Would the Indiana Pacers be better off winning Game 1 with 30 points rather than the way it happened? Pacer chased 15 at 9:42, and Tyrees Halliburton gives the only lead with 0.3 seconds left?
It’s definitely not.
Think about it: Pacer is in the perfect place as he prepares for Game 2 on Sunday night.
They claimed a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals Top 7 series, but often they don’t have to deal with the natural side effects of humanity that often comes with it.
First of all, the Pacers are not made to think that by winning Game 1 on the Road, they will guarantee they will wind up the Larry O’Brien trophy. For the record, the only time the road team has won Game 1 (2022 Boston Celtics and 2013 San Antonio Spurs) is the last 20 years that the team has lost the series.
Secondly, and more importantly, the way Game 1 unfolds makes it impossible to believe that the Pacers are clearly superior to the Oklahoma City Thunder. There is no reason for psychological disappointment. There is no reason to believe that you can take on a victory by throwing Pumas on the floor or a naik on the floor on a Sunday night.
“We know we’re a pretty heavy loser here,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said before Game 1.
And just because the Pacers won didn’t change that.
In fact, according to BETMGM, Pacer was a weaker with 9.5 points in Game 1. BetMGM odds makers were very impressed with the Pacers rally on Thursday.
lol.
This kind of insult keeps the Pacers starving to find a way to resolve the Thunder defensive scheme. To be fair, they showed some progress in Game 1. After committing 19 turnovers in the first half, he paced to set a single game record for the NBA Finals. Indiana coughed just five times in the second half.
“They are defensively threats,” Carlisle said. “We’ve taken it into the crowd often. Then they just take the ball out of your hands. Their level of defense is crazy.”
Even when the Pacers stopped handing it over frequently, they seemed surprised at how quickly the lightning defenders were closed.
Paces like Halliburton and Andrew Nenbird drove to the hoops, but stared straight from side to side, worried that it would peel off from the blind side. And Chet Holmgren, with his 7-foot-6 wingspan – seemed everywhere.
Among the three ownerships of one in the third quarter, Aaron Nesmith ran to Lu Dort for a fee. But even if Cole didn’t turn into Dort’s way, Holmgren was already spinning to try the shot.
On his next possession, Holmglen flew to the corner to deflect Nesmith’s three-point attempt.
Miles Turner then caught the ball over a three-point arc and drove past Holmglen on a drive using a fake pump.
This is the classic second speculation, but Oklahoma City led 104-96 with 3:24 left when Thunder coach Mark Deanne smashed Holmgren into Cathon Wallace. Thirty seconds later, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extended OKC’s lead to nine with two free throws, the Pacers had just 2.6% chance of winning.
However, Holmglen did not return to the court until he had 0.3 seconds left. Thunder’s only option was the inbound lob for chip-in.
That didn’t work. That is, the Pacers became the first team to win the NBA Finals game, at least in 1971, when they scored at least nine points in the final three minutes.
So, can the Pacers become their first team since the 1995 Houston Rockets (led by Hall of Fame Haixum Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler)?
We all learned not to pass them.
“I think… we take everything personally as a group.” Halliburton said. “It’s not just me, it’s everyone. It’s the DNA of this group and it feels like it’s not just me. It’s our coaching staff.
“I think we do a great job of taking things personally. That gives this group more confidence.”
