In Game 3, the Thunder struggled to maintain the identity that made them such a powerhouse throughout the regular season and much of the playoffs, writes Joel Lorezni of The Oklahoman. If they want to head back to Oklahoma City having tied the series against the Pacers, they need to reclaim their composure.
It’s a sentiment that head coach Mark Daigneault shares, though he won’t overreact to it.
“I think that happens in a playoff series. Four games, five games, six games, seven games is a long time. You’re going to get a range of games and experiences in that,” he said on Thursday.
Lorenzi points to the passing numbers for the Thunder as proof of them getting away from their game. In the team’s two losses to Indiana, it has posted its two lowest assist totals of the season. That, coupled with uncharacteristically sloppy turnovers, points to a team out of sorts and needing to settle into its game.
“At the end of the day,” Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says, “*we have to be who we are and who we’ve been all season. I think we got back to that in that series. If we want to give ourselves a chance in this series, it has to be the same thing.*”
We have more from the Thunder:
The Pacers have made life difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander, hounding him throughout the game and wearing him down late, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. That’s no excuse in the MVP’s eyes. “To me, the way I see it, you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. MacMahon writes that the Pacers began defending Gilgeous-Alexander an average of 65.5 feet from the basket, a level of defensive intensity the young star has never faced before, and that resulted in him bringing the ball up far less than he usually would. Indiana employed a similar tactic against the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson in the Eastern Conference Finals and was successful in getting the ball out of his hands for stretches. In the Game 3 Finals loss, Gilgeous-Alexander only scored three points on three shots and had no assists in the pivotal fourth quarter. How he bounces back in Game 4 will go a long way in determining the Thunder’s fate.
Beyond the pressure on their star, another issue facing the Thunder is the team’s struggles to convert midrange shots, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger writes that while the Thunder have shot well from three and drawn fouls, their two-point shooting, which is usually a strength, has deserted them. They’re making 47.2% of two-pointers this series, compared to their average of 55.9%, after shooting 54% against the Nuggets and 55.7% against the Timberwolves. Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander have particularly struggled from that range, which is a problem since that’s the bread and butter for the Thunder’s two best players.
Turnovers have been the other biggest part of the story of Oklahoma’s struggles, says Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The most obvious examples of this are the three inbounds turnovers off of made baskets, which led to three TJ McConnell steals. These kinds of unforced errors can have huge consequences, says Alex Caruso, who was responsible for one of these instances. “I call them pick-sixes,” Caruso said. “It’s a live-ball turnover in your third of the court and they score. It can add up to eight, 10, 12 points, which might be the difference in the game.” The Thunder ended the game with 19 turnovers, the highest of the playoffs, with Gilgeous-Alexander responsible for six of them. “It just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.