Subtle Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adjustment might have saved Thunder's NBA Finals hopes

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault changed the way he utilized Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in a move that could prove to be a series-defining moment

View 2 Images

INDIANAPOLIS - Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault made a subtle change in his use of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the drama-filled Game 4 of the NBA Finals, which might have saved his team's season.

Gilgeous-Alexander struggled for more than three quarters of Saturday's clash against the Indiana Pacers. On the one hand, the reigning MVP had 20 points on 9-for-18 shooting entering the final period – numbers that the majority of NBA players would take without hesitation, especially in the Finals.

At the same time, he was team-worst -16 and Indiana stayed in control for most of the clash, proving that his scoring didn't necessarily translate to effective play. The Pacers successfully limited Gilgeous-Alexander's impact on the Thunder offense with their tight coverage of SGA and the relentless full-court press they've been utilizing to wear him down, as evidenced by his scarce trips to the free throw line and the fact that he would end the night with no assists for only the 10th time in his career and first in the playoffs.

Without his dimes, OKC had a hard time shooting from downtown – they made only two triples on 14 attempts (14.3 percent) through the third quarter, while the Pacers were 11-for-28 (39.3 percent). "He really didn't have it going a lot of the night," Daigneault said of Gilgeous-Alexander postgame. "He was laboring. We had a hard time shaking him free."

SGA's rough night continued for the first part of the fourth quarter, during which he only added a steal to his final statline. However, the Thunder stepped up on the defensive end, bringing the Pacers offense to a halt to keep themselves in the game.

And then, Gilgeous-Alexander became unstoppable.

View 2 Images

The 6-foot-6 guard scored 15 points in the final five minutes of the game, a feat unseen in the NBA Finals since 1971. A big chunk of them came from aggressive drives that either let him cash in on his midrange jumper or earned him a trip to the charity stripe.

His ability to flip the switch this late came as a striking contrast to the end of Game 3, when SGA seemed exhausted despite playing just a couple of minutes more than in Game 4. But it wasn't necessarily the number of minutes that made the difference. Rather, it was the way Daigneault distributed them.

Gilgeous-Alexander received a first-quarter break, lasting just a tick over four minutes, for the first time since Game 6 of the conference semifinals series with the Denver Nuggets, according to PBP Stats. Throughout the game, Daigneault also gave his star four breathers instead of two, subbing him off at least once in each quarter.

Together with playing a bit more off the ball – leading to a rare SGA catch-and-shoot 3 during his 15-point rampage – those allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to preserve enough energy to unleash his lethal burst that overwhelmed Indiana down the stretch, something the Pacers have typically done to opponents this offseason, including the Thunder in Game 1. "I just tried to be aggressive," the Thunder star said of his strong finish, which secured a 116-107 win.

"I knew what it would have looked like if we lost tonight. I didn't want to go out not swinging. I didn't want to go out not doing everything I could do in my power, in my control to try to win the game. The guys deserve that as much from me.

"The coaching staff deserves that much from me. I just tried to be aggressive, but also let the game come to me, not try to force anything too crazy. I guess it paid off."

The significance of that change of momentum cannot be overstated. The Thunder head back home for Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2 instead of trailing 3-1, which would have been all but a death sentence. Teams that have a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals win 97.4 percent of the time.

Only the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to overcome that deficit, famously claiming the franchise's first-ever title in Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors.