It hardly seems appropriate to discuss the made-up drama of a Game 7 shortly after American bombs have fallen in Iran, but here we are. At a time like this, I can’t help but think of the immortal words that appeared on the satirical website The Onion, shortly after 9/11: “A Shattered Nation Longs to Care About Stupid Bullshit Again.”
We love our diversions, don’t we? And so it is over here in the toy department, where we too often confuse the artificial for the actual. Where the word “hero” gets thrown around much too blithely. Where legacies are established for excelling at a playground game.
With all that in mind, we tiptoe into the fray, understanding that a heavy dose of perspective is required. That while the NBA season culminates with a decisive game tonight between the Indiana Pacers and the host Oklahoma City Thunder, it is big only in relation to the tiny little sphere it occupies. That we can examine it, enjoy it and get worked up about it if we have a rooting interest (or money riding on it), but shouldn’t confuse it with the weightier issues that have come to bear.
As mentioned in a previous post, this is the 20th time the Finals have gone the limit, with the home team winning 15 of 19 to date. The only exceptions were Cleveland, which beat Golden State in 2016 (the last time a Game 7 was played in the Finals); Washington, which beat Seattle in 1978; Boston, which beat Milwaukee in 1974; and Boston again in 1969. (That game came to be known not only for Don Nelson’s high-bouncing game-winner, also mentioned in a previous post, but the fact that then-Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke made the mistake of having balloons placed in the rafters of the Forum, which were to be released when the Lakers won. Oops.)
The average margin of victory in Finals Game 7s is 6.8. Nine of the games have been decided by four or fewer, including the Cavs’ 93-89 victory over the Warriors nine years ago, with the closest a 92-91 victory by the Syracuse Nats (the Sixers’ forerunner) over the Pistons in 1955. So you figure this too will be a tight one, as indicated by the fact that OKC has outscored Indiana by seven so far in the series.
It will likely hinge on something extraordinary. Remember LeBron James’ block on Andre Iguodala in ‘16? Remember Kyrie Irving’s decisive 3-pointer? Or, going back to 2010, a clutch 3-pointer with one minute left by The Artist Formerly Known as Ron Artest, which helped the Lakers upend Boston, 83-79, and offset a 6-for-24 shooting game by the normally clutch Kobe Bryant?
The most iconic Game 7 moment came in 1970, when Knicks captain Willis Reed, suffering from a torn thigh muscle, limped onto the Madison Square Garden court for the finale against the Lakers. Somehow Reed nailed two early jumpers, and his teammates took it from there, breezing to a 113-99 victory. Tip of the cap here to Walt “Clyde” Frazier, whose glittering 36-point, 19-assist performance was somehow overshadowed.
At the other extreme, we have Dennis Johnson, who missed all 14 of his shots from the floor in Seattle’s aforementioned 1978 loss to Washington. The Sonics – who in time would become the Thunder, much to the Emerald City’s chagrin – avenged that loss in the following year’s Finals, and DJ would go on to earn two rings in Boston as well.
Enough hemming and hawing. Who wins? I’ll go with Oklahoma City in a close one. I believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will come up big, and the MVP will get enough help from Jalen Williams and others to pull this one out.
Would it be stunning to see Indy pull it out? Of course not. The Pacers have been playing great since beginning the season 10-15, and their postseason has been sprinkled with pixie dust. Not to be forgotten, either, is that they have the ultimate X-factor in T.J. McConnell.
But my gut says OKC. My gut says that on a day when uncertainty reigns in the wider world, that too will be the case within the cozy confines of the NBA. But the Thunder has been the better team all season – if not during these Finals – and will be good enough tonight.
(Narrator: His gut is often wrong. So judge accordingly. And understand what tonight’s exercise really means – how it is to be enjoyed for its own sweet sake, but not confused with the monumental matters suddenly swirling around us.)