The Pacers stole game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on the road, against the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder, even though they played a terrible first half on Friday. What should OKC do to make adjustments in game 2 if the Pacers take it up a notch?
The Pacers Weren’t at Their Best in Game 1
It’s scary to think that the Thunder was facing a Pacers team who weren’t exactly playing their “A” game in game 1. OKC did their best in forcing tons of turnovers while also allowing very few of their own. After the game, Indiana already had 24 turnovers while Oklahoma only had 6. In such a huge TO disparity, the Pacers were supposed to be doomed from the very beginning–until they didn’t.
The Thunder are the best defensive team in the league right now and the best at everything when it comes to stripping the ball from their opponents. In game 1, they quickly showed that power but couldn’t seal the deal even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going for 38 points. Forcing 24 turnovers, holding the lead all throughout the match, and having a 15-point advantage should have been an easy win for the Western Conference champs, however, they got hit with another clutch performance from Tyrese Haliburton and a great adjustment from head coach Rich Carlisle.
Does Defense Still Equate Winning?
It still does, it’s just that the Pacers overcame literally a 1-in-17 billion odds in game 1. OKC made 14 steals compared to Indiana’s 1, and again, they forced 24 turnovers in the game. They were terrific in defense, but what they have to adjust is to improve their offense in game 2.
Game 1 showed how poorly the Thunder were shooting. A 39.8% field goal percentage is abysmal for a top-tier offensive team, especially in the Finals. Not to mention, they have a playoff-low 13 assists in game 1, which is surprising for a top-seeded team. If only they were shooting better and creating more opportunities to score, it wouldn’t have been a close matchup, considering how frightening they already are at defense.
Mark Daigneault also made an odd but understandable adjustment in the Finals after putting Cason Wallace in the starting five while Isaiah Hartenstein came off the bench for the first time in this year’s playoffs. It may have been a small factor, but forcing the Pacers to 15 turnovers should have put them up at least 20 points after the first half–that didn’t happen.
Pascal Siakam, the reigning Eastern Conference Finals MVP, poured in 8 of his 19 points in the first two quarters while T.J. McConnell scored all of his 9 in front of a smaller OKC lineup. It wasn’t much, but it surely set the pace for the Pacers in game 1.
What if the Pacers Go Ballistic in Game 2?
It should be clear by now that every NBA team should not be complacent against the Indiana Pacers, even if they lead by 10 points with less than a minute to play. They’ve shown how incredible they are in the final moments of the game, coming back again and again.
If the Pacers play even better in game 2, like how they fired from all cylinders in game 6 against the New York Knicks in the ECF, the Oklahoma City Thunder would have to do better than force turnovers, strip the ball away from Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, and Siakam, and hope for foul calls for SGA.
OKC should either:
- Shoot way better than what they made in game 1 (above 40%)
- Control the glass
- Continue forcing more than 20 turnovers
- Hope that Jalen Williams–an All-NBA and All-Defensive guard–plays exceptionally in game 2
Nevertheless, who knew the Thunder would be in this kind of situation?
