TJ McConnell wants Indiana Pacers fans to know one thing after a tough month in the history of the franchise.
Just a moment ago, the Indiana Pacers were on Cloud Nine. They headed to Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder to compete for the NBA Championship.
But that’s where everything fell apart for them. Tailese Halliburton tore Achilles early in Game 7, which completely turned things around.
The Indiana Pacers had to change their NBA Finals lineup, and the lack of chemistry turned out to be too much. The Oklahoma City Thunder did a simple job with the Pacers to win the NBA Championship.
Pacer’s misfortune continued in the offseason, as if losing the NBA Finals and the best player of a year wasn’t enough.
In a big shock, Pacers Center’s Miles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Things have been pretty difficult for Pacer lately. But TJ McConnell has a warning against people counting them.
In his incredible work he wrote for the Player Tribune, TJ McConnell spoke about the misfortunes experienced by the Indiana Pacers last month.
Despite all the difficulties the Pacers faced, McConnell knows he can overcome this. He doesn’t think losing in the NBA Finals is the end. McConnell certainly doesn’t think losing Myles Turner is the end.
“Other than thanking everyone if there’s a message I want to convey here, it’s this. I don’t think it’s how the story ends yet. Let’s be honest.
“We know we’re now amortized by everyone. They know that they think the Pacer is over, or that this run we’ve been going on will be the peak of our group, and I understand why.
“But that’s the same b****** that we’ve always dealt with indie, and the exact same thing that we had to listen to many times last year.
“We were swept away by the Celtics, they’re done. They started at 10-15 and they’re done.
“We lost Game 7 in the most brutal way possible… We lost a franchise player over the next season… We lost a center in free agency.
TJ McConnell then warned other NBA teams and told Indiana Pacers fans what was important. They’re coming back. Things may seem dark right now, but the Pacer always bounces back.
“And I think that’s my message to the Pacer fans reading this. I don’t know what the future holds. It’s going to be hard to get through Game 7. It’s going to be difficult to exchange Miles.
“Playing without Tailese is… anything tougher than tough, but I know we all started to feel like we all have when the playoffs went on.
“Man, I promise you. That feeling was real. And we work like hell and we feel it right away.”
The Indiana Pacers will have a difficult season before them. There’s no Tyrese Halliburton and no immediate replacement for Miles Turner, so what can they do?
Now, don’t expect a third miraculous playoff to be run from the Pacers. Without the two key players, they’re going to be a lottery team, excludes a big shock.