Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Dan Devine and NBA contributing writer Tom Haberstroh break down the intensity of The Finals which has seen most on-court miles covered since tracking began. Hear the full conversation on “The Big Number” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
This week’s big number is 38.4.
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That is the number of miles that both of these teams cover per game in the NBA Finals.
38.4.
And if that sounds like a lot, that is because.
It is like it’s the most we’ve seen since the player tracking era began back in 2014 from home when I’m watching this.
I just can’t believe how hard they’re playing.
Dan, does it feel that way when you’re there, just how intense it is, uh, these two teams going at it?
Absolutely.
I, I mean, I think you, you hit the nail on the head when you talked about the, the full width of the court and the full length of the court, you know, it’s, we, we had come to expect that, I think to some degree from the Pacers, you know, they’ve been the highest volume full court press team all season long, and they’ve even stepped it up another notch here, uh, with Andrew Nemhart picking up full court on Shakeelis Alexander.
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OB Toppin is like 75 ft. On the court, you know, they’re not, they’re not conceding anything in terms of those outlets or those release valves.
You’re getting it both ways.
You’re getting Lou Dort picking up on Tyrese Halliburton full length of the court.
Every action is contested.
Nothing is, is sort of made easy, and this is the style you are going to see teams play next season, more of them, and then further on out after that, and then in a few years, you’re going to see everybody full court pressing and you’re going to see everybody.
the full width of the court with their spacing, like, this feels like an evolutionary jump in style of play.
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The, the versatility and the demands, the physical demands of this series, this is, I think, what the teams are gonna look like moving forward.
And, and before the series started, we talked about, I know I’m like, Miles Turner had said, like, I think we’re a blueprint for the league and a lot of us looked at that from a a roster management perspective, like, it’s not, it’s it’s a lot of young guys, it’s not, you know, a whole bunch of like.
Trying to stack back superstars.
I think in terms of you are gonna need 89, 1011 guys who can play this fast, you need guys who can go all gas, no breaks, 48 minutes, 94 ft by 50, and it’s been, it’s breathtaking to watch over and over again.