It’s crazy how short-sighted the NBA can be nowadays. How is it that you’re only as good as your last game when you play over 100 throughout the season? Well, that’s exactly what the Pacers are victims of. But when you’re in the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years, it happens. They lost Game 2 after last-second heroics from Tyrese Haliburton in Game 1. So it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they need to up the ante for Game 3 on home turf. And that starts with how they use Pascal Siakam.

Siakam coming off the ECF as the MVP should tell you how essential he is to Rick Carlisle’s setup. But the Pacers are not using him properly. If there’s anything we’ve learnt from OKC this season, it’s their ability to force turnovers. They topped the charts with 847 steals in the regular season. And it was obvious that the controlled chaos that they’ve been following won’t really help them against such a setup. Siakam being their spearhead is fine. But what’s not is how they just didn’t adapt their playstyle, with the former champ practically begging for help.

“The Thunder so far are choosing that they’re going to go to Pascal Siakam because their normal scheme is to help off the corners as much as they do. It is to flock to the ball as much as they do. In that case, you got to be looking to the other, to the star in the opposite direction and knowing that’s going to be a two on one between Aaron and Tyrese when Tyrese lifts the rest of the way… Instead that’s not a great read and also a pretty poor entry pass from the top of the key, which Myles has been good at throwing those. But that’s off target given that what you just said there, like Siakam saying “I’m trying bro”, said Caitlin Cooper on her podcast.

We’re far from done. Mark Daigneault tried a method that worked to a tee against the Timberwolves in the WCF – which is to pack the paint. And when Minnesota relied on their shooting, well, we saw what happened. What the Pacers forgot to do was throw Siakam into the deep end like they usually do. OKC is too reactive. They won’t give him a second to breathe. And he suffered, as he ended the game shooting 3-for-11 from the field and 1-for-4 from deep.

“You’re throwing him into like an aerial contest against two other guys… into the snake pit. And this has happened on multiple occasions. And I understand why the Pacers might not have been attuned to it at the start of this series because other teams don’t attack these passes as directly. They can lead players to the basket. But against the Thunder, you can’t. You have to take advantage of not the layup that’s there, but you have to throw the ball to Pascal. Make sure he gets it and trust that the deep catch is a big enough advantage and that you can make lemonade out of the lemons that come with the two-on-one on the weak side,” said guest Samson Bloke on the pod.

It seems like the Thunder got Pascal Siakam all figured out. So, what’s the alternative? Do they look to Tyrese Haliburton like they always do? You can’t make it too obvious as well. Instead, there’s another man who’s far too underutilized for his quality. And that’s 25-year-old Aaron Nesmith.

Aaron Nesmith can give Pascal Siakam and Co. the flexibility they need

Nesmith’s got the build and reach to make him a defensive demon. But that’s not what’ll help Indiana here. The Pacers’ offense wasn’t reading Oklahoma City’s defense correctly, so they ended up forcing bad shots or turning the ball over. Instead, Nesmith’s 50.7 FG% and 43.7 3-pt% is a tool just waiting to be used. Letting Nesmith off a screen to see how OKC’s big men respond to him can help. And when OKC reacts, Nesmith shoots.

“Nesmith just running off stuff and see how they track him and pull him if he pulls a big up top. Then you can work with see how come and then you can relocate Nesmith again to maybe one pass away from see how come if the big because the big is going to want to help and that’s an easy read.. But if you can work it so that it’s like Nesmith catching comfortably or Pascal getting single coverage on Isaiah Jackson… Nesmith can be utilized more and so can Pascal,” said Bloke.

This sets up Game 3 too perfectly. Now we know what the Pacers need to rely on. And this could be yet another layer of unpredictability in that setup. If Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are guarded too perfectly, Aaron Nesmith is there to shoot hoops.