Wow what is the distribution?
[NBA] The 2025 Finals
- Thread starter Mr. S£im Citrus
- Start date
Wow what is the distribution?
Kingz19
Hall of Famer
Hali has a good chance to come back and pick up where he left off since he is who he is almost purely on skill and bball intelligence. Not a player whose speed or physical athleticism are a major catalyst for his overall game.
Not insignificant since he isn’t a particularly slow unathletic player so he might become a larger liability defensively if he loses mobility as expected with those injuries…but his ability to drive an offense to a high level should still be there.
I’d be more concerned that Tatum will be a different player.
Yeah, we better hope they just don't decide "You know what, a SGA+Giannis window for the next 5 years sounds good" and just pile those picks into Giannis. Even if they had to deal Jdub or Chet, they'd be able to easily get Giannis package done.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
They did Tatum’s the next morning because there is some evidence to suggest that doing so increases the likelihood of the recovery being shorter (potentially 8-9 months) instead of a full year.
2025: #15, #24
2026: UTA (9-30), PHI (5-30), best two of OKC/LAC/HOU (5-30)
2027: Best of OKC/LAC (6-30) [PHI (5-30, if not conveyed in 2026)]
2028: Best of OKC/DAL
2029: OKC
2030: OKC
2031: OKC
Then there's DEN, which is complicated. DEN owes either 2027 (6-30), 2028 (6-30), or 2029 (6-30), but if Denver conveys that pick in 2027, then DEN ALSO owes 2029 (6-30) or 2030 (6-30), so that's a maximum of two picks from DEN.
Actually, overall that's only 13 picks max, not 16, but several picks that have been listed as outright traded appear to actually be swaps on close examination.
That is 100% what they should do. They built up all those picks to shoot their shot, and Giannis is that shot, for sure.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Brutal way for Tyrese to see his season end, but one helluva run for the Pacers. Can't really complain about their performance.
OKC just showed why they were the best team throughout the entire 2024-2025 season. The best team absolutely won in the end.
OKC just showed why they were the best team throughout the entire 2024-2025 season. The best team absolutely won in the end.
Joshyjosh31
Starter
Actually wonder what Wallace thought process was
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
perfect season complete by OKC. rough ending for Hali there, for a little while his teammates kept fighting and hanging in there but the tank ran dry and that was it. There currently are no players in the league that are on a tier on their own since Curry & Bron's reign over the NBA finals is complete meaning that we could potentially see more first time champions since the league is wide open at the moment. Pacers put on a clinic on how to defend FTA, teams will take notice.
Tizzy Flip
Starter
Congrats to the Thunder! SGA-JDub is probably the best scoring duo out there, and when you surround them with elite defense and elite 3pt shooting they’re pretty unstoppable. JDub is the dual threat scorer we could really use.
Pacers had an amazing season and proved a ton of people wrong, especially on this board (and they still have doubters as they play in the “weak” eastern conference). Hope Hali can come back strong in 2027 as he’s the heart and soul of that team. If the impact he has on the team wasn’t already apparent, you probably didn’t watch the 2nd half and didn’t notice how much slower and sloppier they played. Dude is a beast and glad he shut a lot of people up with his epic postseason
Pacers had an amazing season and proved a ton of people wrong, especially on this board (and they still have doubters as they play in the “weak” eastern conference). Hope Hali can come back strong in 2027 as he’s the heart and soul of that team. If the impact he has on the team wasn’t already apparent, you probably didn’t watch the 2nd half and didn’t notice how much slower and sloppier they played. Dude is a beast and glad he shut a lot of people up with his epic postseason
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Arenas said Tatum and Dame both had calf tightness prior to their respective injuries. Vecenie said teams will likely be more conservative with those injuries but what are players/teams supposed to do in the playoffs?
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
I say let the players eventually decide but before that, mention that there are potential risk for further injury and extended time missed as a consequence that they will have to live with
Mike
Bench
It’s an awkward one because both the team and player will want the best chance to win game seven and the championship. However, if there was a concern that this could be an Achilles injury, or it’s a warning signing that could lead to one, then should the player have a scan before they decide whether he plays or not? I presume that a scan would reveal if there’s something wrong?
Or should the team air on the side of caution and say to the player that they aren’t playing?The issue there is it could create animosity between the player and the team, but at the same time they’d be doing right by the player in protecting them.
Fingers crossed Hali can return strong from this injury. Others have returned from this kind of injury and his playing style should still work.
Mike
Bench
The only issue with putting it in the player’s court is that most will play and not take their health into consideration. They’ll see it as their chance to lead their team to glory and will potentially feel they won’t get another or a better chance. The injury might happen, but it might not happen. So they’ll take the risk and that can have a big knock on effect to them and their longevity, but also impact the team long term due to not being available.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
absolutely most will still choose to play because it will show their character which is why I would have them sit down with a physician and the front office and discuss the potential consequences leaving no regrets or contempt towards the franchise
Mike
Bench
The character they show in that decision would be subjective. On the one hand, some will see a decision to play as brave and committed because they are prioritising winning a championship, while others will see the decision as foolish and irresponsible because they are not considering the risks and long term impact. On the other hand, not playing could be considered weak and not committed because they are throwing away the chance at a championship, while others will see them as smart and sensible for considering the long term picture.
It’s a no win situation because the player almost has to play as they’d be dealing with negative press and attention for what would be perceived to be letting the team, city (etc) down, rather than praised for making a smart decision to value their long term health.
Padrino
All-Star
Whether or not the Pacers should have played Hali in game 7... it was definitely a no-win situation. And it was an extremely tough call for both the player and the franchise. With parity ruling the day across the NBA and Indiana punching above their weight a bit, there is simply no guarantee that they make it back to the Finals. Last year, Porzingas basically tossed what remains of his health away to compete in the Finals, and Boston won the title, in no small part thanks to his contribution. It was worth it.
Of course, Haliburton is much younger, and has much more of his career ahead of him in which to win a title than Porzingas did last year. You don't want to torpedo his health rashly. Hindsight is 20/20, and again, it's such a tough call. But what I'm actually most surprised by is how effective Indiana was without Tyrese. I'm not going to make some sort of outlandish claim that they're better off without their star PG and undisputed leader, but he doesn't seem quite as important to team success as I had imagined. They weren't likely to win with Haliburton playing hobbled, and they certainly weren't going to win with him completely sidelined, but they fought and scraped and kept OKC nervous until the final five minutes of a win-or-go-home situation. I thought Tyrese would need to have the series of his life in order for Indiana to take it to 6 games. I don't know how long his calf issue was affecting him before the Achilles injury, but regardless, he wasn't his normal highly-effective/hyper-efficient self for most of his minutes on the court in the series, and the Pacers still took OKC to 7 games.
My other takeaway from these Finals is that OKC looked shockingly vulnerable for a 68-win squad from the Western Conference. Their stagnant offense needs some help; too often they depend on SGA and Jalen Williams to create something out of nothing, and their all-world defense sputtered at times to contain the Pacers' fast-paced attack. I also don't think Chet is quite ready to be the two-way force they need him to be if they're going to compete for titles year after year. That said, it would not surprise me in the least if the Thunder tried their hands at the following:
Even though OKC won the title, the fact that they did not do so convincingly is somehow more terrifying to me than if they had dominated Indiana the way I expected. As you say, they may decide to throw their incredible trade asset muscle around and give themselves a more complete shot at owning the next half-decade of NBA basketball.
Of course, Haliburton is much younger, and has much more of his career ahead of him in which to win a title than Porzingas did last year. You don't want to torpedo his health rashly. Hindsight is 20/20, and again, it's such a tough call. But what I'm actually most surprised by is how effective Indiana was without Tyrese. I'm not going to make some sort of outlandish claim that they're better off without their star PG and undisputed leader, but he doesn't seem quite as important to team success as I had imagined. They weren't likely to win with Haliburton playing hobbled, and they certainly weren't going to win with him completely sidelined, but they fought and scraped and kept OKC nervous until the final five minutes of a win-or-go-home situation. I thought Tyrese would need to have the series of his life in order for Indiana to take it to 6 games. I don't know how long his calf issue was affecting him before the Achilles injury, but regardless, he wasn't his normal highly-effective/hyper-efficient self for most of his minutes on the court in the series, and the Pacers still took OKC to 7 games.
My other takeaway from these Finals is that OKC looked shockingly vulnerable for a 68-win squad from the Western Conference. Their stagnant offense needs some help; too often they depend on SGA and Jalen Williams to create something out of nothing, and their all-world defense sputtered at times to contain the Pacers' fast-paced attack. I also don't think Chet is quite ready to be the two-way force they need him to be if they're going to compete for titles year after year. That said, it would not surprise me in the least if the Thunder tried their hands at the following:
Even though OKC won the title, the fact that they did not do so convincingly is somehow more terrifying to me than if they had dominated Indiana the way I expected. As you say, they may decide to throw their incredible trade asset muscle around and give themselves a more complete shot at owning the next half-decade of NBA basketball.
Tizzy Flip
Starter
For the entire playoffs, Hali had by far the highest cumulative plus/minus of any Pacer at +132. Surprisingly, McConnell was at -34. Mathurin was the lowest at -76. As talented as he is, his BBIQ is not great; prefers contested shots to wide open ones.
This season, the Pacers were 4-5 without Hali. 7-6 last season. Unless they make a move for PG depth, they’ll be hovering around .500 next year. McConnell is the perfect change of pace guy for Hali who comes in strong right around the 7 minute mark right before the opposing PG is about to sit. But he’s not that lead PG for long stretches of the year that can sustain his level of energy for more than 20-25 mins a game.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
precisely why the decision needs to be their own and theirs only, adversity and media attacks are part of being an athlete in any pro sport so it comes with the territory. I can't imagine many players willing to sit out a chance at a championship, especially considering that they may not get another chance
