Ten days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were one win away from playing in one of the most historic sporting venues in the world: Madison Square Garden.
Had it not been for some alien and injuries to key players, OKC could still be in the midst of a title defense.
The latter of those two issues, the injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, has particularly reared its ugly head in this NBA Finals matchup between the Knicks and the Spurs.
Yes, New York has more firepower than the Thunder did in the last round, but it's OG Anunoby's skill set that has given the Spurs difficulty.
Thunder lacked punch in Spurs series that Knicks have with OG Anunoby
The eighth-year forward is averaging 20.7 points and is shooting a blistering 44.4 percent from deep in this year's title-round. And this production has served as a terrible reminder of what the Thunder were missing against a budding dynasty in Texas.
Anunoby is a brawny 6-foot-8 wing that can efficiently shoot from beyond the arc, defend cross-positionally, and, maybe most importantly, attack a rotating defense.
With all the defensive attention Brunson attracts, the Knicks have perfectly countered when defenses load up.
Brunson patiently waits for the double to come, someone flashes middle, and it's just making the right pass with the numbers advantage from there.
What makes this more devastating is that the Knicks have players who are capable and empowered to either let it fly or attack strongly on a closeout. Arguably, no one has been better for New York in this regard in the Finals than Anunoby, who has attacked an approaching Victor Wembanyama fearlessly.
Wemby and the Spurs successfully loaded up on nearly all of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's drives last round, daring Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, or Lu Dort to beat them from outside or attack the star big.
Without OKC's next two best on-ball creators and more potent shooters in Mitchell and Williams, San Antonio could be a touch slower on its rotations and closeouts because the other Thunder players weren't a Landry Shamet (50.9 playoff three-point percentage), Anunoby (47.4 playoff three-point percentage), Karl Anthony Towns (46.3 playoff three-point percentage), or Mikal Bridges (35.8 playoff three-point percentage).
The combination of long-range shooting and players who can put the ball on the deck and make honest scoring attacks has been huge for the Knicks in the Finals. Brunson hasn't had his signature game yet, but players such as Anunoby have capitalized on the respect San Antonio gives New York's lead guard.
Unfortunately, OKC just didn't have the players who could punish overhelping defenses, and against an extraterrestrial like Wembanyama, it was most likely the only way the Thunder could've won.
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