14 steals, forced out the opponent 24 mistakes, and the Thunder was still killed. Who s the fault?

According to the process and data of the Pacers' finals' first game, the responsibility needs to be analyzed from the following multi-dimensionality:

1. Key limitations of core players

‌Alexander's inefficient attack ‌

scored 38 points in the empty score, but the shooting rate dropped sharply in the final quarter, especially when the Pacers failed to use scores to suppress the counterattack (the missed key throws directly lead to the final round of ball rights conversion).

‌Homegren's defensive missed ‌

against Siakam (19 points and 11 rebounds) and Turner (15 points and 9 rebounds), the basket protection was not strong, the positive and negative value was -7, the lowest in the team; what was even more fatal was that after being replaced at the decisive moment, the Thunder five small lineups directly lost key rebounds.

‌The role player has insufficient offensive response‌

Although Doult contributed 3 three-pointers, his overall outside efficiency was inefficient (9 of 30 points in the Thunder team); Jaylen Williams scored 17 points but was invisible in the final quarter, and Caruso's plus-minus value +23 did not receive enough finishing rights.

🔄 2. Tactical system and on-site command loopholes

‌The offense and defense slackness after leading by 15 points‌

Overly relied on steals and counterattacks (14 steals made 24 mistakes), but ignored the stability of positional warfare; the Pacers made 11 three-pointers in the final quarter, exposing the chaos of retreat and rotation communication errors.

‌Inside Strategy Seriously Failed‌

Rebounds 39-56 net loss of 17, of which the frontcourt rebounds were completely defeated 6-16, and the Pacers' second offensive score accounted for more than 30%; Homegren did not have a high frame protection after leaving the field, which directly led to Halliburton's final defeat of the Pacers' continuous frontcourt boards.

‌Ma Dai's substitution dispute‌

1 minute and 30 seconds before the final game, the only frame protection center Homegren was removed and used five small lineups to try to speed up, but instead allowed the Pacers to seize the inside vacuum and scored 6 points in a row to tie.

🪑 3. Substitute depth and physical fitness crisis

‌The bench collapsed in a complete set‌

The Thunder substitute only scored 12 points (Wigkins + Wallace combined 4 points), and the Pacers substitute contributed 35 points (17 points to draw + McConnell's key mid-range shot).

‌Short rotation overdraft main players‌

Alexander and Doult both played for more than 40 minutes, and their physical fitness declined significantly in the last quarter, which directly led to a 3 defensive loss in the last 5 minutes and missing 2 key three-pointers.

💎 4. The Pacers' resilience value

‌Halliburton's final kill was not accidental: the Pacers only led by 0.3 seconds in 48 minutes, but used the Thunder's defensive lax period (11 of 14 three-pointers in the final quarter) and the second offensive opportunity (16 frontcourt boards) to gradually erode the score difference, and the core finally completed a fatal blow.