Aaron Nesmith didn’t miss any games after spraining his right ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York, but playing through the injury wasn’t easy, according to the Pacers wing, who was limited to 16 minutes in Game 5 and just under 20 in Game 6, his two lowest totals of the postseason (he also had some foul trouble in Game 6).
“It took a lot (to return for Game 4),” Nesmith said on Wednesday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It was pretty much rehab every minute of that day. It was cold tub, game-ready, hyperbaric chambers, it was red light therapy. It was manual wave, it was shock wave. Anything you could name we kinda threw it at the ankle, but there was no chance I was missing that game.”
Although the Pacers haven’t had as much rest between the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals as the Thunder, Indiana still had four full days off prior to Thursday’s Game 1. Few Pacers appreciated those off-days more than Nesmith.
“I needed ’em,” he said. “I was looking forward to these days off. I took ’em, and I’ll be ready.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
Given the challenges the NBA has faced over the years trying to find a way to stop teams from tanking, the league should be rejoicing that Indiana has made it to this year’s NBA Finals, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. As Lloyd details, team owner Herb Simon has long had an aversion to tanking, so the Pacers have never really done it — the club was stuck in the middle at times, but has won fewer than 32 games in a season just once in the past 35 years.
Following an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the Pacers’ first-round series win, **Tyrese Haliburton**‘s father John Haliburton was effectively banned from attending games. However, that ban was lifted for Pacers home games midway through the Eastern Conference Finals as long as the elder Haliburton watched from a suite. For the NBA Finals, he won’t be prohibited from attending games at either arena, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous,” Tyrese said. “Of course, I’m going to say that. I’m his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don’t think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That’s just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He’s learned from it. It won’t happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he’s going to be in the building along with me on this journey.”
Both teams competing in the NBA Finals have multiple Canadians on their rosters, with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin representing the Pacers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort competing for the Thunder. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at the shared history among those players, three of whom represented Canada in last year’s Olympics, while Julian McKenzie of The Athletic specifically examines the bond between Montreal natives Mathurin and Dort, who grew up minutes from one another and each describes the other as being like “a brother.”