The official website lists the four highlights of the finals G4: The Thunder needs to improve the key goal, and the battle for substitutes becomes the weather vane for victory and loss

NBA Finals G4 played at 8:30 am on June 14. The current total score is 1-2 behind the Pacers. What kind of plot will happen in the finals G4? The NBA official website lists four highlights worth paying attention to in the finals G4 -

1. The Thunder need to improve their key ball performance

The Thunder has a strong dominance this season, setting a record of NBA's historical average net win (12.9 points) and 60 net wins and 10+ points wins, but this also brings a hidden danger - they lack experience in key battles in the final stage. In the regular season, when the score difference in the last 5 minutes of the game is within 5 points, the Thunder's record is 16 wins and 8 losses. This is not bad, but it is the fewest "key battle" among the 30 teams. So far in the playoffs, the Thunder have won 5 and 4 losses in key battles, while non-critical battles have 8 and 2 losses. As shown by their multiple reversal performances, the Pacers have won 24 wins and 14 losses in the regular season key matches this season, and 9 wins and 1 loss in the playoffs so far. G1's buzzer-beating kill is full of chaos, but G3 and they professionally control the lead: improving defensive strength, adhering to the offensive style, and continuously impacting while avoiding mistakes.

"We have played a lot of stalemates throughout the season," said Pacers' substitute inside Toping. "We are comfortable in key battles. At the end of the game, we believe in our training and believe that we can hand the ball to the defenders, and they can handle it correctly."

2. The bench battle

teams with higher substitutes have won the victory: the Pacers' substitutes dominate G1 (39-28) and G3 (49-18), while G2 is the Thunder (48-34). It can be said that the substitute performance dominated the series: the Thunder led the Pacers with a total starting score of 246-222, but the substitute's disadvantage of 94-112 gave the Pacers a 2-1 lead.

The Pacers' substitute advantage of 31 points in G3 comes partly due to opportunities: Nembhard and Nesmith were in trouble for fouls, and Turner fell due to a cold, but this cannot explain the whole thing - especially the substitute wing Mathering scored 27 points in 22 minutes, and defender McConnell contributed 10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in 15 minutes.

"The role players perform better at home in the playoffs" is an NBA cliché...but this time it's right.

However, the Thunder's substitute was also related to coach Dagenut's decision: Wiggins scored 24 points in 20+ minutes in G2, while G3 only played less than 10 minutes and did not score; substitute sharpshooter Isaiah Joe hit the first two three-pointers, but he did not play again after playing for only 4 minutes and 13 seconds. The Thunder increased the usage rate of stars Alexander and Jaylen Williams, which is reasonable, but it is also the Pacers' defensive preparation - they only need to deal with fewer variables.

Degnot admitted: "Last night, their entire team, from players to coaches, beat us in all aspects. Of course we need to turn the article, but we must admit this to learn from it."

3. Round Value>Three-pointers

Old-school NBA fans may appreciate the shift in attention to the three-point line in this finals. In this era of "one who has more three points often wins", there is no obvious rule in this series: the Pacers' two wins are accompanied by the best (18 of 39 in G1) and the worst (9 of 27 in G3) respectively; the Thunder averaged nearly 3 fewer three-pointers than the regular season (11.7 vs.14.5), but had a higher shooting percentage.

The coaches and players of the two teams repeatedly emphasized the "round value" in the series: scoring in four, five or six consecutive offensive rounds, or forcing opponents to make mistakes on the defensive end can reverse the trend of a quarter of the game. Get more effective shots (rather than long shots) opportunities by better control of rebounds or fewer turnovers, becoming the guiding ideology.

This is refreshing, highlighting the difference between high-intensity playoff games and random matches in the regular season.

4. Is fatigue coming or is adrenaline soaring?

Both the Thunder and Pacers have played 101 regular season + playoff games since the October opening. Although the playoff schedule is sparse, the intensity, pressure and significance of each game is far greater than 82 regular season games.

If there is really a moment of fatigue in the series, it is likely to be G4. Compared with other games, the game was only 48 hours after G3. Both teams have reason to pay attention to physical fitness - the Pacers let the Thunder twin stars Alexander and Jewe frequently run during the offense, in addition to regular longitudinal movements, they also increase the horizontal distance; although the Pacers can rotate more players, their style relies on oppressive defense and rapid conversion of offense, and the demand for physical fitness is much higher than the common half-court offense and defense in the playoffs.

"Build a 'not tired' mentality," McConnell said. "I think this is the prerequisite for playing hard."

On the other hand, the end of the long season is near-the light of the O'Brien Trophy is shining. Perhaps the road ahead is not smooth, but even if your legs are heavy, your heart is full of desire.

"There are only four games left in the season," Alexander said. "This is your goal for the whole season, the whole summer. In my opinion, you must grit your teeth and persevere, complete the task, and strive for victory."