Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is planning for the challenge of slowing down the Indiana Pacers in a matchup of two of the NBA’s highest-scoring teams in the Finals starting with Game 1 on Thursday.
As Daigneault digs into the details, he knows there’s a difference between getting a feel for the opponent and the opponent making sure you feel them.
“We aren’t inventing anything this week. They pump a 99-mph fastball at you, and you can prepare all you want for that,” Daigneault said. “But when you’re in the batter’s box, it’s different when it’s time to hit. It’s going to be a very tall challenge.”
Oklahoma City features two top on-ball defenders who’ll share the chore of shadowing Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton. He averaged 18.8 points and 9.8 assists in the playoffs to reach the Finals and is the engine of a revving offense capable of attacking from many angles. Lu Dort defended Haliburton in two regular-season matchups, Thunder wins, and limited him to averages of 11 points and 5.5 assists.
While the Thunder feature the NBA’s leading scorer and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the mentality of winning with defense and succeeding as a team are more than words to this young roster.
“Staying true to who we are is the reason we are here. We’d be doing ourselves a disservice to change or be something we’re not once we got here,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If we want to keep having success, we have to be who we are. It’s organic, so it’s nothing we have to think about or force. It’s who we are no matter the moment.”
Gilgeous-Alexander will get the majority of the attention from the Pacers’ defense, but forward Chet Holmgren said Oklahoma City has seen plenty of that approach. The Thunder claim they truly don’t care how the points get on the board in Game 1 or beyond, as long as OKC is putting up wins.
“I’d say the biggest thing is playing for each other,” Holmgren said. “And the type of guys we have here. If you ask anybody, everybody is going to tell you they are a winner. We have a team with 17 winners. They’re going to put winning at the top of the totem pole over anything else, really. Does that mean you are guaranteed to win every single night? No. But when that’s the main focus, you aren’t working toward anything else, then you are able to chase that (outcome) better than if you had a different perspective on it.”
Perspective might be a challenge early in the series.
Daigneault is matching up with Rick Carlisle, who guided the 2011 Dallas Mavericks to the NBA title, with a group of 20-somethings in the Finals for the first time. He reminded his team to walk into the home arena grateful and wasn’t afraid to reflect on the magnitude of the moment.
“Every single person that’s participating in this,” he said, “whether it’s coaches, players, staff, there was a time in their life when this was just a dream. That’s every player that’s participating. There was a time they were in their driveway shooting, 1 on 0, with a basket counting down the end of the game. That’s what makes it so special to be part of. We’re all very humbled and grateful to be a part of it.”
