The OKC Thunder were widely regarded as having the deepest roster in the entire association throughout the 2024-25 campaign, often going 10-to-12 men deep during their 68-win regular season.
With guys like Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Isaiah Joe waiting in the reserves, Oklahoma City was also seen as boasting the top two-way bench unit the game has to offer, and their league-leading net rating of 5.6 only helps strengthen such a claim.
Heading into the playoffs, this rotational luxury was viewed as something that no team could possibly match, which, in turn, was expected to help the Thunder coast to their first championship since their SuperSonics days back in 1979.
However, three games into the NBA Finals, not only have the Eastern Conference kings, the Indiana Pacers, proven capable of going blow-for-blow with the club's depth, but, shockingly enough, they've somehow managed to find a way to surpass them, particularly on the offensive end.
Thunder depth trumps in comparison to Indiana's during NBA Finals
Through three games played, Indiana's second unit has been more productive offensively than Oklahoma City's, and, frankly, it hasn't been very close.
From their points-per-game averages (40.7 to 31.3) and field goal percentages (53.0 to 47.6) to their clear edge in the offensive rating department (57.2 to 50.3), the Pacers' bench has been far and away the most impressive between the two.
They even outscored the Thunder's squad by a ridiculous 49-18 during their 116-107 win on Wednesday night, which now has OKC down 2-1 in this best-of-seven championship round.
Obviously, this discrepancy in production has been crucial in Indiana claiming its current lead in the series and, unless the Thunder find a way to make the proper adjustments, their slide on the biggest stage of the season is likely to continue.
Fortunately, the overarching issue seems to be rather clear and, in theory, an easy fix situation.
Coming into the Finals, coach Mark Daigneault inexplicably decided to alter his rotation by taking one of his most productive bench performers in Cason Wallace and thrusting him into the starting lineup, sending Isaiah Hartenstein to the pine.
While Wallace has certainly proven himself to be more than deserving of receiving starter's minutes in the association, perhaps promoting him at such a pivotal moment of the year may not have been the most ideal time.
Clearly, the second unit misses his ability to create offense down the stretch (ranked fourth on the team this season in offensive rating during clutch situations), so hopefully, coach Daigneault will come to his senses and revert back to his first-five lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein that went 12-4 leading into the NBA Finals.
This, of course, would reunite Wallace with the likes of Wiggins, Caruso, and Joe and, hopefully, help the Thunder reestablish themselves as not only the deepest team in the league but the overall best.