{"id":100533,"date":"2025-06-15T15:16:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T15:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/100533\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T15:16:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T15:16:14","slug":"nba-finals-changed-by-self-made-guys-alex-caruso-t-j-mcconnell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/100533\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Finals changed by ‘self-made guys’ Alex Caruso, T.J. McConnell"},"content":{"rendered":"

LIVE UPDATES: Follow The Oklahoman’s live coverage of\u00a0Thunder vs. Pacers in Game 4<\/a>\u00a0of the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Pacers pest T.J. McConnell<\/a> could walk into the Y for a pickup basketball game almost anywhere, and people might not realize he was an NBA player.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, same,\u201d Thunder agitator Alex Caruso<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Neither Caruso nor McConnell looks like a guy who is drawing an NBA paycheck. Caruso stands 6-foot-5 but weighs only 185 pounds. McConnell tips the scales at around 190 pounds but is just 6-1.<\/p>\n

They aren\u2019t the prototype.<\/p>\n

They are Everyman.<\/p>\n

But in these NBA Finals, they are game-changers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re both self-made guys,\u201d Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. \u201cThey\u2019ve overcome a lot. \u2026 Some of these guys that go under the radar have that level of grit and determination that is able to get them to the league and to get them some longevity and high impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of these guys are examples of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

MUSSATTO: Brace yourselves, Thunder fans. Beating Pacers for NBA title is no safe bet.<\/a><\/p>\n

In a series headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Williams and Pascal Siakam, Caruso and McConnell have both made plays that have swung games. These thirtysomethings who went undrafted have left their fingerprints on the biggest games of their lives and their franchises\u2019 histories.<\/p>\n

We may look back in a week or so and realize that Indiana is hoisting the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy because of the way McConnell\u2019s steals altered Game 3<\/a>. Or that Oklahoma City has its first championship because of how Caruso\u2019s intensity in Game 2 gave the Thunder a blueprint for future games.<\/p>\n

How have a couple of guys who could easily be rec-league ringers been such high-impact players?<\/p>\n

Is it just that both play harder than anyone else? Or is that too simplistic?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a mix of both,\u201d Caruso said.<\/p>\n

Caruso has first-hand knowledge of McConnell\u2019s growth \u2014 and vice versa \u2014 because they were summer league teammates. Before Caruso\u2019s well-documented stint with the Thunder\u2019s G League team, he played summer league with the Sixers. They included McConnell, who had a promising rookie season in Philly; he led all NBA rookies with 95 steals (shocker, huh?) and was the only rookie in the league with at least 250 rebounds and 350 assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpent a lot of time with TJ,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cStill friends with him today, and I\u2019ve gotten to see him grow his game, develop and figure out how to stay in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve done a little bit of that myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen, this isn\u2019t to suggest that their effort isn\u2019t what separates Caruso and McConnell. Players talk all the time about playing every game like it\u2019s their last, like it\u2019s Game 7 of the NBA Finals, but these two actually do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try not to take for granted the job that I have or the position I\u2019m in,\u201d McConnell said. \u201cI know how hard it is to get here for every player, and I just try to play with that chip on my shoulder and play like it\u2019s my last every game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ditto for Caruso.<\/p>\n

More: Thunder vs Pacers prediction: NBA Finals Game 4 odds, injury updates for OKC-Indiana<\/a><\/p>\n

His activity is so agitating that he was booed more often and more loudly than SGA was by Indiana fans during Game 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s infuriating to one can be endearing to the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cheers that Caruso draws every time he checks in at Paycom Center? McConnell gets the same ovation at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fans have really taken to liking and are loving him,\u201d Haliburton said. \u201cSame with Caruso and OKC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHard not to root for a guy like that that plays so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as Caruso may never have to pay for another meal or drink in Oklahoma City, McConnell solidified his hero status Wednesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He came off the bench and had five steals, a career-high in the playoffs. What\u2019s more, he had as many steals in Game 3 as he had in all of Indiana\u2019s playoff games before the Finals this postseason.<\/p>\n

The sheer volume of McConnell\u2019s steals was big \u2014 he took away five Thunder possessions in a game ultimately decided by three possessions \u2014 but three came during defining stretches in the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Early in the second quarter, he had two that helped ignite a 40-point quarter for the Pacers, and both were on inbounds plays after Indiana baskets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More: How T.J. McConnell, Pacers snatched Game 3 away from Thunder to take 2-1 NBA Finals lead<\/a><\/p>\n

On the first, McConnell flashed on an unsuspecting Cason Wallace, who was throwing the ball to Chet Holmgren. Then to add insult to injury, McConnell rebounded Pascal Siakam\u2019s miss that ensued and found Bennedict Mathurin for an easy putback.<\/p>\n

Then a couple of minutes later, McConnell poked an inbounds pass away from Jalen Williams as he was catching the ball and making a turn. McConnell eventually secured the turnover by throwing the ball off Wallace out of bounds.<\/p>\n

As unacceptable as those turnovers were for the Thunder, the worst was yet to come.<\/p>\n

And in the process, McConnell terrorized his old buddy Caruso.<\/p>\n

With the Thunder trying to fend off a Pacers\u2019 rally at the start of the fourth quarter but leading by only two, Caruso snagged the ball after a Pacer basket and launched a quick lob out to Williams.<\/p>\n

But McConnell spun even quicker on Caruso, leaped, snatched the ball and went right back up for a layup.<\/p>\n

That was the early stages of a closing 25-12 run that the Pacers used for the Game 3 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just does the little things so well,\u201d Haliburton said. \u201cThat\u2019s his calling card, how hard he plays, the energy that he plays with. Obviously, he\u2019s a very skilled player as well. He just does a great job of just playing harder than people.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as I know, no one tracks stolen inbounds passes, but talk to folks who cover the NBA full-time, and they guestimate there might be 25 stolen inbounds passes a season across the entire league.<\/p>\n

McConnell might have 10 of them, too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s hustle, sure, but that\u2019s skill as well. Don\u2019t be blinded by the effort. McConnell can flat play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Same for Caruso.<\/p>\n

More: NBA Finals Game 3 winners, losers: Thunder offense sputters without massive SGA game<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in the league that are given this stigma of \u2018Aw, they\u2019re just a hustle player, and they play really hard,\u2019 it\u2019s like, to be in the NBA, you have to be great at something,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cYou can\u2019t be in the NBA if you\u2019re not great at something, and if you\u2019re great at one or two things, you probably have to great hustle and play hard and make up for whatever the other areas are. Him being a smaller guard that doesn\u2019t shoot a lot of outside shots, he has great speed. He gets to the paint. Really is pesky on defense. He finds steals, and then, he\u2019s an elite competitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a different offensive game than him. At least I\u2019ve transitioned into that in my career. But a lot of the other things that guys like us have had to do to get into the league, sometimes that stigma, that reputation sticks and people overlook the actual skill we have to stay in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caruso clearly appreciates McConnell, and the admiration goes both ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s obviously someone that I have great respect for,\u201d McConnell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy game doesn’t really jump out at you. A lot of it doesn\u2019t show up in the stat sheet. You just make winning plays. And he makes a lot of winning plays, too. He\u2019s done that his whole career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Caruso and McConnell have done that in these NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

Winning plays. Winning games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And just maybe, winning it all.<\/p>\n

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com\/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com\/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.<\/p>\n

More: Thunder vs Pacers grades: Bennedict Mathurin turns NBA Finals in Indiana’s favor in Game 3<\/a><\/p>\n

Game 4: Thunder at Pacer<\/p>\n

TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (ABC)<\/p>\n