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Philippines, 17 Jun 2025 |
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OKC's SGA Vs. Indiana's Haliburton: The First Time in Decades Two Opposing Talented Shooting Guards of the Same Size and Lethality Clash in NBA Finals By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Mon, 02 Jun 2025  The 2025 NBA Finals will feature not only two well deserving teams from the Eastern and the Western Conference but also two opposing ultra talented superstar shooting guards of almost the same size and playing killer's instincts for the first time since many years or decades ago. According to Google AI, the 1993 NBA Finals where the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan faced the Phoenix Suns led by Charles Barkley was the last time an NBA Finals featured two opposing, equally sized superstar shooting guards. Both Jordan and Barkley were primarily known as shooting guards and their height was almost similar, with Jordan slightly taller at 6'6 to Barkley's 6'5. While other Finals have featured talented shooting guards, none have had the same level of recognition and impact as Jordan and Barkley in that era. More recently, the 2008 NBA Finals also featured two opposing talented shooting guards in Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant and Boston's Ray Allen but their rivalry did not compare to that of Jordan-Barkley. It is now the opportunity for Oklahoma's Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton to add their names to the short and very exclusive list as they are highly expected to lead their respective team to the much coveted Larry O'Brien's Trophy. Alexander is averaging 32.7 points 5 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game in the post-season play-offs. He is shooting an average of nearly 52 percent from the floor. He was highly instrumental in OKC's victory over Denver (4-3) and Minnesota(4-2) on the way to the Finals. Meanwhile Haliburton's averages on points production and rebounds may be lower at just 18.6 ppg and 3.5 rpg but he more than made up with a higher nearly 10 assists per game. Note that he scored lows of 4 points and 8 points in the comparatively tougher Conference semi-finals and finals series versus Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. More than quantifiable statistics, however Haliburton's value can be seen in his leadership role, court generalship if you will, especially in leading #4 Indiana to a 4-1 semis win over Eastern Conference top team Cleveland and 4-2 Finals victory over #3 New York which had ousted no less than the #2 seed and defending champion Boston Celtics. Hence it will be a match up between an essentially scorer versus a leader who can also score when needed. What will also provide the difference are their main supporting casts--Jalen Williams at forward, Jaylin Williams at power forward, Chet Holmgren at center who can also play at power forward and Luegentz Dorf at guard for Oklahoma and Aaron Nesmith at shooting forward, Pascal Siakam at power forward, Myles Turner at center and Andrew Hembrand at guard for Indiana. Both teams have also talented players who can come off the bench. Like the seven-foot Isaiah Hertenstein who can spell Holmgren or play with him as starting center, veteran former Bulls defensive guard Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins for the Thunder. Most of these were used by coach Mark Daigneault to rest or lend support to the regular starters in the difficult series especially versus Denver. The Pacers may have the advantage in this respect with a deeper bench as they have the talented elongated Obi Toppin, the muscular Bennedict Mathurin, the quick footed penetrator TJ McConnel, defensive guard Ben Sheppard and the wide bodied three points shooting Thomas Bryant. All were utilised by coach Chris Carlisle in the very tedious series against New York. OKC has the size advantage especially in the frontcourt with Holmgren, Hertenstein and Jaylin Williams but Indiana has the very prolific Siakam who has Finals and championship experience with Toronto in 2019. Toppin with his seven footers reach and Bryant with his big body can help offset this size disadvantage as Turner has remained injury free. OKC is the league's top offensive and defensive team during the regular season. But this is the playoffs, the NBA Finals no less. My fearless forecast is that the Finals series will go all the way to the seventh game in Oklahoma. Note that Indiana is the more win-anywhere team of the two owing to their relentless energy-charged playing style and Haliburton's versatility. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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