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The Indiana Pacers are getting prepared to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, and they're going to need all hands on deck if they want a chance at winning the whole thing. Throughout the postseason, depth has been key for the Pacers, and everybody who has stepped out on the floor for them has made some type of contribution. One of those players was Tony Bradley, who barely played in the first two rounds.
He then played some solid minutes in the Conference Finals against the New York Knicks, but injured his hip. Now with the Finals upon us, Bradley gave a huge update on his status.
“Tony Bradley says his hip is good and he’ll be ready for Finals games,” Pacers reporter Tony East wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The center position will be big for the Pacers in this series, as the Thunder have a solid duo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein manning the paint for them. It could end up being a battle of the frontcourts, and the Pacers have to be ready for whatever the Thunder throw at them.
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Pacers ready to face Thunder in Game 1
The Pacers have shown that they play a different brand of basketball than most teams in the league. Where most teams have their star players dominate almost every night, the Pacers use their pace and constant ball movement to get players open looks, which could lead to anybody going off.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault recently spoke about the challenges that the Pacers present when going up against them.
“They're a tall task,” Daigneault said. “The fundamentals are not complicated, we aren't inventing anything this week. They pump a 99 mph fastball at you, and you can prepare all you want for that, but when you're in the batter's box, it's different when it's time to hit. It's going to be a very tall challenge.”
The Pacers are indeed fast, and that's how they're able to score in bunches so quickly. On defense, they're a sound group and work together as a team to stop the opposition. All season, the Thunder have shown that they're one of the best on both sides of the ball, and it will be interesting to see if the Pacers can challenge them in any way. If the Pacers can play their type of game, it could be a long series.
