Mark Daigneault explains why Thunder can't emotionally overreact to Game 3 loss to Pacers
Mark Daigneault explains why Thunder can't emotionally overreact to Game 3 loss to Pacers
Nothing better than being on social media in the immediate aftermath of a playoff game. One side thinks they're on the verge of a championship, while the other side wants everybody fired. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the latter side of the fence.
The Thunder dropped a 117-106 Game 3 loss to the Indiana Pacers. They're now back playing catch-up in the 2025 NBA Finals with a 2-1 series deficit. That makes Game 4 an essential must-win for the title favorite or risk an all-time upset.
The NBA playoffs always come with through-the-roof highs and below-the-floor lows. Despite their youth, the Thunder have remained stone-cold about the playoffs through three rounds. With just one day between NBA Finals games for the first time, Mark Daigneault says they've quickly moved on to Game 4.
"I just think we stay pretty emotionally even in all of the different experiences. You really see that when we win. I think if you're going to get high on the wins, then the natural opposite of that is to get low on the losses," Daigneault said. "This team doesn't really swing violently between those two things. Never has."
While fans are afforded that luxury, the players aren't. They almost have to become robotic for several weeks if they want to survive and advance in the playoffs. It's a tall task to ask in a sport that naturally garners such raw emotional reactions.
"I think a lot of that is just the personality of the players. They do a great job with that. So these are new experiences for us, but we're experienced enough to know what this is going to come down to," Daigneault said. "We got to take a look at the film from yesterday. We have to understand first what happened in the game and be able to define that accurately, then look at the things that we can improve on and go apply those forward in Game 4."
The Thunder find themselves in a similar predicament to two playoff series ago. After the Denver Nuggets stole Game 1 on a game-winner, the Thunder handled them in Game 2. Then Game 3 saw Nikola Jokic lead his squad to an overtime win. Let's see if OKC can repeat history with a gusty Game 4 performance against the Pacers to even the series at 2-2.
"We try to do that win or lose. We try to make that our way of operating, regardless of the individual outcomes," Daigneault said. "It just gives you the most consistent approach through all the emotional ups and downs of a playoff series. The team does a great job of that."
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