Pacers have a shot at becoming the unlikeliest NBA Champion

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16 hours ago

Pacers have a shot at becoming the unlikeliest NBA Champion | The Kevin O'Connor Show
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analysts Kevin O'Connor and Tom Haberstroh discuss if the Thunder choked away Game 1 of the NBA Finals and how the Pacers keep overcoming big deficits in the playoffs over and over again. Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
It just feels like OKC gave this one away, and you, you had a 15 point lead there in the second half, a 14 point lead with 8:58 left in the game.
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They just, they collapsed, they collapsed and uh if you're OKC, you have home court, uh, again in game two.
Uh, I picked OKC in 5.
I did not see this.
I'm stunned, Kev.
I'm still stunned that Indiana won that game.
Indiana did what they had to do.
They split.
They split, and now, like we got a real series here.
I picked OKC in 5, but I had said before the series if Indiana splits, anything can happen.
This if Indiana splits the first two games, this probably goes deeper than just 5, cause I don't see OKC winning 4 in a row.
I just don't see that.
So we get a real series here.
Indiana's ability in these games to not just be resilient, their mindset, their approach, but they continue to run their offense late in games.
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It's so unusual.
I think about all the clutch teams in NBA history, Tom.
The image in your mind is like Io, Io, pull up jumper from the elbow, pull step back 3.
It's a lot of slowed down moments in games, and then with Indiana, they just keep running their stuff.
That's what they've done in all of these comebacks is they just run their offense.
It's not slowed down isolation, it's running their stuff, and I, I think it's, it's beautiful to watch, man, like they are such a fun team that reminds me so much of those beautiful game Spurs.
And you know what, may maybe they are the new age beautiful games versus a beautiful game Pacers, and they're gonna maybe win a finals behind this style of play where they just want their stuff in these clutch moments on offense and play defense hard, versatile throughout the game.
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And here they are.
Up 10, Tom.
This is part of what they do.
This is part of the blueprint from Rick Carlisle is the resiliency, the perseverance, the never say die attitude, all the cliches from the movies.
Uh, this is that team, like Rudy has nothing on the Indiana Pacers.
This is the the craziest comeback underdog story we've seen in a long, long time.
The Indiana Pacers, I'm gonna say it again.
Plus 5000 to win the NBA championship preseason.
This would be the most unheard of NBA championship ever, the most unlikely championship championship ever if Indiana pulls this off, and now they've got potentially 3 more games at home to do this, to close out the series, and you said it with the the playmaking, uh, the passing.
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This team passes more in this postseason than any postseason we've we've seen since the 2015 Spurs.
In the 2013 Spurs, what we saw was that that quintessential.
Summertime, Jackie McMullen did that amazing ESPN the Mag story, talking to Gregg Popovich, talking to Tony Parker about that incredible series against the, the Miami Heat.
I was there for that, the way that they just completely demoralize the heat with their passing surgically.
The Indiana Pacers do that too.