Court Sense: We want our NBA Finals logos!
The NBA Finals are off and running, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers tied with the series shifting to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Wednesday.
But does it really
feel
like the Finals?
I don't mean because of the small-market teams — I'll rest the slander of the midwest for today — or perceived lack of star power. But when you tune into the broadcasts on ABC or ESPN, it all feels a little ... flat?
The league and its broadcaster have come under some criticism for the underwhelming presentation for the NBA's showpiece series, with some suggesting the games haven't really felt any different from a Wednesday night in January.
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Much of that criticism has been directed toward the court designs, with the floor at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center lacking a single Finals-related decal for Game 1. It was a far cry
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The NBA apparently heard this criticism after Game 1 and acted swiftly. Viewers were treated to a pair of pretty low-res digital decals (
It's all just so underwhelming. You'd only really know you were watching the NBA Finals from the little logo in the corner of the scorebug (or if you have a vague sense of the basketball calendar, I suppose).
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Tyrese Haliburton, man.
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
As for the actual basketball, each team has notched a win typical of their respective playoff runs. The
And that's final
second
, singular,
(
By the way, those three-tenths of a second that remained after Haliburton's shot accounted for all of the time that the Pacers led in Game 1. Incredible.
I have never seen anything quite like this
A Haliburton shot in crunch time this year has been more likely to go in than a Payton Pritchard free throw. I need to go sit down.
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Let's get into it.
ICYMI 🗞️
Do not touch the Buffalo!
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
In what is sure to be a painful offseason, there's one thing the Celtics absolutely cannot do
By Chad Finn
Recent eye-catching headline on Boston.com: Celtics have reportedly 'rebuffed' other teams' attempts at trading for Derrick White.
My ire-raising reaction upon considering said eye-catching headline: 'Keep rebuffing, Brad. Rebuff every offer, from insulting' (Which most of them will be.) 'to thought-provoking.' (If any happen to be, which is doubtful.) 'Rebuff and rebuff some more. Rebuff them into oblivion.'
Because in this potentially — probably? — seismic offseason for the Celtics, trading Derrick White is the one move that cannot be tolerated.
Other top stories we're watching ...
A picture is worth a thousand words, and the defining image of the Celtics' season — and the team's near future — was a painful one.
From Larry Bird to Sam Presti, there are plenty of local connections in this year's NBA Finals.
Tom Thibodeau, who was stunningly fired by the Knicks last week, has seemingly been unfairly branded — and it's a tough label to shake.
Trivia Tuesday 🧠
Each week, we'll be asking a piece of Celtics trivia to test your knowledge on the 18-time champions.
Congratulations to Greg Herr of Byfield, the first person to correctly answer last week's question. As a refresher, we asked you to name the Celtic who shot a perfect 3 for 3 in the 1986 NBA Finals (with the hint that he's got some pretty important basketball games coming up).
The answer is
Rick Carlisle,
who played three seasons for Boston in the 1980s. Now in his second stint as head coach of the Indiana Pacers, Carlisle is looking to win his second NBA title as a coach (the first came with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011).
Rick Carlisle (center left) wasn't quite as pivotal to the Celtics 1986 as Danny Ainge (left), Larry Bird (center right), or Bill Walton (right), but we haven't forgotten him.
Greene, Bill Globe Staff
Here's this week's question: Which former Celtic is the only player in NBA history to win NBA Finals MVP and
not
later be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame?
(Excluding currently active players or yet to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.)Know the answer? Send us an email at
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This week in basketball 🏀
Congratulations to ESPN's Richard Jefferson, a first-time winner of the Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week.
Jefferson and ex-Celtic Kendrick Perkins have long provided some comic relief to ESPN's otherwise lackluster NBA coverage — t
'[Haliburton] had 5 [points] going into the fourth, and then he gets those 12 points, but the game's out of reach,'
No hesitation, fully deadpanned, excellent delivery. That's 10s all-around for RJ!
This story first appeared in Court Sense, a biweekly Celtics newsletter from Boston Globe Sports.
Amin Touri can be reached at
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Forbes
29 minutes ago
- Forbes
Pacers Take 2-1 Finals Lead vs. Thunder As Unheralded Role Players Shine
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Fox News
35 minutes ago
- Fox News
NBA Finals Game 3 takeaways: Pacers start homestand with statement win
The NBA Finals are here, with West No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the East No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers squaring off with the hope of lifting their first-ever Larry O'Brien trophy at the end of the highly-anticipated series. This is the Pacers' first Finals appearance since 2000, when they eventually fell to the Lakers in six games. The Thunder last made the Finals in 2012 and lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games. Here's what has stood out from Wednesday's Game 3 and what to expect from Game 4 on Friday: Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107 What stood out for the Pacers: The Pacers have a lot to celebrate in their first Finals game at home in 25 years considering the following stat: When a championship series is tied at 1-1, the team that wins Game 3 goes on to win the title 80 percent of the time. For Indiana, their bench was the difference-maker, outscoring the Thunder's reserves, 49-18. Bennedict Mathurin, whom the Pacers selected as the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft, had a game-high 27 points in 22 minutes off the bench, shooting 9-for-12 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and making 7 of his eight free-throw attempts. T.J. McConnell also had a major impact off the bench, finishing with 10 points and 5 steals in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton, who struggled in Game 2 with just 17 points, had a complete performance in Game 3, finishing just one rebound shy of a triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam added 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting to round out the complete team effort for the Pacers on both ends of the court. What stood out for the Thunder: While the Thunder's defense has deservedly gotten a lot of praise, considering it has led the league in both the regular season and postseason, this game highlighted the Pacers' swarming effort on that end of the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 36 points in Games 1 and 2, was held to just 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting, including going 1-for-3 from beyond the arc in Game 3. The Pacers forced the Thunder to commit 19 turnovers, on which Indiana scored 21 points. Even though the Thunder outrebounded the Pacers, 42-36, and outshot them from beyond the arc, 45.5 percent to 33.3 percent, the Pacers controlled the physicality, tempo and they simply had more players shine in the first game of the series on their homecourt. What to expect in Game 4: For the Thunder, they're going to need to control the pace, limit the amount of Pacers players that get hot and Gilgeous-Alexander is going to need to have an MVP-level performance to prevent them from falling into a 3-1 series hole. For the Pacers, they kept their cool in a game with nine lead changes and 15 ties, with guys who don't typically have eye-popping stats stepping up in a major way on the biggest of stages. 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The Pacers need to pound the boards and figure out ways to find their lanes against the Thunder's swarming defense. As for the Thunder, they need to try to replicate this wall-to-wall effort in Game 3, knowing that no lead is ever safe against the Pacers, especially on their home floor. The Thunder did a great job getting multiple players involved, including reserve Alex Caruso, who shined on both ends of the court with great defense as well as being the team's second-leading scorer with 20 points, making four 3-pointers. Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110 What stood out for the Thunder: Oklahoma City learned a very important lesson in Game 1 of the Finals. No. Lead. Is. Safe. Against. The. Pacers. Ever. The Pacers, who have had multiple historic comebacks this postseason, pulled off the improbable again, storming back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to take their first lead of the game with 0.3 seconds left after Tyrese Haliburton made a 21-foot pullup jumper to stun the Thunder and their sold-out crowd at Paycom Center. This was the ultimate wake-up call for the Thunder, who held control for over 47 minutes, behind a 38-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored twice as many points as any other player on the court. But Haliburton, who has made a name for himself this postseason with three buzzer-beaters and go-ahead buckets heading into the Finals, made the Thunder his latest victim. What stood out for the Pacers: While Haliburton's late-game heroics have already become playoff lore, it would be nice if he and his team weren't in that position. The Pacers had a whopping 25 turnovers while the Thunder only had seven. 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He needs to be much more aggressive offensively for the Pacers to avoid needing to rely on a buzzer-beater. Meanwhile, the Pacers did a great job dominating the boards, where they had a 56-39 advantage. If they can get fewer turnovers and Haliburton gets going early, they could be in a different position in Game 2. Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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