03-06-2025
Court Sense: The small-market NBA Finals
I joked a few months ago, in the aftermath of a Celtics-Lakers primetime showdown at TD Garden, that Adam Silver might be dreaming of a Boston-Los Angeles NBA Finals, a surefire ratings bonanza renewing the league's biggest rivalry in the Finals for a 13th time.
Well, Adam, get ready to learn America's heartland, buddy!
The NBA Finals are set,
Does it matter? Not really. Ratings are important, but they're not exactly a direct revenue driver for the league, which is paid a fixed amount in its rights deals. It helps that a shiny new deal was inked last summer (roughly $76 billion over 11 years — I think the league will be OK).
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Most expected the Thunder to be here after Oklahoma City won an NBA-best 68 games during the regular season, the highest win total since the Warriors' record-setting 73-win campaign in 2015-16. Behind MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the league's best defense, the Thunder swept aside the Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals with relative ease.
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But the Pacers? Who were set as 50-to-1 longshots to win the title before the season and finished 14 games off the pace in the Eastern Conference? Not so much. Indiana's been on some run this postseason, taking care of the Bucks in the opening round, burying the top-seeded Cavaliers in the second round, and closing out the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
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They've caught a couple of breaks: Bucks star Damian Lillard tore his Achilles' in the first round; Indiana didn't have to go through the Celtics after Boston's incredibly cursed second round series against New York; and the Knicks are, after all, still the Knicks.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) and Tyrese Haliburton will do battle in the NBA Finals.
Kyle Phillips/Associated Press
The Thunder are big favorites and for good reason. They suffocate the NBA's best offenses while their own is driven by the MVP, a combination that has resulted in a team that looks ready for a coronation.
But at this point, how can you count out these Pacers? Indiana, 12-4 in the postseason, has swept aside two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, smoked the 64-win Cavaliers,
The Pacers will need to be pretty much perfect to take down the Thunder. Or they need to keep casting whatever spells they've been using to get this far. Either works.
(Anyway: Thunder in five.)
Let's get into it.
ICYMI 🗞️
Tyrese Haliburton will lead the Pacers into their first Finals since 2000.
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
You may not know much about the Pacers and Thunder, but you'll enjoy the show they put on in the NBA Finals
By Gary Washburn
Celtics faithful are still in their mourning period, despite the pleasure taken from the Knicks losing to the Pacers in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
Similar to two years ago, the Celtics watched a conference foe they feel they're better than advance to the NBA Finals. The Pacers earned their way to this matchup with the Thunder, learning from their conference finals sweep at the hands of the Celtics last year and bringing back a more experienced and savvy roster.
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Although this is not an NBA Finals featuring any of the league's darling markets, it is the best team in each conference, which makes for a compelling matchup. The Pacers and Thunder are a lot alike, their cornerstone players each acquired through trade.
Other top stories we're watching ...
Celtics assistant GM Austin Ainge is leaving for new role as Jazz president of basketball operations.
You know who really loved the Knicks' playoff exit at the hands of the Pacers?
The NBA offseason hasn't really kicked into gear, but the potential moves of stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant could shift the landscape in the Celtics' favor.
Trivia Tuesday 🧠
Congratulations to Nathan Weinberger of Cambridge, the first person to correctly answer last week's question. As a refresher, we asked you to name the two single-digit uniform numbers that have never been worn by a Celtics player.
The answer is
Nos. 1
and
2
. The former was retired in honor of Celtics founder Walter Brown in 1964 and the latter in honor of legendary coach and executive Red Auerbach in 1985. Neither number had been officially issued to a player in the years before they were raised to the rafters at the Boston Garden.
Walter Brown (left) and Red Auerbach (right) have numbers retired in the Garden rafters, despite never having suited up for the team as players.
Paul Connell/Globe Staff
Here's this week's question: When the Celtics won the 1986 NBA Finals, which Celtic finished the series with a perfect 3 for 3 shooting from the field? (Hint: He's got some important basketball games coming up!)
Know the answer? Send us an email at
The Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week
Congratulations to TNT's Charles Barkley, a first-time winner of the Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week.
In their final series covering the NBA for TNT, the 'Inside the NBA' crew was high — and I mean high — above the court at Madison Square Garden,
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'We up in the clouds, I could touch God right now,' Barkley said. 'That's the only chance I'm ever going to get to see him. I'm going to hell.'But I'll see a lot of y'all with me. A lot of y'all laughing at home — I'm [going to] see you!'
As this show moves to TNT, I'm already ready to riot if ESPN tries to sanitize the 'Inside the NBA' guys. Don't you do it, Disney!
This story first appeared in Court Sense, a biweekly Celtics newsletter from Boston Globe Sports.
Amin Touri can be reached at
