Motor City's Future?

November 3.

The Thunder visited the Pacers.

They cruised to a 133–124 win, extending their winning streak to eight games to start the season and finally overtaking the Golden State Warriors to claim sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.

The Pacers weren't weak.

They had quality guards like Garland, Brogdon, and McConnell in the backcourt, and players of Scottie Barnes and Myles Turner's caliber up front. Add a few solid backups on the bench, and they already had the makings of a standard middle-of-the-pack team.

They were simply missing a true franchise centerpiece who could take them to the next level.

The young player they had picked in 2019 was Garland.

After three years of development, he had already shown some real promise, and people could see his potential...

But they could see his ceiling, too.

Building around him would be a major gamble.

By comparison, Barnes, whom they drafted this summer, looked more likely to become an outstanding franchise player.

But Barnes was still a rookie, after all.

Even with the team giving him all the support he needed, and even if he had the kind of immense potential Doncic and Tatum possessed,

it would still take time for him to live up to it.

So against a Thunder team that played with such consistency, the Pacers had no real answer.

For the Thunder, Davis, who had been carrying them hard for more than a week, finally cooled off in this game.

He made just one of his seven mid-range attempts that night.

Fortunately, he still had his reliable finishing around the basket, so he ended the game with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

With AD going quiet, Chen, who had kept a low profile for a while, naturally stepped up without hesitation.

He put on