Could the Pacers’ secret strategy finally silence Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA Finals?

Look, here’s the thing: Rick Carlisle isn’t about to make the mistake of inviting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take over the game. As we gear up for Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Pacers’ head coach made it crystal clear—there’s no strategy here to “get Shai going.” It’s a no-brainer if you ask me. Let their star light up the scoreboard, and your defense? It’s toast. Yet, history tells us there’s a method to this madness. Recall Donovan Mitchell torching the Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoffs—dropping 34 points per game and commanding over 40% of his team’s possessions. Still, the Pacers found a way to shut down the supporting cast and claim victory. It’s not just a coincidence. Indiana’s blueprint is about forcing the MVP into tough shots, sticking to the other players, and making every possession a grind. Shai might have dazzled with 38 in Game 1, but the Pacers’ defensive chess match was already reshaping his role, and this series is far from a one-man show. The question now—can the Thunder’s supporting cast rise to the occasion and keep pace? Because as much as the spotlight’s on Shai, the real basketball battle is about who cracks first under pressure. LEARN MORE“We are not looking to get Shai going,” he said Saturday on the eve of Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. “That doesn’t make any sense.”AdvertisementAdvertisement

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If he’s going to, though, you’d probably like those points to come as inefficiently as possible. Say, on 30 shot attempts — tied for the third-highest total of his career. And probably while soaking up a ton of possessions. Like, for example, a 37.1% usage rate — the third-highest mark of his playoff career. And maybe even while dominating the ball to a greater degree than usual. For instance, a total time of possession of 8.8 minutes — up more than two minutes from the regular season and more than one minute from the first three rounds.“I always try to be aggressive and I never, like, predetermine it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Saturday. “I always just let the game tell me what to do. So I guess last game, I felt more often than not I had a shot or a play that I could attack on more than in the past, and that’s just the way it went.”Indiana will continue trusting that process, betting the deposits it puts in early will pay off with compound interest late. The Game 1 effort already paid some dividends, though, by influencing Gilgeous-Alexander to put the onus largely on himself. He passed out of just two of his 27 drives to the basket — emblematic of an outing that saw him call his own number more frequently than usual.