The Oklahoma City Thunder are officially in deep trouble. After getting outplayed in a 116-107 Game 3 loss, they’re now trailing the Indiana Pacers 2-1 in the NBA Finals. But the on-court problems might be bleeding into the press conferences, because after the game, there seemed to be a fascinating, and maybe even a little concerning, disagreement between superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his head coach, Mark Daigneault, about what’s really going on with this Thunder team.
Let’s start with SGA, who was clearly in no mood to give the Pacers or their pesky defender, Andrew Nembhard, any credit for getting to him. During his practice media availability, a reporter pointed out that he seemed “a little more emotionally agitated in this series by Nembhard than in anybody else you’ve played against this year.” Shai’s response? A cool, complete shutdown. “I’m not too sure. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, a classic case of a superstar refusing to show any weakness.
“I don’t feel emotionally agitated at all. Um, so I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t feel emotionally worked up at all.” Another reporter then asked if the Pacers’ pace and physicality had worn him down in the fourth quarter. Again, SGA brushed it off: “I’m not too sure. I don’t think so… it’s a physical game. We’ve had plenty of physical games… I don’t think it was anything out the blue or anything I haven’t seen before.” The message was clear: “I’m fine, we’re fine, nothing to see here.”
But then, his coach, Mark Daigneault, stepped up to the mic and told a very different story. Daigneault didn’t just talk about his own team’s struggles; he gave the Pacers all the credit in the world for their Game 3 performance. “Indiana’s done a great job through three games of the series against us,” he admitted. “Like I said, we haven’t played our best — certainly in Game 3 we didn’t play our best — but I thought Indiana had a lot to do with that. So I never want to discredit the opponent or the effort they’re putting in. Their team, their players — they outplayed us, outcoached us, out-everything’d us last night.” Mark even addressed the team’s mindset after the tough loss.
Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
And that’s where the disagreement comes in. While SGA is projecting an image of being unbothered, Daigneault is openly acknowledging that the Pacers’ game plan is working and that his team was thoroughly beaten. And honestly, you can see why reporters are asking these questions. The matchup with Nembhard is personal. Nembhard even admitted, “Just trying to play hard. Make it tough on him.” These two have a long history. They’re both from Ontario, Canada. They’ve been playing against each other since they were nine years old, and they were even teammates last summer, representing Canada in the Olympics.
You’d be lying if you said it didn’t feel personal. Down six with just two minutes left in Game 1, the Pacers were staring at a gut-punch loss—until Andrew Nembhard took matters into his own hands. Isolated against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he went deep into his bag—between-the-legs dribbles, sharp crossovers—and then pulled up to bury a cold-blooded three right in SGA’s face. That shot didn’t just cut the lead, it set the stage for Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner. Ice in their veins.
On top of that, SGA just hasn’t looked quite as untouchable as he did earlier in the playoffs. In fact, according to NBA.com’s matchup data from the first two games, Nembhard held the MVP to just 15 points on 38.5% shooting across more than 14 minutes as the primary defender. Not to forget the critical stop on Shai’s 10-footer in Game 1.
Moreover, the shift in SGA’s tone from before the series to now is telling. Just days ago, he was almost nostalgic, calling his shared journey with Nembhard “special.” Now, after three games of being hounded, that warmth has been replaced by a stone wall. Nembhard, for his part, made his intentions clear from the jump: “I’m not too worried about making friends out there.”
But while these internal dynamics are fascinating, the most pressing concern is brutally simple: OKC cannot afford to go down 3-1.
What went wrong for OKC in game 3 (And how they plan to fix it)
Let’s be real for a second: the Game 3 box score was telling the truth Mark Daigneault already knew. This wasn’t just a loss. it was a systematic breakdown, confirming that Indiana’s physicality is indeed a massive problem. The Thunder’s usually slick offense sputtered, posting its highest turnover rate of the playoffs and its second-lowest assist rate. The ball stopped moving, and the poise vanished.
The evidence of SGA’s struggles was undeniable, despite his claims to the contrary. The “coolest cucumber in basketball,” as he’s been called, looked genuinely “flustered” by the hard doubles and full-court pressure. He committed a shocking six turnovers and scored just three points in the decisive fourth quarter. SGA even admitted that the Pacers’ strategy was effective. “Yeah, they were aggressive,” he conceded. “They were hitting the pick-and-rolls… they were just more aggressive, more forceful.”
This is the central problem for OKC: the Pacers punked them, and the Thunder didn’t have a response. SGA took just four free throws in the second half and attempted only three shots in the final frame. That’s not the MVP. But true to form, his public message was one of pure defiance. “You got to suck it up,” he said. “There’s a maximum four games left… you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win.” It’s the mindset of a champion, but one that’s at odds with his team’s on-court performance. His teammate, Chet Holmgren, was more direct about the need to adapt: “We have to figure out a way to counteract that… because it’s not a winning formula.”
Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
So, what’s the fix for Game 4? According to Daigneault, it’s not about reinventing the wheel, but about rediscovering their identity. “I thought it was an uncharacteristic night… We got to learn from it and then tap back into being who we are,” he said. For SGA, that means finding an answer to the defensive pressure he claims isn’t there. His solution? “Things like that usually comes down to who throws the first punch.”
The Thunder have shown they can respond to adversity. But this isn’t just a tactical adjustment. It’s a test of whether their leader can reconcile his public stoicism with the on-court reality. Game 4 will show if he’s ready to throw that first punch.
The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Mark Daigneault in Disagreement as Thunder Star Addresses Multiple Concerns appeared first on EssentiallySports.
