Best team against form team

The NBA finals start today as the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Indiana Pacers — and somebody is going to break a long drought. The Pacers are seeking a first championship in the 58-year history of the franchise, while the Thunder look for their first title since moving to Oklahoma 17 years ago, having won in 1979 as the Seattle Supersonics. Hayden Miekle clocks in with basketball correspondent Jeff Cheshire to see how the clash shapes up.

Meikle: Hi Jeff. Before we get to the NBA finals, obviously we need to talk about the Knicks. Are you as disappointed as me that they came up short? I mean, imagine Liverpool and the Knicks both winning titles in the same year.

Cheshire: Hey mate, you all right? As much as I want to say I feel you, being a Wizards fan through the years has entirely desensitised me to any sort of disappointment in the NBA.

Meikle: Hah. I literally just googled the Wizards roster. Oof. But moving on. The NBA finals. Thunder v Pacers. First things first — isn’t it kinda nice that it’s not the Celtics or the Warriors or the Lakers? You know, that it’s two sort of unexpected teams?

Cheshire: It’s pretty refreshing, innit? Like, who was picking this match-up at the start of the season — or even two months ago, in the case of the Pacers? I love it. Indiana is hoops heartland, and OKC have done a lot right since they moved there from Seattle. Either one is a great story, too. How do you see it going?

Meikle: I feel like it’s the Thunder’s time. They’ve got the depth, they defend superbly, and they can score on anybody. They had the old big three with Durant, Westbrook and Harden but they needed to break it all down and rebuild with some super-smart moves. And they’ve got the best player in the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — deferring to your much superior basketball knowledge, please explain what makes him so good.

Cheshire: Hah, well, haters would say he flops. There’s probably a little bit of that, but for real he’s so good in so many ways. He’s a killer in the mid-range in a way not so many are these days, so you’ve got to guard him tightly there. He’s not next-level athletic but his change of pace is elite, and the way he changes direction when he drives is quite unconventional and that helps him get to his spots. He’s pretty good at creating contact, but defenders tend to foul him more because they can’t stay in front of him and he probably oversells the contact a bit, so it’s a bit of both in that regard. Either way, he’s clearly the best player in the series.

Meikle: And the team with the best player usually wins. Not forgetting the Thunder also have Jaylen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and former Knicks centre Isaiah Hartenstein. Can the Pacers, even with the amazing Tyrese Haliburton, match that depth?

Cheshire: Had to find a way to work the Knicks into it, didn’t you? But yeah, they’re nice and clearly deserved favourites. I don’t know. The Pacers are on a tear and Haliburton is on a warpath after being voted most over-rated player. They play such nice basketball as a team. Their offence is so fast and efficient, and it just flows. Hali is so good at executing within it. It makes them really difficult to guard and they’ve got that dog mentality. It’s like best team against form team, and anything can happen come finals time, as we’ve seen before.

Meikle: I was wondering if there are any Kiwi links to either side. So far I’ve got the Thunder drafting Steven Adams, and the ODT sports editor seeing the Pacers play in 2004.

Cheshire: We can get pretty local there. The Pacers currently hold the rights to Dunedin-born Mojave King — son of the great Leonard. They traded for him on draft night after the Lakers picked him two years ago. He played for their G League team last year, too. He’s obviously back here right now. Former Breakers Next Star Ousmane Dieng is on the Thunder. There’s actually Aussie rookies on both sides in Johnny Furphy and Alex Ducas, if we want to extend it to this part of the world.

Meikle: Prediction time. I think the Thunder in five. Just too good. Shai MVP, obviously.

Cheshire: I’ll go a Thunder sweep, also with Shai as MVP. Could be horribly wrong there, though.