The Oklahoma City Thunder have been outlasting their opponents for most of the playoffs. But facing the tireless Indiana Pacers, the lone day’s rest before Game 4 may hurt the Thunder.
There are two days off between each of the NBA Finals games — except for Games 3 and 4. The teams have to take the court in Indianapolis 48 hours after Game 3, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander logged 42 minutes in the 116-107 Thunder loss.
The MVP looked tired by the end of Game 3, a rare quality for him. That might be due to how much the Pacers targeted him on both ends of the court.
In Game 3, Gilgeous-Alexander was the primary defender on 22 Pacers field goal attempts, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon.
On defense, the Pacers blitzed SGA with multiple defenders 12 times. Perhaps as a result of fatigue, he took only three shots in the fourth quarter.
Normally, the young and deep Thunder are the beneficiaries of a fast-paced game. But the Pacers have quite a few young players themselves, plus a deeper rotation — nine Pacers average 13.7 minutes or more. Having a wide range of offensive contributors, with seven players averaging double-digit points, means most Pacers get a few minutes more rest than their Thunder counterparts.
The biggest concern for the Thunder might be Alex Caruso, who played over 32 minutes, his second-highest total of the playoffs, Wednesday night. Caruso cracked 30 minutes only once in the regular season, and the most he’s played on two games in three nights during the playoffs is 51 minutes.
The Pacers are deploying five different guards to harry SGA, often 75 feet from the basket. Ben Sheppard can relieve Andrew Nembhard, who can be relieved by T.J. McConnell. Meanwhile the Thunder can’t afford to rest Gilgeous-Alexander, and the full-court pressure can be tiring.
The Thunder can be an exhausting defense to play against themselves, albeit with slightly fewer players. They’re very young, very athletic and very good at putting teams away with 10-to-15-point runs.
They’ll want to do that early in Game 4. The longer the game remains close in the fourth quarter, the better the Pacers’ chances to go up 3-1 become.
