Prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals, this writer listed five pressure points that could decide the championship. Some came to light even in the series opener with one. The Oklahoma City Thunder shelved their two-big lineup 30 minutes prior to tip off!
Before this evening’s second contest, let’s take a look at what the Thunder might be able to do to avoid dropping both home games and, more than likely, the series to the Indiana Pacers.
Winning the turnover battle isn’t enough
The Thunder’s ability to turn their opposition over was, as anticipated, overwhelming. What was surprising was their inability to turn live ball mistakes into transition baskets. Indiana committed a ludicrous 20 first-half turnovers in Game 1, yet OKC only generated nine points from said turnovers. Part of that was luck, with 11 of those turnovers being dead-ball and, by definition, preventing Thunder runouts.
The other factor was superb defensive transition from Indiana. No doubt Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, whose genius is finally being recognized, had his team prepped to retreat with haste whenever the ball was lost, but the Thunder simply were not ruthless enough at the basket, nor did they leak out in numbers often enough. It resulted in a 12-point halftime margin, when it probably should have been double that.
Do ‘Plan A’ better
Broadcaster Richard Jefferson called Mark Daignault’s decision to start guard Cason Wallace in place of center Isaiah Hartenstein a psychological win for Indiana, who had already made the Thunder deviate from two-big Plan A before the players took to the floor.
The justification for the move made enough sense, but a crossmatch can work both ways. While Wallace clearly contributed to Indiana’s first-half turnover fest, Pascal Siakam was able to hunt mismatches, his offense almost single-handedly keeping Indiana in the contest through the first half. His height and power were simply overwhelming for Jalen Williams, Wallace, or even the cinderblock that is Lu Dort. It also meant that the Thunder didn’t have backline help with Holmgren having to respect Myles Turner’s outside threat.
At the other end, Holmgren was outmuscled by Myles Turner, leading to an abysmal, six-point (2/9 from the field) performance. For all his on-ball skills, Holmgren simply doesn’t have the heft to play at the ring against behemoths. Hartenstein unlocks so much of what makes Chet tick. Expect Daignault to put Holmgren in a position to excel in Game 2.
Shai needs some help
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was superb in Game 1, pouring in 38 points at near 50% efficiency. He was unstoppable from inside and out. Yet, you can’t help feeling like that was the Pacers’ plan.
As mentioned in the Pressure Points piece, Indiana has let one player get theirs all through these playoffs but shut the supply for the supporting cast. Dort is not likely to hit five threes again this series so — not to go all Stephen A. Smith — one (or both) of Williams and Holmgren need to step up.
