Siakam, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich Williams. That’s six elite defenders with 36 fouls between them who can rotate on Tyrese Haliburton when he’s on the floor. Anotherwords, one of those six will be fresh and foul trouble free when they hit the floor to physically assault Tyrese Haliburon’s space and time.
I think it’s a intriguing Game 1 tonight inside of Pay.Com Arena. It’s a simple game though really. Because in today’s NBA game if one team is hot from beyond the arc and the other goes stone cold as we’ve seen from the Thunder some during this post-season…anything could happen in one game or maybe two. But four?
If tonight we’re the NCAA Championship Monday, one game winner take all…I’d probabaly give the Pacer’s 47-48% chance of winning it all like NC State or Nova did. But this requires four wins by the Pacers in two weeks.
And if Coach D thinks this through…I would suggest Tyrese Haliburton shouldn’t be wornout dude by Game 5 back in Oklahoma City.
How cool…we have the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City for a second time. Smell the roses. Freeze yourslf in time. These NBA championships have been difficult to repeat of late. Very tough to repeat.
*It’s storming out here at the mini-ranch in Deer Creek. MJ feels as if he’s a mystical basketball god at this point. This pre-game storm MJ conjured up is the surreal calmness, then storm before an NBA Championship run. I feel like Zeus out here on the mini-ranch steering these Finals in the direction of these Oklahomans who need some new structuring of their faith for things beyond Trump. If you have faith…amazing things can happen. 4:45pm*
Enjoy the game.
Mike J