The official website lists the four highlights of G3 in the finals: Harry needs to be more aggressive, and the referee s standards may change

On June 11, the NBA Finals G3 will play at 8:30 am on June 12, and the current total score is the Thunder 1-1 Pacers. What kind of plot will happen in the finals G3? The NBA official website lists four highlights worth paying attention to in the finals G3 -

1. When Alexander comes off the court, the Pacers need to seize the opportunity

Pacers need to turn the Thunder's "non-Alexander period" into a key breakthrough in the series. The popular "present/absent data" in recent years is an intuitive analysis tool used to track the team's offense and defense efficiency when players play and end.

This set of data is well known for Jokic - the Nuggets legendary center seems to have always lacked enough helpers. There are many reasons why Jokic can win the MVP three times, but one of them cannot be ignored: when he is on the court, the Nuggets usually win over their opponents by about 547 points, while he loses by about 439 points in the game. This contrast is particularly significant in the 2023 championship journey. Whenever the big man needs to go off the court, fans are worried that the Nuggets will collapse instantly.

Alexander won the MVP this season without relying on such "value indicators". When the scoring king is on the court, the Thunder scores 16.7 points more than his opponent in every 100 rounds; even if he goes off, the team can still win by 5.2 points in a hundred rounds - this net efficiency value can rank fourth in the league, highlighting that the Thunder still has the top level even if they lack core.

The playoffs continue to this day: Alexander has a net victory of 12.8 points in 100 rounds and a net victory of 6.9 points in 100 rounds. In the first two games of the finals, when Alexander was present, the Thunder beat the Pacers by 8 points; when he left the Thunder also beat the Pacers by 7 points.

Pacers must improve this "7 points" disadvantage. Regardless of whether Alexander's out-of-field Thunder is attacked by Jaylen Williams, Wiggins, Caruso or other players, the Pacers need to take the initiative to attack, at least for this short period of time. They need to convert the energy that limits Alexander into a driving force on the offensive end.

In Game 1, the Pacers netted 4 points in 8 minutes and 26 seconds after Alexander's end. They need to replicate this performance repeatedly - after all, if Alexander cannot win even when he is not present, how can he win when he is on the court?

2. Halliburton needs to be more aggressive

This sounds like a simple analysis at halftime, that is, "the stars have to do more" or "must stand up." But the key question is: How to implement it in detail?

For a point guard like Halliburton who is first in passing, forcing his game to dominate - he relies on his teammates to run into open positions and hit shots to create scoring opportunities for himself. He is not a "production shooter" like Alexander (the latter can make 10 more shots to extend his life to the team).

Nevertheless, Halliburton made 13 shots in the first two games of the finals, scoring 14 and 17 points respectively, of which 12 points in Game 2 were not late until the end of the quarter - this was far from enough. In the playoffs, when the Pacers defender scored at least 20 points, the team's record was 7 wins and 1 loss; when the score was below 20 points, it was only 6 wins and 4 losses.

The number of shots is the same: 8 wins and 1 loss when 15 or more times, 5 wins and 4 losses when less than 15 times. What is more noteworthy is that he has not won a single free throw in the finals so far (he averaged 3.5 free throws per game in the previous 16 playoffs).

So no matter what method is used to get Halliburton to catch the ball on the marching (the Thunder currently double-teams), or pass, cut and then catch the ball - he must be more proactive at the scoring end, at least a little bit of aggressiveness.

3.Homegren's defense is not only about protecting the basket

Homegren's first finals performance, but significantly improved his influence in the second game - which is much more than his 15 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block.

The 2.16-meter player showed all-round defensive ability on Sunday: he and his teammates never shy away from letting him switch to smaller and faster players, because Homegren's excellent footsteps and his wingspan advantage can interfere with the shooting without having to stick to the attacker.

He can also stay away from the ball holder as needed, and knows that when he is on the court at the same time as center Haltenstein, the penalty area will be fully protected. Coach Dagnot also praised the two big men for their pick-and-roll defense against the Pacers in Game 2.

4. Pay attention to the whistle scale

Many Pacers fans believe that the Thunder were allowed to use a defensive approach with strong physical confrontation and heavy hand interference in the first two home courts, while the Pacers did not obtain the same scale - of course, this may be the subjective feeling of home fans, but the "fame" of the two teams may subtly affect some of the penalty. The hustle and bustle atmosphere at the Thunder home court may also play a role. But now the situation is different: Games 3 and 4 will be played at the Pacers at home, and Indiana's home fans are equally enthusiastic (even if the volume is slightly lower).

data is evidence: So far, the Thunder have been hailed 39 fouls, won 57 free throws and hit 50 goals; the Pacers have 47 fouls, 47 free throws and hit 34 goals. The Thunder scored 16 more points on the free throw line, and the two-game winning streak was only 15 points - a gap that was the key to the series.