Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers went in favor of the underdogs.
Although the Thunder led for the majority of the game, Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner snatched the win for the Pacers.
While Haliburton’s heroics have been praised enough, there are a few OKC players who need to be criticized for the 111-110 defeat.
This includes Thunder center Chet Holmgren, who put up a terrible performance in the opening game of the series.
Holmgren is often regarded as the second-best player on the Thunder roster, behind only 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, a player worthy of that title cannot contribute just 6 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Well, that’s what Chet did and ex-NBA player Cedric Maxwell recently called him out.
“Where was Chet at? He’s supposed to be that dude, who is that second fiddle guy. He was invisible in this game,” Maxwell said on a recent episode of the Nightcap podcast.
“You got to have those tier guys step up. You had seven guys on the Pacers team scoring the basketball,” he boldly stated.
Maxwell wasn’t done as he gave a concerning verdict on the entire Thunder team’s Game 1 performance vs the Pacers.
“They [OKC] had some guys over there who just disappeared. You can’t do that in big games.”
While no one is expecting Holmgren to put up monster numbers each game, he should at least stay close to his 2025 playoff averages of 15.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
Many fans have claimed that the Pacers’ 2025 postseason run is nothing but a fluke. What they are forgetting is that head coach Rick Carlisle knows a thing or two about winning an NBA Championship.
After all, he was the man behind the clipboard during the Dallas Mavericks‘ historic 2011 NBA title run. Maxwell believes Carlisle’s immense experience was on display in Game 1.
“He’s the only one up there with championship experience as a coach… and I think it showed a little bit in this game,” the ex-NBA veteran concluded.
Either way, Game 2 of the series will determine if the opening-night contest victory was a fluke or if the Pacers have a shot at taking down the Thunder on the biggest stage.
