Game 2 Review

After suffering a buzzer-beater from Haliburton with 0.3 seconds left on the clock in game 1 to get Indiana over the hump, Mark Deagneault’s side won by a comfortable margin to take game 2 led by a heroic effort from Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Game 2 proved to be exactly like Game 1 regarding the Thunder offense, as they led the Pacers for the entire 48 minutes. Alongside Gilgeous-Alexander’s 34 points, Alex Caruso’s strong presence off the bench was felt as he provided 20 points and two turnovers, highlighting how significant OKC’s depth continues to be deep in the playoffs. Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 points with 6 assists, but had 5 out of Indiana’s 15 total turnovers. In terms of point scoring, double digits were achieved by Indiana’s starting 5. 

Summary/Plan for Game 3

Games 1 and 2 clearly showed that OKC was the more dominant team in the series, as both games displayed significant leads by the Thunder that put the Pacers in a situation to come back from double-digit leads. Indiana was able to get fortunate with Haliburton’s shot with three-tenths of a second left on the clock, but they cannot pray for that magic to happen every game if they want to win this series. The ideal plan for the Pacers in Game 3 is to abuse the pick-and-rolls led by Haliburton to Siakam and Turner, ideally, as these open up the lanes for them to go up to the rim or spot up for a jump shot. The Pacers also had a run in the 2nd quarter, which led to them shooting open corner threes. If I were Rick Carlisle, I would design set plays where players get the ball in the corner either for an open jumpshot or for them to kick it out to somebody on the edge of the line. The Pacers had their best shooting game from the corner, averaging almost 54%. For game 3, Tyrese Haliburton needs to get involved more on the offensive end. Being the star and only dropping 17 points and 6 assists in the finals is inexcusable. It is statistically proven that when he takes more than 20+ shots in game, the Pacers have a better record. In the situation where the Thunder choose to play tight defense on him, he should choose to use his quick first step to drive in the gaps, creating open space for players like Siakham and Nembhard to drive or to have Turner open off a pick and roll. 

Oklahoma, in terms of getting the job done, has few flaws in their game; however, some tweaks can improve their performance and help them finish off Indiana as quickly as possible. First, I feel that the Thunder needs to start Isaiah Hartenstein again over Cason Wallace. This provides two big men starting on the court to establish an intimidating defensive presence from the outset and create easy floaters for Hartenstein off pick-and-roll with Shai. Alex Caruso also needs to check in quicker to provide a more substantial defensive presence to this OKC squad. He is integral to this team, as he is a player who can score 20 points and comfortably guard positions 1-4. OKC should also force Shai to continue driving into the open lanes if there are no options. There is no denying his shortage of free throws, so if he can draw the foul, he will be able to shoot two at the line or drive and kick out to Holmgren, Williams, or Dort for the three or a midrange jumpshot. As you get this deep in the playoffs, it starts to revolve around teams gaining momentum and who wants it more. Who is going to dive for that loose ball or go up for a crazy block? Game 3 should be an even more anticipated matchup, being on the road for OKC and giving more confidence to Indiana to be only two games away from lifting the first O’Brien Trophy for Indiana.