Why many fans believe this year’s finals match-up won’t be as entertaining as the previous ones
As we reach the month of June, we are approaching the end to yet another fiery NBA playoffs. Which means we are now in the grandest stage of them all, the NBA Finals, where the two top teams of their respective conferences will matchup and compete in a best to seven series to see who will be crowned NBA champions. In this years NBA Finals, it will be the Indiana Pacers, a team that shocked the world by knocking down multiple powerhouse teams in the East, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a young and fiery team that held the best record this season with 68 wins in the West. But there’s just one problem. People are starting to label this as a boring matchup. But why? Well for starters, both Indiana and OKC are both small market teams located in the middle of the United States, whereas fans are so used to seeing big market teams playing in the big stage such as the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Another reason fans view this as a “boring” matchup could be due to the negative criticism of both team’s star players. On OKC’s, you have Shai Gilgeous- Alexander, the reigning MVP, who many people label as a “free-throw merchant”, due to how he throws his body around and flops in order to constantly shoot free throws. Then on Indian’s side, you have Tyrese Haliburton, who was voted by his fellow NBA peers as the most overrated play in the NBA today, and who also deals with heavy criticisms due to his inconsistent style of play and is also labeled as “corny” because of how he mocks other players celebrations.
But to true fans of the game, this matchup should be seen as one of the best we’ve had in a while. Since the NBA has first been established back 1946, both the Pacers and Thunder has never won a championship in their franchise’s history, so one of the teams has a chance to make history this year. Not to mention, we will be witnessing the #1 offense in the Pacers vs the #1 defense in the Thunder, so this will be fast-paced and exciting basketball led by two young teams. The story lines for each team seems like a perfectly written script as well, as Haliburton who was seen as overrated is proving his doubters wrong every game, and Gilgeous-Alexander who recently won MVP is also looking to add a championship and finals MVP all in the same season.