Middle America’s Moment: OKC vs Indiana – The Most Underrated NBA Finals Ever?

it's tuesday, you know what time it is. Front runner podcast collective is back on the air. I am your humble host, vince, and this is part two. Part two, so there's a part one. Did you get part one? Did you listen to part one? So much good information there.

We talked about the Knicks, we talked about the. We talked about the Knicks coaching, uh, firing and what it's going to lead to. We also talked about some history. So please go back and check out part one now. Part two is about the preview of the finals. But how did we get here? How did we get to a oklahoma city thunder versus the indiana pacers final? How did we get here versus the Indiana Pacers final? How did we get here? I'm going to tell you how we got here. The Western Conference and Eastern Conference finals we should talk about that, and the funny part about it is how we should talk about this is how it all all works out, because the two teams that are, that were currently or that have been eliminated from the playoffs are intertwined with one another. Let's get to it. So the Knicks didn't lose, just a coach.

I want to take you back a little bit. October 2nd 2024. Why does that date ring a bell to you. It was the day that Carl Anthony Towns was traded to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Dante DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and not a soul saw it coming this fast. We thought there might be a shake-up in minnesota coming. We thought that the knicks were looking for something or they were on yannis watch, which they were. Don't. Let anybody tell you they weren't. They were. But now today we break down the playoff, the aftermath, the futures of the stake and what and why.

That one trade right before training camp didn't just change two rosters, it changed two identities. Let's go forward. This was a win. Now move disguise as a reset for the minnesota timberwolves. The cap did play a important part in this development and in this trade. Let that be said and let that be known. Cat's contract was massive, but it was more than that. Randall was out of favor in New York City, dante DiVincenzo, part of that. Villanova, new York Knicks, whatever you want to call that thing. We got commercial out of it. We had Bridges coming to New York City. We're thinking Dante DiVincenzo, we're thinking Brunson and we're thinking Josh Hart. All together, it's going to be great. The Nova Knicks let's go.

It all came to a crashing halt Because Carl Anthony Towns became available and Minnesota finished the regular season on a 17-4 run, jumping from play in limbo to the sixth seed. That's not hot streak. That is the engine of Julius Randle and Dante DiVincenzo's moxie coming to life for Minnesota. 17-4 is how they finished it out. They struggled early Because they were going to struggle early, because when you bring in Julius Randle and how he plays, there was going to be an adjustment period. But credit to Chris Finch and his staff figuring all that shit out, getting us ready and getting our guy, anthony Edwards To a legitimate playoff run. We were very excited about that. Now Kat steps into the Knicks locker room Next to Brunson and just like that, madison Square Garden had a new twin engine Size and scoring on paper.

This looked really impressive on the floor, well. Well, there were times on the floor where it looked great. There were times on the floor where it didn't look so great and we're gonna get to all of it. The wolves beat LeBron and Luka in the first round. They knocked out a limping warrior squad in round two and then, okay, see, smack them back to earth in five games. It's not a knock. The Thunder was a 68 win machine. Okay, 68 wins, this is historic team.

So, uh, minnesota losing to okc is not like this huge, like you know, referendum on their season. What it is is like hey, there's a ways for you to go. How can we get better? How can we figure it out? Well, we're gonna see. So Rhea has this stat Randall in round one and two. Twenty three point nine points per game, five point nine rebounds and five point nine assists. He carried a major offensive responsibility next to Ant and Ant. That boy arrived and finally he put together clutch time for possessions like a seasoned vet.

Now spin this to the east, the knicks. They pulled a miracle versus boston, but in game one versus indiana, that's the ghost in the room. No team had ever lost a playoff game when leading by 14 with two minutes and 51 seconds left to go until the Knicks did it. Until the Knicks did it. And this is from our guy James, james Edwards, the third piece after game six. You know saying this is what happens get all the fallout. Our guy, james Edwards brings this to us. We love James Edwards, he's our guy. Check out his pieces on the athletic. He brings us great content. He used to be in Detroit and now he's with the Knicks, is so cool to see him doing well there now. You couldn't argue.

Game one broke the rhythm, they scrapped back. Game five was a masterpiece, but game six, they were out of gas. 17 turnovers, fast break points just murdered them and their identity was revealed. Now we're going to jump back to Minnesota. Minnesota's season was full of jagged chemistry, course corrections, gobert frustrations, no doubt, midseason team meetings. They were 8-10 at Thanksgiving. But they had depth. They grew cohesion and after a win in the playoffs, this what rudy gobert had to say julius, you got a lot of disrespect your whole career, and so do I. Winning. Lets us write our own narratives. Oh my god, gobert is like like brady brady bunch dad, like material right here. I don't know what he's doing now.

The knicks they were more polished until the pressure kicked in. Their issue was a talent, it was rhythm, the cohesion lag. They won big one night and then disappeared the next Tibbs, who just got fired. They got into an open floor and that was a problem. In game six, the Knicks were outscored 34-23 in the third quarter and that was game. That was it.

This is where things tighten. Minnesota is in the second apron. They are 90 million dollars plus in tax. In taxes paid they are likely can't keep all three of randall nas reed or nikhil alexander walker. Now nah saying saying Minnesota is the only place I've had really ever had an opportunity. I'm not asking that, that is. That is. That would be crazy. But you know what? Here's the thing money is gonna have to talk because Minnesota can only give him so much that money they can't go over because of what their salary cap restrictions are. So now, where do you go? Where do you go? Enter tim conley, their player personnel guy. He's technically a free agent, but the lori, a rod contingency, have to retain him if they want to sustain this. He's the architect of what they got going on. I am believing that he is going to sign a contract. He is going to stay with the minnesota timberwolves.

But I would be remiss in saying that, hey, we just had a regime change in denver. You know I'm saying we don't know who, we don't know who the front office is going to be, that, hey, we just had a regime change In Denver. You know what I'm saying. We don't know who the front office is going to be. Or, hey, that situation in Phoenix Seems a little rocky with Mr Bartlestein. You know what I'm saying. Like hey, bro, I'm not going to get into all the particulars, but there was some stuff said. Now people have, you know, have said hey, that's not true, whatever. But there's a storm building in phoenix. So tim conley has chances, he has opportunities out there waiting for him.

You know I'm saying saying if Tim Conley is on the market, does Dallas blow out? Nico Harrison could be, could be, who knows? But right now Tim Conley is with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lori and A-Rod would like to keep that situation that way. From all reports that I've heard now. New New York, on the other hand, they've got to decide what Cat Brunson duo needs to hit another gear, probably another perimeter defender, or you put Josh Hart on the bench and you see if you've got another wing or two through the young'uns or through a trade and see what you can do there. Brunson post game. We can't just jump back to the conference finals, it's one day at a time. But I've got a lot of faith in this particular group. Hmm, interesting. We will see how that plays itself out in the summertime.

This wasn't just a trade. This was two teams shedding skin. The Wolves shed a star to spread responsibility. The Knicks finally got serious about being big again, about matching East Coast muscle. New York had their best season in 25 years. Minnesota went back to back to conference finals for the first time ever. And here's the beauty of the whole thing the trade still has room to evolve. Randall could leave, cat could get even better, devin chinzo is that glue guy that everybody wants. So just saying there's room for this trade to even evolve more. You know a la paul george and how he's been the architect for the indiana pacers and the oklahoma city thunder, which is crazy seeing that lineage and how that went back and forth. The timberwolves and the nicks didn't just they um, they swapped trajectories a little bit. They traded for control, for unknowns. They both walked the long road back to relevance, just on opposite maps and, as the final tip, without either team in it.

Both cities are asking the same questions can we get back and the next time, can we finish? That is always the important question. That's the question that we always have to ask Can we get back and can we finish? Narratives are malleable, but when it comes to the part that's earned. So now this is your turn, minnesota fans, knicks fans, you know what's going down. We need to find out from you. You want to talk about who won the trade? Fine, definitely hit us up, let us know. If you want to talk about what's the main questions that we got to have answered Going into next season, we want to hear that from you as well. So hit us up on twitter at raya underscore fudge frpc or at front runner pc. That gets you me. So drop your take, drop your agenda, and we'll see you in the replies. And if your replies are good, if they're, if you're, if you're, if you hit us on dm or if you hit us on you know, if you just see this in the comments, it'll get read on friday's pod. So get after it now.

What everybody's come here for the preview of the preview no coasts, no excuses. This is the heartlands finals. We are in the heartland of America for the finals. We move it. It's all in the central time zone. Okay, oklahoma city, indianapolis, it's gonna be great.

Let's start here. No steph, no lebron, no tatum, no yannis, and somehow this is the most interesting finals we have had in years. Yes, I understand for all the coastal leaders out there, including myself. Oh, where's the Lakers. Where's all the star power, dude? Don't worry, we're going to have a lot of stuff to talk about. It's not because who's missing, it's because who finally made it? Oklahoma City and the promise that was SGA and Sam Presti's architecture build of this team, just the maniacalness of what he had to do to get here. And then there's Indiana, who never settles, who always is always looking to upgrade. They never sat there and fully tanked. They made shrewd trades. Demontis Sabonis for Tyrese Halliburton is a absolute steal. Sorry Sacramento fans, sorry to the Kings fans who every time they hear that they must just feel like a little stab in the heart. But it's true.

Now here's a note. Two of the youngest NBA cores Are meeting in the finals. Only one player in either rotation Is over 30. And that is Alex Caruso. Teams who have been built through the draft, not max trades. That's what we're seeing here in these finals. This isn't the finals the league push. This is the finals that basketball has earned.

Okc plays like a stealth bomber. No wasted movement, every rotation sharp. They don't switch, they just erase people. And for indiana they're the exact opposite. They are a free flowing, fast thinking offense. They move like water. Fast thinking offense. They move like water Down a broken chalkboard. They just get it all over the place. Tyrese Halliburton throws passes. You can't even find the 2K Okay. Now Soraya has this stat, which is amazing. I love this one. This is great Halliburton 12.9 assists per 100 possessions. That is a 36.9 assist percentage. It's the highest among remaining starters left. It leads the NBA in secondary assists. We call them hockey assists with a purpose.

There's going to be a lot of ball movement from Indiana, but what is this series all about? It's about movement and group against the most talented player this league has to offer. So it is team in Indiana and it's the wagon that is Shea Gilchrist Alexander in OKC. He is silent devastation incarnate Versus Halliburton's muscle, musical muscle memory of just electric passes. Ball movement coming all ghost screens and everything like that is going to be absolutely amazing. Just the styles that we're going to be seeing here. And here's the kicker Now that one of these teams got here by luck, everybody will sit there and go like Vince.

That's not true. The Pacers had this. This happened. These people got hurt. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. Playoffs are attrition. That's what they are. And because somebody got hurt or whatever case may be. Yeah, happens. Sorry, what we saw with the pacers and just the level of commitment of running and the level of commitment of pace. That is one of those things that you have to be like expecting and if you don't expect it, you get embarrassed. The pacers will bury you. They will embarrass you because you didn't get back on defense. They've been slack. They've been stacking bricks in silence. Since the rust pg era exit in indiana. They traded an all-star and got better.

Let's talk about Shea for a second. You give that man a switch and he'll lull you to sleep. It's not the speed, it's the cadence. He's reading health defenders Like a sheet of music. Then boom 12 foot pull up, net't even move. So you want to talk about crazy numbers. You want to talk about ridiculously dominant numbers. Soraya has them for us. I just want you to hear this 39 points per 100 possessions, 73% field goal percentage at the rim, 47% at mid-range. That is per cleaning the glass. And we are talking about one, shea, gilchrist Alexander. Oh, and just for giggles, he has the highest unassisted two-point field goal percentage in the playoffs with a minimum of 10 field goal attempts. He's going to have way more than 10 field goal attempts in the mid-range, because he is the mid-range assassin. He is the best at it right now.

On the other side you got Tyrese Halliburton. You got a Wisconsin kid who plays point guard like he's DJing in real time. He's reading the vibe and adjusting the tempo to keep everyone involved. The Andrew Nembhard's of the world, the Aaron Neesmiths of the world, the Ben Matherins of the world, the Pascal Siakams of the world. Also our guy Miles Turner, who, on the trading block, is seen for almost a decade and now he is just a staple in a Pacers uniform. But when it comes to OKC switches everything, the group dies. Ask him to put up 13 points. The last time they met Yep, march 29th, okc beat Indiana by 21 points. Halliburton was 5 of 14. Three turnovers OK switched one through four and picked every action. That's what makes this so fun.

You got Jalen Williams, who somehow both the second unit's floor general and the quietest assassin on the court. And then you have miles turner, the shot blocker, who's also indiana's spacing linchpin. So many narratives. Jalen williams is 90 in the is in the 93 percentile of mid-range shooting, by the way. So not only do you have shay when he goes out, jalen williams can just basically play the shea role, so you don't lose anything. They use ghost screens to expose indiana's drop coverage. Turner equals he is number one in screen assist per 36 for indiana. Deep drop versus mid-range killers big gamble, big gamble. Right there. We'll see how the philosophy changes when we get into the series. And we're gonna get real petty right here.

The finals are finally somewhere where it snows, where, where the airport closes in February and where the fans show up in hoodies and not linen. Yes, yes, I can sit here and talk about my espresso From Starbucks and how it's 75 degrees and sunny outside, and I can talk about all the amenities that los angeles has to offer. But we are in middle america now. Middle america is having a moment. Middle america is having to glow up. That we've been wanting for the middle america. We've been wanting for the middle America. We've been wanting this for the farmers. We've been wanting this for the people who do all the corn, all the wheat, all the bacon, all the hogs, all the beef. This is what this finals is all about. Only finals in the last 15 years, with no coastal market team. This is middle America's moment to shine.

And still some TV folks were calling this a low profile. Low profile or just low attention span to span. If the nixon lakers, with the same stats, the same net rating, the same defensive metrics, what would the coverage sound like? I'm gonna give it. I'm gonna try to give this a little. I'm gonna try to give this a little clarity.

You will hear things like this this could be one of the most balanced finals in in a decade. The rotations, the spacing, the playoff maturity, the extraordinary, the extraordinary. And then you have people saying this ain't about culture, this is about structure. And guess what? We've got all those things. It's just not in the specific places that steven a smith wants to travel to, right, this is not the place that he wants to be at. He wants to be in miami, he wants to be in new york city, he wants to be in los angeles. He'll take phoenix, arizona, but he don't want to be in the middle of the country. But yet and still, here we are.

This finals is not meh, it's not a market problem. It's a basketball masterpiece waiting for its credit, because we got all the talents and we got all the the tentacles of greatness that lie before us. Sga walking in, walking defenders into 14 foot daggers. Check halliburton spraying passes like graffiti on the hardwood. Check jalen williams ghosting through drop coverage. Check, this is a hoop junkie's dream.

This finals, this matchup, what are we watching for? If OKC slows Indy's rhythm, we get paint control by committee. If Indy turns stops into sprints, they stretch okay, sheet okay. Sees a shell thin could be interesting. If foul trouble hits knee smith or nim horn, it's a wrap. If mile turner gets dragged too far into space, the thunder will feast. But no matter who wins, we all win.

You know why? Because it's, uh, it's system. It's creative front office, it's player development. It's meticulous um film study of the, the guys coming in from college and how it will manifest itself on the team that I'm trying to build. It's well-placed trades. It's well-placed trades. It's knowing when to hold on to somebody and knowing when to let go of somebody. Miles Turner is still an Indiana Pacer. Demont Savonis is not an Indiana Pacer.

So, middle America, stand up. This is your finals. Let's go. Let's get surgical with this. There's a ch chasm. We're going to start talking about it. There's a chasm between the okc thunder and indiana pacers. If we're just talking about stats and stats alone, metric, advanced metrics and things of that nature. There's an absolute chasm. And if we're just talking about literal stats, indiana doesn't even deserve to be on the same floor with the okc thunder. But we don't just talk about stats. Here at front runner podcast collective, we will give you the stats and we will talk about these things, because some of this stuff matters, but we're also going to talk about what these teams are doing right now.

We're not pretending that the Thunder are number one in defensive rating and Indiana's 13th. But the finals aren't won because of the obvious. They won because of the margins, and in this series, the margins, we have a lot of them. So let's break it down. The net rating gap is incredible. It is OKC's 12.8. Which is absolutely historic, to Indiana's plus 2.2. So they have a 10.6 gap Between net ratings between these two teams. This looks like an absolute blowout of a series. Right, the Thunder led playoff teams in steals percentage and paint deterrence, but Indiana was number one in transition scoring and assist percentages.

And find daylight when others panic. Oh, tyree's hollick barton will be bold. He will be bold. And let's talk about the screens. If you don't, if you don't know what a growth screen is, it's when a screener, fakes a pick and slips it into space. Think deception without destruction. Hartenstein runs this like a con artist. He said shadow screens peels off into the dunker spot or into the corner and wrecks any indiana. Early rotation reads. That could be a thing now. If you look at the march film, indiana was tagged late on five of seven go screen actions. Howard and siakam missed weak side help rotations in all five of them hard to sky's. Usage rate spikes in the first six minutes of the second quarter and also in the fourth quarter designed to hit Indiana's bench window.

And now we're gonna talk about mid-range murder. And that's where we talk about OKC, because Jalen Williams is not flashy but the fundamentals are there. He lives that. He lives in that 14 to 17 foot window. You switch a guard onto him, he backs him down like it's 1999. If you go to drop coverage, it's two dribbles, rise and splash. We already told you that Jalen's 93rd percentile in mid-range shooting Against drop coverage. Here's a incredible stat against drop coverage 58.6 percent on pull-up twos in the playoff half-court sets for our guy Aaron Neesmith fouled Jalen twice, trying to recover late from deep drop coverages.

Go watch the third quarter in the March 29th film. And now here's the kicker. Indiana knows it's coming. They scouted it, they prepped for it, but OKC executes cleaner than anyone we've seen, and this is why winning in the margins matters. So what is Indiana's best shot? Because I gave you a whole bunch of stuff that says that Indiana should be just basically setting their vacation situations up right now. But this team has played with heart all year. Some of the execution has been great, but they turned it around in the second half and became one of the most undeniable teams that we we've seen. In the broken floor moments, not in the half court, when Halliburton gets a live ball steal or quick outlet from Turner, that is where Indy is surgical. They don't even need a screen, they just need two seconds of disorganization and Halliburton turns it into a layup or corner three.

You want some good stats from Indiana? No problem 8.9 transition points per game, first in the league. Average time shot in transition 5.1 seconds, and the film shows us this. On makes, indy takes 10 plus seconds to generate anything meaningful, but off misses or line turnovers or live turnovers. It is pure magic. So how does okc stop this? It's simple put the ball in the hoop, stay disciplined, stay in your defensive shell and have rotational iq awareness at all times, because Indianapolis is looking to embarrass you, looking to embarrass you at all times.

Okc has the best shell defense in all the land Dort, caruso and Wallace it's like watching triplets move in sync. The weak side help is already there before the ball swings. That's not talent, it's reps. Caruso is top five in defensive Raptor. By the way, that's the dude coming off the bench alex caruso. Okc leads the playoffs in help side contests per game in nba tracking data.

And here's a quote for anthony edwards. So here's a guy who is one of the best iso guys on the planet. Here's a guy who's one of one of the best scorers in our league. He says if you think you beat your man, there's another one already there that you have to go ahead and now defeat that challenge. So we're gonna get nerdy for about 90 seconds. Okay, this is a weak side tag. When indiana runs drag or flare actions from the tag, the weak side determines whether the roll man is getting a dunk or a turnover. Okc has the best weak side tagging timing in the league. They tag from the low man and still recover to the corner shooter. That's also in the film. So go take a look. If you got time, go look at that.

That march 29th game it's not for the stars or who's playing, who's not playing. It's just we're talking about philosophies and counters and how we're gonna get through this, this seven game series, you know, and be able to have our hand raised in victory. You know what I'm talking about. That's what I'm saying. So who breaks first? Can Turner stay on the floor without getting pulled out of drop coverage? Can Nembhard defend without fouling when isolated on SGA or Jalen fouling when isolated on SGA or Jalen? Can Indiana survive the minutes when Halliburton sits and TJ McConnell is trying to orchestrate the pace? He does an incredible job off the bench. These are the pressure points, not big swings, small tears. The finals are lost in leakages. All right, tj mcconnell on off. Uh net rating negative 11.2. In the playoffs.

Indiana's three-point percentage drops by 7.4 percent when nismith is off the floor. These aren't bench minutes, these are time bomb minutes. Imagine a possession where SGA has the ball at the top of the key and Neymar gets screened by Isaiah Joe. Miles Turner is in the drop position hoping Shea doesn't pull up. Joe flares to the wing open, sga stops, spins and hits a 14-footer off glass, you know what possession is. What's a funeral with a slow drumbeat? This is what OKC does to people. They don't kill you fast, they just keep pressing until you can't breathe anymore. And yet Indiana has varying tools, and when I say varying tools is that they start hot from three. If Halliburton can get two early runouts, if Miles Turner hits two short rolls and a three-pointer, this is a team that can stay in it because they have the offensive flow that can kind of disrupt what okc does on defense. But we will see. That's the challenge right there. But even then, even then, you're still in trouble because it's just deflections and they're just trying to knock off your timing all the time. Here's the truth. You don't get many chances like this.

Shea Gilgis Alexander is the 2025 NBA MVP and he is four wins away from quoting his name next to Jokic and Steph, not just as stars, but as summit guys. Here's something from Soraya only three players in the last 15 years have won the MVP and the finals in the same season Steph Curry in 2015. Lebron Ramon James in 2012 and 2013. And our guy, nikola Jokic in 2023. Shea would be the first guard since Steph to do it the first non-coastal MVP winner since Tim Duncan Damn. It's been a long time.

And let's be clear this isn't just SGA having a great season. This is surgical dominance. You give him the elbow, he gives you 27. You trap him, he finds Jalen. You sag 17 footer, good night. This finals it's his canvas. And if he caps off with a title, you're not just talking about the West Guard in the league, you're talking about legacy rewrite in real time.

But let's zoom out. This is about more than one man. This is about the way the Oklahoma City Thunder were built. It's a team. The way they do interviews, the way they move on the court, the way they don't have no one chasing max contracts, where development, patience and role clarity made them better than most super teams. You look at what Sam Christie has built. This is a system win waiting to happen has built. This is a system win waiting to happen. Okc is the youngest team to reach the finals since Magic's Lakers in 1980. So I'm gonna say that again OKC is the youngest team to reach the finals since the Magic, since the Magic Johnson's Lakers In 1980. That is 45 years ago. I was just a young puck at that time. I wasn't even 8 years old I don't turn 8 until August 25th Of 1980. But Magic Johnson was leading the Lakers To an NBA Finals.

10-man rotation, 8 drafted or developed in-house. The only team top three in both offensive and defensive rating this season. Your Oklahoma City Thunder and the Pacers are sitting there. Where are our flowers? Don't worry, I got them for you. And the Pacers are sitting there. Where, where are our flowers? Don't worry, I got them for you.

They're resistant to because they've been counted out in every series. Uh, crap, mcafee of the crap McAfee show is right, they've been in the first series that I don't know if they can win. Are they tough enough to win? Then they play arguably another team that had a feel-good season and yeah, it happens. Boom, they play cleveland, boom, it's, it's done. They wipe them. Then they play the, the knicks, and people are like well, we'll find out, we'll find out. Can they hold up against the Knicks? They do. They're not overmatched, they're overlooked. This isn't the resistance. This is in their narrative.

Halliburton is third in total assists, indiana is number one in assists per 100, 100 possessions, but just 12th in net rating. Their defense leaks in the corners, literally and figuratively. Figuratively, and let's just be straight. Sga has come here to these finals on a mission. He doesn't get there without defense. Dort, caruso and wallace are going to be absolutely essential to what they're doing. Jaylen williams looks like a breakout x factor and he doesn't get here without presti, who built the roster and no all-stars three years ago, and now they have two all-NBA guys and maybe and just maybe, a dynasty. You want some stats to back that up. This is where the scary times come from.

We just told you earlier in the pot that shea gilch's alexander is out here scoring like 39 points per 100 possessions michael jordan-esque. I'll say that again michael jordan-esque. Oh, not to be outdone. Jalen williams his best Scottie Pippen impersonation by scoring 27.2 points per 100 possessions. That's not just productive, that's elite production. Elite Caruso leads OKC in deflections and it's not even close. Also drawing charges. That's also our guy, caruso. Do we miss him as a Laker? Yes, we do Pour a little out for HG Fresh. You know what I'm saying. Okc's playoff turnover is 10.1 per game lowest in the field.

What does winning mean? Okay, so what we're gonna do? It proves that you don't need silver teams if you're OKC. It proves that defense first still wins. It puts small markets Teams back on the board.

For SGA, this is a vault leap. This puts him over Luka and Tatum and over Booker. It means that the face of the league question continues to evolve. And if they lose, well, they're young and there's plenty of times to get back. But you don't want to blow an opportunity, not like this. Not like this, because the finals aren't about the winner, they're about how the story closes. You look, tim Duncan didn't need cameras to be a dynasty, dirk didn't need a podcast, and Jokic, he just wants to go and play with his horses in Serbia. And now SGA Stands in that lineage Quiet, calculated, but lethal. And if he finishes this run, you're looking at the calmest killer since Kawhi Leonard. Sga is top five and clutch scoring lowest turnover rate among high usage players.

Okc has outscored opponents by 11.3 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter during the playoffs. So they're going against the best teams and they're blowing them out. You're having double digit point differentials in a quarter in the most important quarter, the fourth quarter. They're lapping the field. So we finally get here. You want a prediction? I don't have a prediction for you. Here's a spoiler. My models say OKC closes this out in six. I don't have a prediction for you. Here's a spoiler. My models say OKC closes this out in six. I say OKC closes this out in five If Indiana does stretch this. If they do stretch this out, it's a referendum on how leagues thinks about building a winner, but either way, this is going to be a really enjoyable finals.

My whole thing is this is that I don't think that indiana has seen the defense like okc at all. I think SGA, as the MVP, is a system, the patience and the culture, and they can go ahead and finish off a historic season. Or will Halliburton rally the boys from Indiana and rise up and take out the most dominant team we've seen since the Golden State Warriors of 2016, 2017, and do it with strength in numbers? Will it be the comeuppance of the Indiana Pacers, where they will finally ring that bill of a championship, or will okc finally go ahead and start building their own legacy and start living off the seattle supersonics? Either way, we just watched the future gonna win. It's the same damn reason we've been telling you for the whole year. Okc has a 12.8 net rating, which is the highest since 2017. Golden State Warriors. This, this wasn't luck, this was a method. And now, if they win, it becomes legacy. So that's the finals preview. I know Indiana Is probably upset Because here's another pundit Telling you that you don't have a shot.

That's not true. I think that if you can continue to move the ball and you can get hallow burton into late game situations because here's the one thing that okc has not seen a lot of, they've not seen a lot of tight games can you keep it close and can you withstand runs and not get down by 15, 16 points? Can you keep it within eight, can you keep it within six? Because if you keep it within eight and six now you put doubt into OKC's mind, into OKC's mind. And Rick Carlisle, who is an absolutely phenomenal coach and he needs to get his flowers and we're going to give it to him right now he's seen a lot, he's been through a lot and he's just the right coach to kind of keep his team even killed enough to keep these damn games close. And if these games are close, we're going to find out what OKC is made of. Because, again, I'll reiterate, they haven't been in a bunch of close games this year Because they've been blowing the doors off people.

Do I expect, basically, more of the same? Yes, I do. I think when you're a wagon Like OKC and you got that fan fan base and you got that damn arena, that paycom center, where it will be absolutely electric tomorrow mark my words okc will rise and it will be phenomenal and we will sit there and we will go wow, look at the frenzy, look at the hysteria that is going on in oklahoma city right now. This is a freaking vibe and we will all be witness to it and in the end, after the series is over, I do believe that okc will. But don't let these games be close. Do not let them be close. Okc, continue to be who you are the wagon, the dominance. Just be this undeniable wave of energy and limbs and deflections and steals. And SGA will just be out there looking like Mikhail Baryshnikov on a damn stage. He'll look like Gregory Hines out there tap dancing and just looking flawless and doing his thing. So, ok, scene five. That's our prediction here at front runner podcast collective.

And, with that being said, this is part two ending. You know, I'm saying we out of here. You know I'm saying we got all this done, got it done in one day, two parts. It's all gravy for you, the people. That's who we do this for, and I want to send a special shout out to the audience.

You know why? Because our little project has had a little uptick. You know I'm saying so. I want to shout out venezuela. I want to shout out per. I want to shout out Places like Grenada Are you kidding me? For sure. Egypt, yeah. Saudi Arabia, riyadh yeah, absolutely Norway. For sure Finland is in the building, absolutely Norway. For sure Finland is in the building. Oh, and our I don't know if you want to call it what our, what, our Grandparents, whatever? The English London, I see you. Scotland, I see you too, bro. I see you too, bro. Y'all getting it.

Be a a friend, tell a friend about the podcast. It might change their life, because we do it two times a week, tuesday and Friday, for your listening pleasure. And also, you know how it go. There is a second screen experience that is better than anything on this planet. So you go to frpcpodcastpageio, you go up to the right hand corner. There'll be like three little lines. You will click on that. There'll be a cascading menu that falls down and you will go.

What am I looking for, vince? I'll tell you exactly what you're looking for. You're looking for vince. I'll tell you exactly what you're looking for. You're looking for the blog section. Why are you looking for that? Because every time there's a pod, there's a blog that goes along with it.

So, with that being said, we get up out of here. I want to thank serea. I want to thank the rest of the frpc crew for holding it down, getting the stats, getting this quote and just living up to the standard that we've created here, because we want to make sure that you're entertained and also informed. So, with that being said, the best part of you is you make sure that you have people that surround you that support you, that want you to do better and be better. They do this out of love. They do this with intentionality. They do this with, like, words of wisdom and words of encouragement, and if you have people in your life that are doing that for you, in kind, turn around and acknowledge them, appreciate what they're doing for you. Also, call it out, text them, hug them, facetime them, do what you need to do to make sure they know how important they are to you and your success, to you and your success, and if you're doing all that, you know what that means you are a well grounded, freaking individual and probably a rock star, and we will always have a seat for you here At Front Runner Podcast Collective.

So we are out of here. Y'all be easy, enjoy the finals. We will be back on Friday and we will talk about game one. All right, we will talk all in our faces about game one. So y'all be easy, I'll see y'all on friday. Deuces Gosis.