OKC Thunder Remaining ‘Present In the Moment’ Ahead of Pivotal Game 4

Oklahoma City officially has its back against the wall, even though a loss doesn’t equal elimination. Indiana has taken a massive 2-1 lead with one more home game before the series transitions again. Going down 3-1 to a team as well-coached and fundamentally sound as the Pacers doesn’t feel like an option. It’s now or never for this young Thunder team.

For a team that hasn’t really been in this position before, Oklahoma City has to be really careful. Now, a bad game isn’t just a bad game — it could decide the series and the season. For the Thunder, it’s about taking it one day, and one game, at a time from here on out. Understanding the importance of every game, but not becoming overwhelmed by the moment and the outside chaos.

The narratives are running wild about this young team, and many have already declared them dead. It’s certainly not the first time that Oklahoma City has had to block out the noise — positive and negative — and focus on the task at hand. Mark Daigneault’s message to the team has been centered around staying present. Oklahoma City has placed an emphasis on focusing where their feet are, and that’s nothing new.

“That dates back to — when he first started saying it, we were in L.A. last year,” Jalen Williams said of Daigneault’s distraction-free mindset. “That was during LeBron's, however many points he scored, like a hundred, whatever. But just, like, the idea behind it for that was there's going to be so much going on in the arena during LeBron's moment, that you have to be where your feet are. You have to lock in and stay present in the moment.”

Out of all the potential distractions for the Thunder, the biggest one might be on the court, in the arena. Oklahoma City got its first taste of the loud crowd in Indiana, and the Pacers faithful fueled the late game run that allowed the team to pull away. Indiana’s fans interacted with the crowd, and the Thunder seemed lost and confused at times.

It’s more important now than ever that Oklahoma City controls what it can control — defense and intensity. In a hostile environment with the weight of the season on the line, the Thunder must get back to its identity and keep things simple.

“Just not having any letup defensively,” Williams said. “That's our identity. We've kind of strived away from it a little bit. I think when you're scoring at a good rate, sometimes it can drop off a little bit. That's something that we've looked at.

There will be some game plan adjustments, for sure. A lot of that is just competing. I don't want to say "competing" because that sounds like you're out there not trying. Defensively locking in on a lot of the little things, not let them get comfortable and make those bigger runs late in the game.

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