TJ McConnell's Dad Making Sure To Bring Up His Son Missing Two Free Throws After His Game 6 Heroics Is The Ultimate Dad Coach Move

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

It's only fitting that these NBA Finals are ultimately coming down to a Game 7. For all the talk about the interest level of these Finals, as it turns out the Pacers and Thunders have played what I would argue is one of the best overall Finals in the last 10 years. Depending on how you feel about 2016 (Game 7 was awesome, the rest was meh), this one is certainly high on the list. Every game has been awesome, the drama has gotten better and better as the series has gone on, and now we get the two best words in sports for all the marbles

A huge reason why we as basketball fans are blessed with this reality is because of the play of TJ McConnell in Game 6. The second he entered the game in the 2nd quarter is when the Pacers started to tilt this game, and then once they got going, it was just an avalanche. In a non-hyperbolic and completely serious way, it's more than fair to say that McConnell legitimately dominated his minutes. For that stretch in the 2nd quarter, TJ McConnell was the most dominant player on the court during the NBA Finals. That's a real sentence! 

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I don't want to be a prisoner of the moment or anything, but this was about as legendary a performance as you could have from your backup point guard on this type of stage with your season on the line. It's the type of performance that, should the Pacers go on to win the title on Sunday, will solidify TJ McConnell as a Pacers legend for the rest of his life. It's the shit you dream about as a kid.

But you know what? As fun as it was to watch McConnell's performance, my favorite part of his night came after the game when his Dad was invited onto the set

I have never related to something more in my entire life. This is EXACTLY what Papa Greenie would say in this situation, in fact it's the exact comment I heard my entire life whenever I would miss a FT. It didn't matter what else happened in that game, the first opportunity I had to talk to my Dad, it'd be the first thing he called out. It's why over two decades later, I'm still so neurotic about FT shooting. I'm sure when I talk to him about this game and McConnell's performance he's going to do the exact same shit and say

"Yeah Daniel, but you can't miss 2 gimme FTs at home! Those could have been huge!"

or something along those lines, and I'd guess there's a bunch of stoolies reading this blog that can also relate. It's classic Dad Coaching 101. The fundamentals matter. Don't let the praise get too out of hand and make sure to ground your son by needling him about FTs. We've all had that conversation in the car ride home after the game, and something tells me TJ McConnell's dad having that type of approach and coaching style is a huge reason why he's the player we see today. 

Now that we're headed for a Game 7, the beauty of those things is that they are built for role players to make the difference. We might not know who, but you can bet you ass that whoever wins on Sunday is going to have a role player go nuclear. Why can't that be TJ? The Thunder are weirdly showing an inability to guard him, he has all the confidence in the world, and you know his Dad is going to have him ready and focused on the details. 

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In a game that's a true toss up, that could be the difference.