{"id":143680,"date":"2025-06-06T15:12:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T19:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=143680"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:12:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T19:12:49","slug":"sga-finals-debut-must-improve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/06\/sga-finals-debut-must-improve\/","title":{"rendered":"SGA’s Finals Debut Was a Blast. Now, He Must Improve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals<\/a> did not fail to impress and turn many heads with its thrilling finish. The Oklahoma City Thunder nearly had a win<\/a> before the Indiana Pacers went scurrying away with a stunning blow. Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> was spectacular to watch, and so was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, who nearly had a 40-piece. While there is a lot of praise about SGA’s Finals debut, the Thunder star still has a lot to improve if they are going to win it all.<\/p>\n

Criticism has gone OKC’s way<\/a> in the hours following their loss in Game 1. A huge chunk of those has gone to Jalen Williams<\/a>\u00a0and Chet Holmgren<\/a>, the lack of bench performance from OKC, and the poor shooting—and all of it still alludes to the 2025 MVP. Now the pressure is on Oklahoma City<\/a> to make the biggest adjustments—and they’ve been good at it this postseason.<\/p>\n

SGA’s Finals Debut Was a Blast. Now, He Must Improve<\/h2>\n

The most adjustments, however, must come from none other than SGA himself.<\/p>\n

The Game of Adjustments: What’s SGA’s Next Move?<\/h3>\n

Shai was phenomenal in Game 1, no doubt. After all, he’s running a lot of historic feats<\/a> entering the big stage. He’s the first season MVP to reach the Finals since Stephen Curry<\/a> in 2015. The Thunder guard also notched the record for the third-most points<\/a> scored in a Finals debut with 38. That’s a lot of impressive feats, but there’s definitely a lot to improve from SGA if the Thunder want to win.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander is no stranger to adversity, and it is safe to say that he’s learned and grown well in these playoffs. The 2025 MVP has shown that he can adjust, read the situation, and lead his team to victory. Time after time, SGA has stepped up and answered the call.<\/p>\n

This situation with the Pacers is no different—it is another puzzle for him to figure out and solve.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander Must Pick his Shots Well<\/h3>\n

SGA’s Finals debut was both a show of his masterful shotmaking and his over-aggressiveness. For one, yes, Shai did shoot 14-for-30 from the field, and it might have been the best 50% shooting had he knocked down that final jumper that he settled for. That 18-footer is definitely one of the things that he wished they would have taken away. He could have driven the ball and ended up drawing contact, or even making a dagger of his own while taking time away from the clock.<\/p>\n

Instead, that ball hit the back rim, and the rest was history<\/a>. Of course, Indiana still has to figure him out. While shooting nearly 50% is good, we all know that SGA is capable of shooting better than that. It’s time that he minimized his shot attempts<\/a> and looked for quality shots.<\/p>\n

In the last three games he’s played, Gilgeous-Alexander has attempted more than 25 field goals. It is easy to expect that your best player will be hunting more shots to put up impressive numbers and lead the way. However, shot selection matters in the NBA Finals, and Shai is better off knocking down every single one of them. That impressive Game 7 win in the West Semis<\/a>? SGA shot 63.2% from the field, and was even better in their Game 2 blowout at a whopping 84.6% shooting.<\/p>\n

It’s okay to be aggressive, but the shots have to continue falling as well. After all, it’s the NBA Finals, and every bucket matters.<\/p>\n

Time to Play the Distributor – Again<\/h3>\n

One of the best highlights of OKC’s series against the Denver Nuggets was how SGA met the moment<\/a>. It was a battle of the 2025 MVP finalists, and while the Thunder forced Nikola Jokic<\/a> to be a scorer, the Nuggets forced Shai to be a playmaker. Of course, that turned out for the best as he went on to play that masterfully, even finishing with a total of 46 assists.<\/p>\n

\n

SGA created 15 straight points for OKC to close out that game. <\/p>\n

Jokic scored 11 straight points for Denver.<\/p>\n

That's one of the best clutch duels I've ever seen. <\/p>\n

One of the best performances you'll ever see in a loss by Jokic, but holy shit did SGA meet the moment.<\/p>\n

— Carson Breber (@Carsobi) May 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n