Thunder flex their depth around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They'll need that to continue

New York Times

3 days ago

OKLAHOMA CITY — Aaron Wiggins is a distant eighth on the Oklahoma City Thunder in total minutes during these NBA playoffs. He was briefly pulled from the rotation during the Western Conference finals. He typically doesn't enter the game until the start of the second quarter, and if he doesn't provide a near-immediate spark, he doesn't see the court for too long. He only received nine minutes in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
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Thunder coach Mark Daigneault first went to Wiggins in Game 2 with 15.2 seconds left in the first quarter. It was a chance to get Wiggins' shooting on the floor for an extra late-quarter offensive possession and warm him up for his upcoming run. With Wiggins spaced in the right corner, Chet Holmgren swooped in for a finger roll to put the Thunder up six.
This was the beginning of a run that gave Oklahoma City complete control for the entirety of their 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers, evening these NBA Finals at 1-1.
Wiggins made a leaning 10-footer on the first possession of the second quarter. He hit a stepback 3 four minutes later. Daigneault left Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench for five straight second-quarter minutes, and the Thunder expanded their lead by nine.
Daigneault left a hot Wiggins on the floor, and he responded with five 3s and 18 points in 21 minutes, his most since the playoff opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder won during his court time by 24 points.
'Sometimes it's 20 minutes, sometimes two minutes, sometimes he gets 10,' Gilgeous-Alexander said of Wiggins. 'It's all over the place. But no matter what, he finds a way to impact winning for us.'
Wiggins' expanded role was only part of the Thunder's subtle and ultimately successful adjustments from the finals opener. They started the same way, leaning small against the quicker Pacers, but went to their double-big lineup of Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein for the first time in the series late in the first quarter. After giving up an immediate 3, they had a plus-six spurt together.
Daigneault appears wary to play both centers together when Myles Turner is on the floor as part of a five-out Indiana look, but when Thomas Bryant enters, the Thunder's staff sees a better environment to attack bigger.
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'I always love playing with Hart,' Holmgren said. 'Especially when he's throwing lobs up to me.'
The two centers combined for maybe the Thunder's highlight of the night, a late third-quarter pick-and-roll where Gilgeous-Alexander drew two defenders and dumped it over to a diving Hartenstein, who lobbed it over Bryant's head to Holmgren for a tomahawk dunk.
Holmgren had a significantly better performance than in the opener. He only made two of his nine Game 1 shots and was limited to 24 minutes. Daigneault opted to close without him on the floor, a possible mistake in retrospect, considering what happened.
But Holmgren made Daigneault's decision to keep him on the floor more often in Game 2 by bringing a level of offensive assertiveness. Holmgren was upset with himself for his rushed, soft finishing on Thursday night and corrected that on Sunday. He had nine points in the first quarter and finished with 15 on 6-of-11 shooting.
'You have to have a level of care,' Holmgren said when asked if his frustration fueled his response. 'If you're just like, whatever, I don't think that's good. I'd say I have a good middle ground of not getting overly emotional but also caring enough to try and always be better next game.'
As the series shifts to Indianapolis, the double-big lineup still appears to be only a minor part of Daigneault's plan. Hartenstein and Holmgren played five minutes together and were a plus-four. But both centers were impactful separately against a Pacers team that generates uncomfortable situations for bigs.
'They were both really good in both situations,' Daigneault said. 'One area where we improved tonight was our pick-and-roll coverage against their bigs. They're a different look because of the rolling, the popping, just the way they play. They both were great. I thought Chet, in particular, had a rough offensive night in Game 1. As always, he rose back up and was really, really good.'
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Gilgeous-Alexander had a far more efficient night. After needing 30 shots for his 38 points in Game 1, he went for a smoother 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 11 of 12 from the line. He had eight assists and four steals, outplaying Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who left the arena limping.
But the Thunder kept control of this game when Gilgeous-Alexander rested, showcasing that star-plus-depth combination that boosted them to 68 wins this season. They won the 36 Gilgeous-Alexander minutes by five points and the 12 minutes he rested by 11 points. The five-man unit of Alex Caruso (who had 20 points), Jalen Williams, Wiggins, Cason Wallace and Hartenstein was particularly effective.
'We've played that lineup a lot through the playoffs,' Caruso said. 'Mark went back to it because we've had a lot of success. Me and Cason do a good job of mixing it up with whoever is the lead guard. Dub has great hands. We have a versatility in the lineup. It lets Wigs get a little bit loose, too.'
The Thunder will fly to Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, readying for Tuesday's practice and media circus before a Wednesday and Friday two-game crack at taking back control of a series they let slip in the opener. They are 4-3 on the road in these playoffs. They'll need their depth to show up again.
'No one-man show can win an NBA championship,' Gilgeous-Alexander said.
(Photo of Aaron Wiggins: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)