As both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers led 3-1 in the conference finals.
The Thunder will have a chance to close Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday’s road, while the Pacers will try to eliminate the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
With the key points of both series, let's break down everything we've seen in the finals so far.
Nadeka: The Pacers are even more impressive because their roads are more difficult than the Thunder. Indiana had to beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks MVP finalists and former champions in the first round, then upset the Cleveland Cavaliers of the 1st seed in the second round, now panicing the Knicks, which made the Knicks a quick job as defending champion Boston Celtics. And the Pacers aren't screaming by these teams - they either dominate the big game or get rid of a miraculous late comeback.
OKC cruised in the first and third rounds, but the Thunder were also pushed to the edge by a mine tool team perhaps Three reliable players and a bunch of wildcards. This may illustrate more about Nikola Jokic's greatness, but Indy hasn't tested it in this way.
Greeve: Given the ridiculous difficulty of winning against Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York, Indiana is on the verge of the NBA finals. It has become one of the best "clutch" teams in playoff history, and nothing can be eliminated.
Oklahoma City's own growth may not be obvious, but it is equally impressive due to its nuances. The top ten players in a playoff average of 24.6 years old feel like they are maturing every night. It was an impressive focus feat when Oklahoma City maintained its No. 1 seed game level since the fall.
However, there is no guarantee that the advantage will translate into the playoffs, especially after enduring pain last year. So far, they have proven themselves to dominate (see Memphis in the first round), maintaining the seven-game series (Denver) and giving them control of the Western finals when Minnesota opened.
Nadeka: No, but that doesn't matter. Do I think there are 10 players with better personal talents with Halliburton? Yes. Does that mean he can't be the best player in the championship team? The answer seems to be no.
The ultimate point here is that Haliburton doesn't need to be more important than what he did in the playoffs - an elite table-mounted point guard who can score when needed, play a good defense and produce an offense in clutch time. Tags like “Top 10” and “Superstars” have nothing to do with what we watch.
Calling Halliburton a superstar won't magically change the Pacers to some Sword Saints. What we are watching is a team with unique talents in Haliburton, which is built perfectly around him and directs the strengths of the lineup. It doesn't have to be everyone's copy formula, but it's important that it works for Indy.
Greeve: You can ask 100 NBA award voters how they define “top ten players” and you may receive 100 different answers. If you want to literally see the best player, then the all-NBA team of the year is a useful guide, and according to the metric Haliburton, the third team has at least a top 15 winners.
But here is my definition: can they be the best player on a legal champion team? The game that entered the Eastern Conference Finals last year first showed that this year's playoffs confirmed this and that Halliburton's meeting this standard is not just about meeting this standard. His ball efficiency (only six turnovers in four finals) makes his teammates better and won't be scared of stress.
It took a while in Haliburton, and he seemed to be blending together through the rare fusion of extreme self-confidence and self-criticism. He called the season "trash" and returned to New York from the loss of the collapsed Indiana game three, realizing he needed to be better. In Game 4, he became the first player to have at least 30 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers in the playoffs. To me, it looks like a top 10 player.
Nadeka: The Knicks must be the answer here. New York has made few predictions from the Celtics, even back They rose 2-0 in the series. It was shocking to have New York achieve such an exciting victory and then lose two home games to start the conference finals.
The Knicks looked like they lost defensively in every aspect of the Pacers, and later in the season, Tom Thibodeau was experimenting with the bench, but he had no choice as he tried to find the answer for the Pacers' pace. Perhaps the most disappointing part is that the series could tie 2-2 if it weren't for the first game of bragging in a historic way.
Greeve: New York, because Minnesota exudes a team atmosphere at the beginning of something-it's still trying to figure out what best fits Anthony Edwards' future around Anthony Edwards, but the Knicks sold many of their futures, both in hat space and draft assets, are committed to taking advantage of this current opportunity.
This is not to say that the end of the New York champions’ forgiving window is here, but it can be said that given their stars’ age, they are closer to the end of it than they start. The struggle in New York is partly that the move is defensible as the team showed resilience in the playoffs while defeating Detroit and the amazing Boston. But if the Knicks lose, they will have problems in succession of playoffs why they aren't enough to have a hard time losing to Indiana.
Nadeka: As disappointing as it was in the past... Knicks! Every loss they made against Indy was very different. If it weren't for some unfortunate bounce in the fourth quarter, New York could have somehow risen 3-1. And, with two more games at home, the Knicks should theoretically be strengthened from loyalty, even if they struggled in New York in the playoffs. The Knicks must be on the ropes, but these games are too close to write about New York.
Greeve: New York. Facing Oklahoma City, it has to feel like playing a disciplined machine, which is almost all the time to make the right move. I don't like Minnesota's chances about this. In contrast, Indiana has more variations in style and opportunity space. Just the last few minutes of Game 3 after the Knicks’ comeback victory, and the last few minutes of Game 4 on Tuesday, when the Pacers were seeing their lead from 13 to 13 to 6.