Indiana Must Control Jalen Williams, Challenge at Slot to Extend Series
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 19 Jun 2025
Concentrating on Shai Gilgeous Alexander has been the folly of the Indiana Pacers in the last two games, both loses, putting finals rivals Oklahoma City Thunder a win away from their first NBA championship.
The preponderance of Pacers defense on Gilgeous Alexander has given other Thunder gunners, chiefly Jalen Williams, open looks at the basket resulting to Indiana's first back to back defeats in the post season playoffs.
Williams, in the last two games, scored a total of 67 points, including a career playoffs high of 40 points in game five. Fact is, against Indiana, the 6-6 Thunder forward-guard has been performing above his season's averages in scoring (25.8 ppg vs 21.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg vs 5.3 rpg).
Norming just 3.2 assist per game, down from his season's average of more than 5 assists per game, this signifies that Williams has become more offense-oriented against the Pacers, most probably encouraged by the type of defense Indiana has been throwing against Oklahoma which is essentially Gilgeous Alexander- centric.
This clearly shows that Indiana has to device a defense that will address both the threats chiefly of Gilgeous Alexander and Williams especially when the two are alternately playing the pick and roll near the painted area.
Adjusting to the pressure defense of the Pacers, Oklahoma has been limiting the times where Gilgeous Alexander is bringing the ball down and trying to set the table, so to speak. Instead the team has increasingly been using Alex Caruso or other guards from the bench with Gilgeous Alexander posting and Williams hovering and flitting in and around the perimeter looking for opportunities for pick and roll with forced shift in defenders or setting himself up for open mid range or long range shots as other Thunder shooters as Lue Dorf and Aaron Wiggins. Caruso has also been waiting for opportunities to drive or slash to the basket.
The threats are multiple but the Pacers would be better off with the scoring coming from other Thunder than Gilgeous Alexander and Williams who could both deflate the morale of any competing team.
Just the same, Indiana has to play solid defense.
Another factor this observer and other pundits see as jumping out especially in the last two games is Indiana's weakness at the slot with Myles Turner preponderance to play outside hoping to draw the OKC biggies making room for Pascal Siakam. But that is effective only when Turner is making his outside shots. Otherwise Siakam and occasionally Obi Toppin have to look for mismatch with their guards to score inside, which is often the case.
Oklahoma has learned to play seven footers Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hertenstein together with Holmgren as big forward and Hertenstein as center. Though this has come usually with the price of sitting Caruso and a little disadvantage in speed, the strategy has paid off with decisive size advantage both in offense and defense.
The ploy has also constrained Pacers coach Rick Carlisle to draw early from his bench for better possible match up vis a vis the OKC twin towers. In fairness, that worked in the past games with the wide bodied vet Thomas Bryant but not in the last two games.
Indiana has to address these weaknesses and hope for star guard Tyrese Haliburton to come back strong from an anemic game 5 performance to have a chance in the do or die game 6 at home. It's been some time already when Aaron Nesmith has had a super game. The Pacers could use another one this time.
N. B. Gilgeous Alexander and Williams have previously combined for at least 70 points ten times and could be looking for another one. Gilgeous Alexander, if he scores at least 30 points, will join Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to do score 16 times in the playoffs. That's Bad News.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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