Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers was in favor of the underdogs.
Thunder led the majority of the game, but the Tyrese Haliburton game winner took the Pacers’ victory.
The Halliburton hero is well praised, but there are a few OKC players who need to be criticized for their 111-110 defeat.
This includes Thunder Centre Chetholmgren, who performed badly in the opening game of the series.
Holmgren is considered the second best player on the Thunder roster, behind 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, players worthy of that title cannot contribute just six points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Well, that’s what Chet did, and former NBA player Cedric Maxwell recently called him out.
“Where was Chet? He should be that guy. Who is the second fiddle guy? He wasn’t visible in this game,” Maxwell said in a recent episode of the Night Cap Podcast.
“You had to step up to those tier guys. Seven guys from the Pacers team were winning basketball,” he said boldly.
Maxwell was not completed as he handed out a verdict on the entire Thunder team’s Game 1 performance and the Pacers.
“They (OKC) had someone out there who disappeared. You can’t do that in a big game.”
No one expects Holmgren to post monster numbers for each game, but he should stay close to his 2025 playoff average with at least 15.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
Many fans have argued that the Pacers’ 2025 postseason run is nothing more than a fluke. What they forget is that head coach Rick Carlisle knows one or two things about winning the NBA Championship.
After all, he was the guy behind the clipboard during the Dallas Mavericks’ historic 2011 NBA title run. Maxwell believes Carlisle’s immense experience is on display in Game 1.
“He’s the only person who has championship experience as a coach…and I think it showed a bit in this game,” concluded the former NBA veteran.
In any case, Game 2 of the series determines whether the opening night contest victory is a fluke or whether the Pacers have a shot in stealing lightning on the biggest stage.