3 Reasons Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC are Staring at NBA Finals Defeat

Throughout this past regular season, basketball fans and analysts felt that the Oklahoma City Thunder were the best team in the league. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and featuring a starting lineup that was improved over the offseason, along with a solid bench, OKC was poised to win it all.

Their team-first approach saw them lead the league in both offense as well as defense. Coupled with their tendency to analyze and fix their mistakes, they also ended up winning the West. That formula was too strong for any team to match.

So much so that New York Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith concluded that even if his team were to reach the NBA Finals, they would not be able to handle the all-round team-first art of basketball the Thunder brought to the floor.

However, it was not the Knicks that would reach. Instead, it is the Indiana Pacers that are sitting with a 2-1 lead after their stellar Game 3 win. The East champions are a team that many believe is a variant of the team-first philosophy that OKC employs.

It is just that the underdogs in this instance have taken the series lead and could potentially win Game 4 unless the West champions fix some of their problems. OKC has 3 primary issues that have surfaced in the NBA Finals, that threaten to end their championship dreams.

Changes in OKC’s rotation

When the Oklahoma City Thunder won the Western Conference Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up with the Finals MVP award. However, the win showcased that their season-long rotation was too much for the best in the West.

A starting five of SGA, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, and Isaiah Hartenstein had led OKC to the top of the West. That lineup changed in the NBA Finals. Head coach Mark Daigneault dropped Hartenstein to the bench and inserted Cason Wallace in his place.

The idea was that Hartenstein’s lack of offensive prowess and inability to guard the faster and more athletic Indiana Pacers wingmen would be detrimental. Along with that, the need for a smaller, faster player to guard the two-pronged guard attack of the Pacers led Wallace to get the nod.

The problem with that lineup change is twofold. Charles Barkley spoke about how a rotation change this late in the season can impact player morale. He believes Diagneault went with the idea, believing it would solve their defensive problems. Instead, it has backfired, as the once strong bond has withered, leading OKC to struggle.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC struggling with Pacers’ physicality

In the two losses so far, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had problems facing the physicality the Indiana Pacers have brought to the NBA Finals. For starters, they were encouraged that officials are not giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the easy whistle.

On top of that, the Pacers send multiple defenders to press SGA, and at the same time, they are disciplined when he attacks the basket. The way some of them, particularly Andrew Nembhard, suffocate SGA before he gets into his rhythm has also played a hand in frustrating the league MVP.

He is getting his shots, but by the time the game enters the fourth quarter, SGA struggles with fatigue. The Pacers used the same formula in both their wins, and that is what led to two outcomes. One was Tyrese Haliburton‘s game-winner in the first one.

In Game 3, their struggles with fatigue saw the Pacers overtake OKC in the fourth quarter, leaving them in the dust. If the Thunder collectively cannot figure out how to counter that, they could lose this series before putting up a fight.

OKC bench struggling to reproduce West-winning form

Other than the problems facing the starting lineup, rotations, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being smothered all game, there is another factor that has led to this 2-1 series deficit. OKC’s bench was one of the primary reasons for their run throughout the season.

That bench was crucial in winning the West and embarrassing the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the NBA Finals, however, that bench seems to be missing. Be it jitters or lack of experience, the unit has been outplayed by the Indiana Pacers’ bench.

In Game 3, the Pacers’ bench outscored OKC’s by a whopping 49-18. That offset anything the starters managed to produce. Such a massive swing in performance is too much to overcome, and might also explain why OKC’s starters had to play that many more minutes than those of the Pacers.

The Indiana Pacers have two things going for them. One is their relentless energy that runs their opponents into the ground. The other is the ability to stay focused and eke out wins from losing positions.

If the Oklahoma City Thunder do not fix each of those three problems mentioned above, they will end up being one of the 81% teams who have lost the NBA Finals. The ball now is in their opponents court, and it is up to OKC to reverse the trend and win their first-ever NBA title.

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