While Game 1 loss to Pacers stings, Alex Caruso believes Thunder must quickly move on
While Game 1 loss to Pacers stings, Alex Caruso believes Thunder must quickly move on
The Oklahoma City Thunder heavily relied on their three-headed defensive POA monster. Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace usurped Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the hierarchy. It wasn't the preferred result, but the plan worked. Nobody from Indiana exploded for a monster night. Instead, everybody chipped in.
Caruso finished with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 4-of-5 on free throws. He had three steals and two blocks.
The Thunder didn't get the desired result. They dropped a 111-110 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers, where Tyrese Haliburton's game-winner stunned the OKC crowd.
The Thunder's league-best defense showed up through three quarters. They caused havoc. The Pacers were so deep in their own minds because of their ability to create turnovers that they always checked over the shoulder before an elementary entry pass. Then the fourth frame happened.
"Credit to them, that's how they've played for the whole post-season. They kinda stayed true to themselves, their brand of basketball. They threw in a couple big shots down the stretch," Caruso said. "That's kinda been a key for them, too, in a lot of those games where they played till the end of the game, they might have some type of comeback and end up winning. They found a way to get enough stops."
The Thunder have to shake off the shock. They'll have three days to marinate on this stunner before Game 2. This is what the NBA Finals are about. As the only NBA champion on the roster, Caruso offered some much-needed perspective that his teammates need to hear, which simultaneously probably angered OKC fans.
"It counts the same as when we lost by 40 in Minnesota in the last series. Counts the same as when we lost by two or three at Denver Game 3 of that series. It's all worth one," Caruso said. "It's the silver lining of it. But at the same time, it's a loss. If we don't recognize that and feel, if it doesn't hurt right now, you're not frustrated with it, there's something wrong with you."
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
What key plays from Thunder-Pacers Game 1 tell us about the NBA Finals going forward
OKLAHOMA CITY — So … what exactly happened here, and what does it mean going forward? That's why I've been trying to figure out ever since I staggered out of Paycom Center late Thursday in the wake of the Indiana Pacers' stunning 111-110 comeback win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Advertisement It wasn't just that the Pacers rallied from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit; it was the way they came back. Oklahoma City seemed to be dominating, forcing a series of JV-playing-the-varsity-type turnovers in the first half and seemingly coasting behind its NBA MVP in the second. But somehow, the size of the Thunder lead never quite matched the eye-test vibes, and the Pacers stayed close enough for a late stretch of hot shooting and sprinkling of Tyrese Haliburton clutch fairy dust to put them on top. In the wake of my bewilderment, I rewatched the game Friday morning and compared it to my notes on what I thought I saw from my perch Thursday. Watching again left me with a lot of random thoughts about some fairly important things that went under the radar: Aaron Nesmith's ironclad perimeter defense, Rick Carlisle's creative play-calling (corner iso for T.J. McConnell? Triple drag to get Nesmith an open 3?), the forces of nature that were Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, the incredibly random Ajay Mitchell cameo and more. But I can't do play-by-play from the whole game, so let's narrow things down. In particular, 10 plays stand out as important ones that defined not only why the Pacers came back and won but what the strategic questions will be for both teams Sunday in Game 2 and beyond. A harbinger of what was to come for the Thunder came on this free-throw miss. Nembhard tapped out a rebound, Pascal Siakam retrieved the ball while Cason Wallace recovered from presumably falling off the edge of the earth on the left side of our TV screens, and Siakam blew to the rim for a bucket over an MIA-for-the-night Chet Holmgren. This play encapsulated several underlying themes from the game: Siakam's quietly great play, the struggles of Holmgren and Wallace and Nembhard making subtle big plays. Advertisement But the one I want to focus on is rebounding. The Thunder were a terrible rebounding team last year, and when Isaiah Hartenstein wasn't on the floor, they mostly remained a terrible rebounding team this year. With Hartenstein removed from the starting lineup and only playing 17 minutes in Game 1, guess what they were terrible at? Indiana had 13 offensive rebounds, even while sometimes staying small themselves, and this play was illustrative. It was also an omen for an even bigger play later. Oklahoma City should have been up by 20 at halftime after forcing 19 Indiana turnovers and holding the Pacers to 45 first-half points. The reason the Thunder weren't was that their offense kept leaving money on the table. Much was made of the lack of points off turnovers, but a lot of them were turnovers that weren't particularly conducive to quick baskets. The Thunder also missed an unusually large number of shots at the rim, going just 8-of-22 in the restricted area in the first half; give Myles Turner some credit, as he played a major role in several of the misses. The other issue for the Thunder was how many not-great quick jump shots they were taking. In part, this was because the Pacers were able to guard one-on-one on the perimeter without sending much help; Nembhard on Gilgeous-Alexander and Nesmith on Jalen Williams were both up to the task. Beyond that, the lack of minutes for Hartenstein took the Thunder's best screener out of the game, and that made it harder to get bodies off their two best scorers. In theory, the Thunder were playing five-out, but they weren't running much of anything. Rewatching this game, it was shocking how many zero- and one-pass possessions the Thunder had. This is a fairly indulgent one by Gilgeous-Alexander, who tilted too heavily toward hunting quick jumpers, but at least he's the MVP. The ones initiated by secondary players were even more egregious; remind me again why Wallace is trying to cook with 17 seconds on the shot clock? All that presaged the final possession for the Thunder, when Gilgeous-Alexander did the same and got a decent jump shot but also missed an open Williams at the top of the key. In this clip, Nembhard drove to the cup with Holmgren in perfect position to snuff his shot at the rim, and then Holmgren … just kind of watched Nembhard lay it in. While this play also stood out for the cleaner ball movement Indiana had in the second half — quicker actions, fewer passes, not trying to seal bigs and thread entries in traffic — that cleared up the Pacers' plague of turnovers, the bigger point here is the Thunder just need way, way more from Holmgren. Advertisement Holmgren can be pretty hard on himself, and I imagine he's gnashing his teeth watching film of his game. He finished 2-of-9 from the field with no assists, and the eye test might have been worse. Credit Turner for stymying several of Holmgren's forays to the rim, and (dis)credit the Thunder's offensive impatience for taking him out of the game as a secondary offensive player. Holmgren is at his best when the ball swings to him against a rotating defense or he's able to finish a play at the rim, but with Oklahoma City in hero-ball mode, his offense took a major hit. But we can't let him off the hook. He was a non-factor protecting the rim and on the glass, even with the Thunder switching his matchup to keep him off Turner and let him roam a bit more. The biggest reason for Thunder optimism going forward is that Holmgren and Jalen Williams should both be way better in future games; that's especially true of Holmgren on defense. Another look at this MONSTER block by Benn ⤵️ — NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2025 Mathurin didn't play a lot in Game 1, but he held up very well at both ends. This spectacular block of Williams' drive was the highlight and underscored a 6-of-19 shooting night from Williams when he also missed multiple assist chances. Look at Mathurin's man, Hartenstein, under the rim; if Williams either drops this off or lobs it, it's a dunk. Williams lamented after the game that a lot of the shots he missed were normal shots for him that just didn't go down. Certainly, there are elements of truth to that, particularly in his pull-up game. However, his Game 1 performance left a lot to be desired as a secondary offensive weapon and brought up reminders of his 'spring tour dates' in the Denver series (2-of-13; 3-of-15; 5-of-14; 5-of-20) and his struggles to be a secondary weapon against the Dallas Mavericks a year ago. Again, one wonders if more Hartenstein as a screener might have helped; the two had a solid run at the start of the fourth quarter with the help of some road-grader screens from Hartenstein. Regardless, Oklahoma City's 'other' All-Star is a huge key to this series. While Indiana got all it needed and more from its No. 2 guy in Siakam, Williams left the Thunder short in that respect. That can't be the case going forward. On this play, Hartenstein got Nembhard off Gilgeous-Alexander's body with a solid screen, cooking a switch that leaves the MVP guarded by the highly cookable Thomas Bryant. It went down as a jump shot, but these were some of the easiest points of the night for a player of SGA's caliber. Advertisement As I noted above, the Thunder missed a ton of paint shots, and on the night, they missed a staggering 40 2s — making only 41.2 percent inside the arc. That's how they barely averaged a point per possession despite shooting 21 of 24 from the free-throw line and making a respectable 11 triples. These stretches, where Hartenstein was setting ball screens for Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, were the Thunder's best offensive forays. Hartenstein sprang both Thunder All-Stars downhill for layups with the help of Gortat screens that stopped his own man from helping. He also set up weakside mayhem with short rolls and quick kickouts and even aggressively took a few handoff plays to the cup himself in the first half. There's a reason Hartenstein didn't play longer, which I'll get to in a minute, but one major adjustment for the Thunder for Game 2 has to involve increasing his role; he's just too important to both their offense and rebounding, the two areas in which they lost Game 1. That's particularly true since his replacement, Wallace, had little impact in 33 minutes replacing him. This play precipitated Hartenstein's removal, as he lost track of Turner at the 3-point line. The Thunder were already leery of starting Hartenstein because they were worried about him getting isolated in space against Haliburton, but the death knell for his evening was all the 3-pointers Indiana's stretch bigs got at his expense. It started late in the first quarter when he and Kenrich Williams messed up a zone scheme that left Obi Toppin with a practice 3-pointer from above the break, but the situation escalated in the second half. This Turner shot was the third in a series of similar errors; Hartenstein also let Bryant and Toppin get free for catch-and-shoot 3s in the second half, which is why Thunder coach Mark Daigneault took him out for good with 7:44 left after Turner's make. (Bizarrely, the Thunder didn't even put him back in with 0.3 seconds left when they could only score on a lob. What did they think Wallace was going to do on that play?) The 'play better' adjustment looms large here. Hartenstein's instincts will always be to protect the rim, but he can't lose the assignment so regularly if he's going to stay on the court longer. The Pacers were trying to deny Gilgeous-Alexander catches in the backcourt and pressure his dribble all game, even handing over two free points at the end of the first quarter when Nembhard needlessly fouled him 75 feet from the hoop with the Thunder in the bonus. Advertisement In the fourth, however, it started paying off. On this play, the MVP tapped out on getting the inbound pass after a Pacers basket, and the ball went to Holmgren instead, who decided to call his own number and attack Turner at the cup. The shot failed, and Holmgren was done for the night shortly after this, with the Thunder playing five smalls for the final 3:24 until Holmgren returned with 0.3 seconds left. Logically, as I rewatched, this was the only thing that made sense for OKC. Holmgren was terrible, and Hartenstein was a 3-pointer waiting to happen, which is no bueno sitting on a multi-possession lead. Moreover, that same unit of five smalls finished the first half and tortured the Pacers, forcing an avalanche of Indiana turnovers. Remember that missed Nembhard free throw above? This will awaken some ghosts for Thunder fans since it was also a massive factor in their Game 6 loss to Dallas a year ago. And it was why Caruso stepped in early on the second free throw by Siakam with 3:24 left. Hartenstein, the Thunder's best rebounder, was out, and Caruso was the closest thing left to a 'big.' (Holmgren would have been useless here as well; he gets shoved into the stanchion on every foul shot.) Caruso knew that Jalen Williams on the other side would get caved in by Nesmith, and nobody else on the court was an instinctive rebounder. (Caruso, who played 28 minutes, also might have run out of gas in the fourth; he was uncharacteristically cooked off the dribble multiple times.) Siakam missed the free throw, and a lane violation was called, giving him another one that he ended up converting. That point ended up being massive given the one-point final difference. But hey, it could have been worse. I joke that the best offense against Oklahoma City is missing a foul shot, but there's a kernel of truth; when Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams aren't on the floor, they are supernaturally bad at this for an otherwise historically awesome team. Check this out: On that third free throw, Caruso ended up boxing out air and nearly fell over, and Nesmith again caved in Jalen Williams. Look at the Pacers' rebounding position if Siakam had missed again: One other issue with Oklahoma City playing small is Caruso in the dunker spot instead of, say, a dunker; if it's Hartenstein or Holmgren, the image above is an easy lob to the square for two points. Instead, Siakam blocked this shot, and he's able to because Gilgeous-Alexander had no realistic lob option as he came down the pike. Advertisement If there's one aspect of this that Daigneault might be replaying in his head, it's likely whether he could have closed with a bit more size in his 'small' group by using Kenrich Williams instead of Wallace. Wallace shot 3 of 9, playing 33 lightly impactful minutes and finishing with a plus/minus of minus-13. Kenrich Williams, meanwhile, played 27 very effective minutes when Holmgren missed OKC's late March blowout win over Indiana, finishing a team-best plus-23 that night; he would have added a bit more size, screening and rebounding to this look. Here's the thing, though: Oklahoma City's small group did fine down the stretch if you just look at the shots they took and allowed. In a vacuum, over the last four minutes, they probably had better ones than the Pacers. Nembhard made an and-1 mixtape 3-pointer, Nesmith made one that he shot like the ball was on fire while he was still moving, and of course, minutes earlier, Turner banked in a 3 by accident. Meanwhile, Dort, Jalen Williams and Wallace all missed catch-and-shoot fungoes. The Thunder were 0-of-9 outside the charge circle in the fourth quarter; the Pacers were 9-of-14. Make-or-miss league, as they say. Sometimes it happens even if the strategy and process are fine. For the most part, the real problem wasn't the 12-2 run at the end; it was the fact that Oklahoma City hadn't amassed a much greater lead before. HALIBURTON WINS GAME 1 FOR THE PACERS. THEY TRAILED BY 15. ANOTHER CRAZY INDIANA COMEBACK 🚨 — NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2025 Yeah … this was something. As I noted above, at the start of the play, it looked like Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to hit Jalen Williams for a dagger 3. Also, props to Carlisle for not calling a timeout and letting Haliburton work against a scrambled defense. That 'scrambled' part stands out in one sense: Dort is matched up with Haliburton when the shot goes up, but he didn't pick him up at the other end. Dort chases the offensive rebound despite not exactly leading the league in this category and doesn't chase back to regain the matchup. Haliburton ends up with the less stout Wallace on him. Making matters worse, Wallace doesn't get into his dribble and doesn't force him left, even though Haliburton is a more comfortable pull-up shooter going to his right. That should have been clear to the Thunder if they watched some of Haliburton's tape. Here's Game 1 of the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks, for instance, with a virtually identical shot to end the third period when Haliburton gets a chance to cook against Bobby Portis. This play, however, was probably the least relevant thing going forward for the rest of this series. It was a one-point game in the final minute, and then Gilgeous-Alexander missed his pull-up and Haliburton made his. Big picture, the Thunder have to feel decent even though Indiana stole the result. Oklahoma City dominated big chunks of the game, made a series of very fixable mistakes to let Indiana back in it, has obvious tactical alternatives it could put into play and was in position to win the game despite very poor outings from its second- and third-most important players. On the other hand, the Thunder gave away a game they had in the bag, and there's no guarantee they defend as well going forward as they did in the first half of Game 1. Advertisement Given what an overwhelming favorite the Thunder were coming into this series, and the fact that they survived a similar late collapse against Denver, I still would rather hold their cards; aspects of this game reminded me of the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001 or the Miami Heat's Game 2 win at Denver in 2023. Nonetheless, what's good for all of us (we have a series!) is probably not great for Oklahoma City. Game 2 is now a must-win, and the pressure carries over from there to win at least once in Indiana. This was entirely avoidable, and how the two teams resolve the questions above will go a long way toward telling us what happens next. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; top photos: Alonzo Adams, Kyle Terada/Imagn Images, Julio Cortez-Pool,)
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
‘Inside the NBA' was perfect. Now let it rest in peace.
It felt as if viewers attended a six-game wake for the 'Inside the NBA' brand last week. The final run at times seemed more like a long farewell to Ernie, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny than a showcase for the Eastern Conference finals. Still, someone must have cracked open the lid to the coffin, because its presence lives on. Which explains how, on Thursday night, Shaquille O'Neal could crash the set of ESPN/ABC's 'NBA Countdown' in Oklahoma City before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. 'Hello, Malika. Hello, Bob,' Shaq said in his baritone murmur to half of the crew. Then he gave his handheld microphone to Stephen A. Smith: 'Hold this,' he said, and pretended to throw body blows at former nemesis Kendrick Perkins. Through the surprised — and likely relieved — cackles from the personalities on set, viewers couldn't exactly make out what Perkins was yelling over his own laughter. Shaq's cameo caught everyone off guard and provided the most pure and authentic moment of ESPN's pregame programming. It happened live on air, of course, and reminded basketball fans of the kind of unscripted chaos that TNT had perfected over the decades. But, please, let it die already. The show and its concept worked for that four-man crew. Nobody plays the straight man quite like Ernie Johnson. No former athlete tells the truth as savagely as Charles Barkley. No analyst has the chops to play along with the gags but also provide a measure of sobriety like Kenny 'The Jet' Smith. And there is no showman like Shaq. They turned game nights into comedy hour with a side of NBA, and we ate up our sweet dessert every Thursday. But thanks in part to those years of treats, sports broadcasting too often now just wants to feed viewers the gooey stuff. For the French Open, TNT has rolled out the 'MacZone' with brothers John and Patrick McEnroe, offering a hint of the 'ManningCast' with Peyton and Eli but also a needy attempt to re-create 'Inside' on red clay. With John McEnroe playing the role of a country club version of Charles Barkley, 'MacZone' has produced a mixed bag. Some viewers clearly love the brotherly banter. Others would prefer their tennis commentary with a bit more, say, tennis (and less musing about the New York Knicks, John's favorite NBA team). In another obvious 'Inside' effort, 'NHL on TNT' feels desperate at times to create buzzy moments, with former player Paul Bissonnette as equal parts jester and analyst. Some of the biggest 'Inside' imitators are found on NBA podcasts because it seems the majority of the empty calories in sports props up the NBA conversation. It's not just that the discourse feels negative rather than celebratory, a complaint among some current players. The talk is often so shallow. How this guy couldn't play in the golden age of ball. Or that guy needs to step up and score 30 a night. Maybe the average NBA fan has a weak palate for substance, explaining why the most popular podcasts feature ex-pros offering little about the NBA game, just spoonfuls of dated takes and sophomoric jokes. Or perhaps, the success of 'Inside' has influenced sports broadcasting too much. 'Inside' was gold. But the show was intended as entertainment, not education about the game. Perkins, a former player and now a paid analyst for one of the league's broadcast partners, even called out 'Inside the NBA' for its casualness around the league it covers. 'Obviously they don't watch basketball,' Perkins said back in April. Those fighting words continued a rivalry between himself and Shaq and Charles. However, with the 'Inside' format moving to ESPN, they're kissing and making up in public. But Perkins's opinion, shared only a few months ago, rang with truth. 'Inside' pulled off the irreverence and even ignorance because of the co-stars and their unmatched chemistry. In the wrong hands, however, we're left with former jocks just spilling tea from their glory days or mispronouncing the names of the current somebodies. And yet that hasn't stopped analysts or the networks they work for from trying to reproduce the inimitable and creating bad dupes that feel like Guccis found at a flea market. During ABC's pregame show, Stephen A. Smith set the scene for viewers, explaining the teams in the most rudimentary fashion for the viewers who might not have known that the Oklahoma City Thunder remained in existence after Kevin Durant left. Then, still near the top of the telecast, the talk shifted to what makes a superstar. Nothing on Tyrese Haliburton and the zombie Indiana Pacers who keep coming back from double-digit deficits (which would have been a prelude for things to come in that exciting Game 1), nor a deeper dive into Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP season. Just more fluff about a topic that matters only to the talking heads who need to fill segments with … something. 'Countdown' waited until its final segment to show clips explaining how Gilgeous-Alexander creates separation for his midrange scoring — about six minutes before the show went off the air. That was followed by the news that the Thunder was moving Cason Wallace into the starting lineup — like, real actual news. Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors executive who rarely looks comfortable in ESPN's contrived attempt at on-set chemistry, tried explaining why he didn't like this adjustment, made before the teams even played one minute of the Finals. He was cut off by Perkins because there needed to be a fake debate — and for all the criticism, the 'Inside' arguments never felt contrived. 'Let me ask you this: Is Cason Wallace a setback? Absolutely not,' Perkins said. Perkins must have studied at the College of Chuck because he spends most segments trying to sound like the most resolute — and provocative — person on set. Although Perkins clearly does watch NBA basketball, his analysis can be overshadowed by his hot takes. During the Western Conference finals, Perkins gave Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards unsolicited advice about his personal life, claiming he needed to find a wife and settle down as a family man to become the face of the league. The statement went as viral as he intended. Charles would cross the line — and often — but he could get away with it. Why? Because his show was about having fun — old NBA veterans respecting the game just enough but never taking it or themselves too seriously. That was their pattern, and it worked. With the 'Inside' crew, the audience knew what it was getting. Forget game analysis; we watched the most influential basketball show on television for the laughs. We didn't tune in to soak up Kenny's halftime analysis. We wanted to see whether Shaq would spin around and race Kenny to the big screen. We watched to find out whether Charles would finally know what team Garrett Temple plays for and to laugh along with him as the butt of the joke. There will never be another 'Inside,' and sports broadcasting should stop trying to create the next one.
2 hours ago
Pacers take 1-0 lead into game 2 against the Thunder
Indiana Pacers (50-32, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -11; over/under is 227.5 NBA FINALS: Pacers lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Indiana Pacers visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Pacers won the last matchup 111-110 on Friday, led by 19 points from Pascal Siakam. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 38. The Thunder are 36-6 in home games. Oklahoma City is third in the league giving up only 107.6 points per game while holding opponents to 43.6% shooting. The Pacers have gone 21-20 away from home. Indiana ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference shooting 36.8% from 3-point range. The Thunder average 14.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.6 more made shots on average than the 12.9 per game the Pacers give up. The Pacers average 9.8 more points per game (117.4) than the Thunder give up (107.6). TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals for the Thunder. Jalen Williams is averaging 18.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals over the past 10 games. Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 18.6 points and 9.2 assists for the Pacers. Aaron Nesmith is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 113.1 points, 42.2 rebounds, 23.3 assists, 11.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game. Pacers: 7-3, averaging 115.9 points, 39.5 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 7.3 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.0 points. INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out for season (acl).
