The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the NBA Finals on Wednesday with a 4-1 series win over the Timberwolves. They could've learned who their opponent would be as soon as the following night, but the Knicks won Game 5 over the Pacers, leading to Game 6 on Saturday. Indiana left no doubt in Game 6 en route to a 125-108 win.
Oklahoma City was the favorite to make it out of the West, but nobody (at least non-Pacers fans) thought the team's opponent would be Indiana. The Pacers finished with the fourth-best record in the East and pulled off a series of miraculous comebacks to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. How did they do it? Offensive firepower from Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, transition offense, their depth, and a little bit of luck.
Speaking of depth, the Thunder's second unit is part of what makes them so lethal. It's what propelled them to a Game 7 win over the Nuggets in the semifinals, as Denver couldn't keep up in what might end up being OKC's most challenging series of the postseason.
Thunder's depth will be key against Pacers in NBA Finals
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Indiana's depth overpowered New York in the Eastern Conference finals, but that isn't saying much. According to NBA.com, the Knicks' bench averaged a [league-low 21.7 points per game](https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?PORound=0&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&StarterBench=Bench&dir=D&sort=PTS) during the regular season, and that number dropped to 15.8 in the playoffs. The Lakers, who played only five games, are the only team with a bench that averaged fewer points per game in the playoffs, at 11.
Sam Presti carefully [constructed Oklahoma City's roster](https://thunderousintentions.com/oklahoma-city-thunder-area-sam-presti-nailed-every-other-gm-failed). He decided to trade Josh Giddey last summer for Alex Caruso in a trade that he'd do a million times over. Having Caruso, one of the league's most pesky defenders, come off the bench is a massive boost for the Thunder. His championship experience helps, too. You can't forget about Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace, either.
Indiana's bench is averaging more points per game (35.4) in the playoffs than OKC's (33.4), but the Thunder average more made three-pointers (5.9), rebounds (12.9), assists (8.8), steals (4.8), and blocks (1.4) than the Pacers.
Oklahoma City has one of the deepest playoff rosters ever, an edge that will play in its favor on basketball's biggest stage. Indiana relied on its depth to be one of the last two teams standing, but the Pacers haven't faced a team as dominant as the Thunder. OKC's roster is full of weapons from top to bottom, something Indiana won't be able to match.