Obi Toppin Rumors

And importantly, Presti turned down all the offers he must have received for the young players who make the core of his excellent team. Who knows what incredible NBA players he could have received for Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams. Presti has a hardfought collection of players he likes. I heard from another team that was blown away that Presti wouldn’t even consider offers for tenth-man Kenrich Williams. The Pacers are similar. Rick Carlisle had a vision for Blur Ball and it dang near won them an NBA title. They spent years seeking out the right players to go around Tyrese Haliburton. The Raptors had a system that used Pascal Siakam one way, and they weren’t sure that made him a max player. The Pacers were like we know what do with that guy who never gets tired. The Knicks saw Obi Toppin’s flaws, the Pacers saw a big man who never stopped bouncing around the floor.

TrueHoop

Tony East: I asked Obi Toppin about what the moment of seeing Haliburton go down was like. “I felt like that was my fault too. Passed the ball to him and… (long pause) as soon as he went down, that shit hurt. I ain’t gonna lie. I was thinking about that the whole game.”

bsky.app

The Pacers are, almost magically, a win from the franchise’s first championship since its ABA days. It doesn’t happen without McConnell, whose game seems to elevate with the stakes. “It’s no surprise what T.J. does out there,” Obi Toppin, one of McConnell’s running mates off the bench, said after scoring 20 points. McConnell assisted on all four of Toppin’s 3s. “Any time he comes into the game, the crowd loves him, and he feeds off of that. He had a great start to the game, and it got us going. Brought juice into the game, energy into the game.”

New York Times

StatMuse: Bench players with 70+ points, 30+ rebounds, 12+ threes in a Finals: — Robert Horry — Obi Toppin That's it.

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Tony East: In the final home game of the season, Pacers protect home floor. Final score: Pacers 108, Thunder 91. First win under 110 this playoffs for the Pacers. They win Game 6 and force a Game 7 of NBA Finals. Obi Toppin leads with 20. Pascal Siakam double-double. Sunday, the last one.

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Clemente Almanza: FINAL: Pacers 108, Thunder 91 SGA - 21 points, 4 rebounds JDub - 16 points, 3 rebounds Hartenstein - 10 points, 4 rebounds Haliburton - 14 points, 5 assists Siakam - 16 points, 13 rebounds Nembhard - 17 points, 4 assists Toppin - 20 points, 6 rebounds Series is tied 3-3

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StatMuse: Obi Toppin off the bench: 20 PTS 6 REB 2 STL 4-7 3P The first bench player since Manu Ginobili with a 20/5/2s game in the Finals.

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WISH-TV News: #Pacers forward Obi Toppin on the Game 4 loss to the Thunder: "I felt like we should have got this one today."

Twitter

Scott Agness: Pacers let this one slip through their hands. They led 103-99 with 3:20 left, then didn’t hit another FG. Outscored 31-17 in the 4Q and 12-1 to close. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 35, Jalen Williams w/ 27. Pacers led by Pascal Siakam's 20pts and they got 17/7 from Obi Toppin. Series is now 2-2, back to OKC Mon.

Twitter

And when the Thunder countered by going with a smaller lineup, Toppin imposed his will as a defender and rebounder — with no board more memorable than the one he snagged off Haliburton’s late miss. “He consistently continues to bring pace into the game,” said Haliburton, who reflected on Indiana’s trade to acquire Toppin from New York in July 2023. “That’s what he does when it’s not going well and when it is going well, he continues to bring that pace to the game and he’s flying up the floor and you’re hitting him ahead (for easy buckets). He did a great job (Wednesday) of making the right play. (He) had a huge tip-dunk and those are huge energy plays for this building. He fits so perfect with what we do.”

New York Times

Mike Vorkunov: Thunder and Pacers have 1 top-5 pick on their rosters: Chet Holmgren SGA: No. 11 pick Haliburton: No. 12 Jalen Williams: No. 12 Siakam: No. 27 Highest drafted Pacers: Mathurin (6th), Toppin (8th by NYK), Walker (8th) Highest drafted Thunder: Chet (2nd), Cason Wallace (10th), Ousmane Dieng (11th)

bsky.app

Tony East: Obi Toppin just popped into the locker room wearing a “Free John Haliburton” shirt that a fan gave him.

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Does Van Gundy think the Knicks will let the loss impact them in Game 2? “They’ll look at the mistakes and pick themselves (up) and get ready to go. I don’t think (Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau) has to worry about (hangover from Wednesday’s loss) at this time of year,” Van Gundy said. “Their pick and roll defense to me, early on in the game, (Karl-Anthony) Towns was really back. (Myles) Turner was just getting wide-open shots. And then they had some miscommunications on perimeter screens; small-small (screens). Are we switching or not? They had breakdowns there. And then late in the game, they were really soft on their switches and (Aaron) Nesmith was hitting threes. To me, they’ve got to clean up their pick-and-roll coverages, being up and more aggressive. And their communication’s got to be a lot better on what they’re doing. “….There was not a hard three in that stretch (of Nesmith’s six threes late in the fourth quarter). It’s still hard to make six straight threes. But it wasn’t like the shot-clock ran down and someone had to throw one in. He got great looks. Nesmith, all five of his looks were great looks. And the one (Tyrese) Haliburton got, (Mikal) Bridges gave him a lot of space on that one, too. They got really good shots. I just thought the Knicks' defense in that stretch was very soft. And in the overtime, they had breakdowns on (Obi) Toppin’s dunk and (Andrew) Nembhard’s back cut. They just, defensively, didn’t get the job done.”

SportsNet New York

Scott Agness: NBA’s Last Two Minute Report says they missed two calls that should’ve been in favor of the Pacers. - shooting foul, on Towns - Toppin fouled on dunk in OT

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