The Oklahoma City Thunder, which entered these NBA Finals as a heavy favorite, trail the Indiana Pacers 1-0 as Sunday’s Game 2 approaches.
Here were some takeaways from the Thunder’s practice on Saturday:
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Thunder can’t ‘put ourselves in that position’
Alex Caruso didn’t seem to think OKC unraveled late in Game 1. Its collapse, at least in his eyes, didn’t come as a result of execution.
“Give (Indiana credit),” Caruso said Saturday. “They made some big shots, some tough ones.
“Some of that probably comes down to not putting ourselves in a position to where the game comes down to that at the end of the game.”
The consensus was that the group could live with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s final shot, a look he’s connected on plenty times.
What it couldn’t live with, Caruso said, was its inefficiency in transition, which made its 19 turnovers forced in the first half essentially obsolete. Thursday’s stunner was a slow burn.
Better shot creation from Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren
Game 1 yearned for Oklahoma City’s young stars.
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who delivered massively in the West finals, were virtually absent in the Thunder’s series-opening loss.
The two combined for 23 points on 8-of-28 shooting.
“Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players, and they have thrust themselves into that situation, which is a credit to them,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “And now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs, which is go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons, and apply it forward.
“And they have done a great job of that. I think you’ve seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven’t always played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one.”
Williams, who averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 46.2% from 3 last round, is accepting the challenge.
“I don’t ever think that I’m in my third year because then that allows me to make excuses,” Williams said. “I should just go out there and play. Pressure is a privilege. So I enjoy being counted on.”
Thunder need to increase pace, ball movement
For an idea of the Thunder’s ball movement, note that OKC finished Game 1 with a season-low 13 assists; the next lowest of these playoffs was 19.
“We almost tried to slow it down too much instead of matching the pace Indiana plays at,” Caruso said, “which we’ve played at as well. I think we’ll do a better job of it.”
This is what the Pacers do. In the Thunder’s slip, it succumbed to Indiana’s identity.
Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Joel’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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