Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault hasn’t lost confidence in struggling stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams ahead of Sunday’s NBA Finals Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers.
While MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with a game-high 38 points in Game 1, Holmgren and Williams weren’t factors, combining to shoot an ugly 28.6 percent (8-of-28), scoring 23 points.
The Thunder blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost on a last-second Tyrese Halliburton jumper, 111-110.
Daigneault was unconcerned with the duo’s disappointing NBA Finals debuts, although his comments present a problem Oklahoma City might not be able to solve.
“Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players,” Daigneault said. (h/t ESPN)
The Thunder added Holmgren (No. 2 overall) and Williams (No. 12 overall) in the 2022 NBA Draft, and both were key to the franchise going 68-14 this season, the best in its history.
However, as Daigneault alluded, their age and inexperience could be an issue. It will at least be something to monitor until either (or both) make a positive impact in the Finals.
The five-year Thunder coach doesn’t appear to think it will be problematic, pointing to the team’s run through the Western Conference this postseason as proof.
“Now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs,” Daigneault added, emphasizing they must “go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons and apply it forward.”
“And they have done a great job of that,” Daigneault continued. “I think you’ve seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven’t played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one.”
During a tightly-contested second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Williams struggled in Games 4-6, averaging 11.3 points per game on 23.3 percent shooting, including 14.3 percent on three-point attempts.
He bounced back in Game 7, shooting 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) and scoring 24 points in a 125-93 blowout win.
In the West Finals versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, Williams responded to a 3-of-9 performance in a 143-101 Game 3 loss with a playoff career-high 34 points in a Game 4 win.
Holmgren was 3-of-7 with 10 points in that Game 3 laugher and averaged 21.5 points on 63 percent shooting (17-of-27) over the next two games as the Thunder eliminated the Timberwolves.
Oklahoma City has needed its young stars to play older than their age throughout its playoff run, and up to this point, they’ve delivered.
But as much as the Thunder’s youth has been as asset, it could be a liability in the Finals. If Oklahoma City wants to win its first NBA title, Holmgren and Williams will need to grow up in a hurry.
