This is kinda funny/annoying. OKC coach pretends to have a sub ready at halfcourt, but doesn't ever sub him in. This forces the refs to try to stop every in-bounds play, and stall Denver from quickly putting the ball into play.
https://x.com/WorldWideWob/status/1899487716414558675
I think it's pretty shitty on OKC's part. The ball is in the other player's hands after the refs check it, and if the defense isn't paying attention, that's on them. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, and as a fan, I prefer to see the flow of the game move more quickly. One of my biggest pet peeves is how many game time stops there are in the NBA. There are already too many timeouts, free throws are slow, etc etc. Trying to slow down your opponent's inbounds plays is just annoying. It will be interesting to see if this technique is used in the WCF when they meet.