Game 3 of the NBA Finals is getting ready to kick off, with the series currently tied at 1-1. The OKC Thunder managed to win Game 2 after the Pacers, led by the magic man Tyrese Haliburton, stole Game 1 at the last second. But Charles Barkley didn’t think too much of the Game 2 bounce-back from the Thunder. In fact, the Hall of Famer believes it was all part of the Pacers’ plan to get the home-court advantage.
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Chuck spoke about the championship series on the pre-Game 3 coverage. “I think this to me is going to be a very interesting game because I did not like the lineup change that cost them Game 1,” said the 62-year-old legend. “I thought Shai shot too much the first game. I thought it knocked him out of whack.”
“Pacers did what they wanted to do. I think OKC has got to win one of these next two games or they’re not going to win the series,” Barkley added. He’s not wrong, either. The Thunder letting Indiana slip in and steal Game 1 could be the determining game of the series.
Sure, the Thunder had several stars like Chet Holmgren not perform well, but that doesn’t mean it will not cost them in the long run, especially with how clutch the Pacers have been in the final stretch of games.
Still, their bounce back in Game 2 was needed, at least to keep the pressure on Indy. But Chuck? He’s not impressed by the Thunder’s win. “I don’t think Game 2 meant anything to be honest with you. It reminded me of Game 5 in New York. The Pacers are like, we got what we wanted. We are gonna come home and close them out,” he said.
Chuck even suggested that the narrative that the Thunder are so dominant was weighed down by the meaningless Game 2 when Game 1 was the tone setter. “People overreacted to Game 2. Game 1 was the big game. That was a huge game. So now the pressure switches back to the Pacers.”
The Pacers pulled similar heroics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks. Unfortunately, New York never really recovered from that collapse, and even though they won two games, the series felt over.
It’s showtime now for the Thunder. Either they prove that they are the best team in the league, or they let the Indiana miracle team finish their fairy tale ending.
