Welcome to Glass Slipper! Time to convince myself that Myles Herro is good at basketball; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

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NBA Finals: No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers

The pick: Thunder in 5.

Look, it requires some serious guts to predict a long series here, let alone an Indiana title. Quite frankly, that’s a realm of audacity that I can’t quite access. Ripping through the East in 16 games - and sending five All-NBA guys home in the process - was incredibly impressive. I’m still not spotting the on-court reasoning for why Oklahoma City supporters should be too worried.

Even with the power of his new Pumas, this will be the toughest challenge that Tyrese Haliburton ever faces in his career.

It’s almost as though this Thunder roster was custom-constructed to put the clamps on him. Lu Dort is going to draw the initial assignment. When he inevitably picks up a couple fouls, Alex Caruso checks in. Jalen Williams should get a crack at it. So will Cason Wallace, who I believe is quietly the best defender out of all of them. Best of luck, Tyrese.

Pascal Siakam has been the top player in the conference throughout the postseason, and he’ll need to average close to 30 for Indiana to have a realistic chance. Mark Daigneault is probably rolling with Chet Holmgren as his lone big for long stretches, which means that size mismatches should be available for the Pacers’ veteran forward. If the surrounding shooters are dialed in, maybe Indiana can hang.

Real issues arise when OKC has possession, though. Myles Turner had all kinds of issues staying in front of Karl-Anthony Towns, and he has to deal with Holmgren now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be staring at his Olympic teammate Andrew Nembhard for much of the Finals, but hunting a Haliburton switch is always an option. The Thunder are averaging upwards of 117 a night in the playoffs, and they’re barely hitting a third of their attempts from distance. That’s absolutely terrifying.

Rick Carlisle’s crew needs to win both in Indianapolis, and my qualms with the atmosphere in Gainbridge Fieldhouse have already been documented. Unless the Pacers are running the opposition off the floor - which will not happen at any point against the Thunder - it’s just not a particularly intimidating environment. Anyone can be loud during a 21-6 run, with the whole bench mob flexing in the foreground. Do you have the heart to bring the noise when the Thunder are up by five late in regulation, and the MVP has the ball at the top of the key? I want to see it. Indiana folks love to demand respect on social media; come to the arena for Games 3 and 4 with that same swagger.

Unfortunately for Pacers fans, it’s hard to imagine that any decibel level will be enough to halt this Oklahoma City juggernaut. Indiana steals one to duck the sweep, but the series concludes without a whole lot of drama. The young Thunder cap off their dominant season with a championship, and send a warning message that a new NBA dynasty could be in the works.

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“Every Time You Go Away” by Paul Young. A classic.