After their first clash in Oklahoma City on January 5th, the Celtics will once again take on the Thunder. Led by MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC currently sits atop the Western Conference with a stellar 53-12 record. This marks Boston’s final chance to test themselves against the Thunder before a potential Finals showdown.
In case you forgot, the Celtics led that first game 65-55 at halftime before collapsing in the second half, scoring just 27 points and falling 105-92. At the time, Boston was in the midst of an uncharacteristic 11-9 stretch over 20 games. Since then, they’ve found their rhythm, but that matchup still serves as a valuable intel moving forward.
Let’s dive into the three key takeaways the Celtics must apply to Wednesday night’s rematch.
Limiting turnovers
The Oklahoma City Thunder force more turnovers than any team in the NBA, with a jaw-dropping 17.5 per game. That’s their motor. With an athletic, fast-paced attack, the Thunder force mistakes, and then zip the ball down the floor or let Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slither through the defense and masterfully finish at the cup.
In the first half of the last matchup, they only turned the ball over six times. Then, the Celtics’ second-half turnovers opened the floodgates. Six of those ten turnovers were described as “bad pass turnovers,” two were Jaylen Brown losing the ball driving into the middle, and the other two were offensive fouls.
With the bad passes, the Celtics can’t panic in the face of the Thunder’s swarming defense. Many of those passes were forced over-the-top post entries or failed bounce passes through traffic. The C’s just never got settled into the second half.
With better rhythm, home-court advantage, and prior experience against OKC’s defensive schemes, the Celtics should be better prepared to handle the pressure this time around.
As for Brown’s turnovers, they were a product of forcing the issue against a stagnant offense. Credit to him for trying to spark something, but head-down drives into the heart of OKC’s defense simply won’t work.
A useful comparison? Last weekend, the Celtics dismantled Luka Dončić by forcing him into five turnovers, most of which came when Doncic tried to attack through the middle. The Thunder, with front office and coaching roots from New England, have followed the Celtics blueprint, and boast a similar tenacity for stopping middle drives — like killer whales, if you will.
The answer is spacing out the Thunder defense to open up driving lanes, which leads to the next adjustment.
Spacing and utilizing the pick-and-roll
After the last matchup, Joe Mazulla stated that the Thunder “took advantage of [the Celtics] poor spacing and [their] poor screening.” Like he always does, Coach Mazzula got right to the point.
The Celtics’ offensive struggles in that game stemmed from their inability to pull OKC’s rim protectors out of the paint. Isaiah Hartenstein was left largely unbothered inside, and the Celtics didn’t attack him in pick-and-roll situations, which removed a key part of their usual offensive approach. This mistake was evident in Brown’s second-half struggles, where he went scoreless.
Usually, a big man anchoring in the paint would open up kick-out for the Celtics. Well, it did; however, the Celtics shot just 12.5% from the three-point arc in the second half. We can’t expect the Celtics to shoot that poorly from three-point land again — trust me, if I could title one of these lessons “make your three-point shots,” I would.
However, even if the C’s turn it on from three on Wednesday, they still need to open up space in the paint. This becomes even more crucial with Chet Holmgren now in the mix, as he wasn’t available for the first matchup.
Holmgren is averaging nearly three blocks per game and is an arguably a better interior presence than Hartenstein. However, his thin frame presents an opportunity: by dragging him out and attacking him in switches, Tatum and Brown should find easier driving lanes.
Win the “other” matchups
When these two teams meet, it’s like looking in a mirror: an MVP-caliber superstar leading the way, an elite All-Star wing in support, and a productive, savvy supporting cast.
In January, that supporting cast battle swung decisively in OKC’s favor. Lu Dort (14 points), Cason Wallace (13), and Aaron Wiggins (15) all delivered, while Boston’s role players struggled. Derrick White scored just 11, and Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser combined for only 11 points. Payton Pritchard didn’t make a single bucket.
Importantly, Kristaps Porzingis put up 19 in that game, and he’s officially questionable for tonight. This makes it even more vital that some combination of White, Holiday, Pritchard, Horford, and Hauser can find their rhythm early. Although Tatum and Brown are more than capable of putting up historic performances, an isolation-heavy approach won’t bode well against the Thunder’s dynamic depth.
Fortunately, Derrick White is on the other end of his shooting slump, Pritchard has been more consistent, and Jrue’s shooting has improved in his first two games back from injury. And of course, Horford just put on a masterclass against the Lakers.
Meanwhile, the SGA’s sidekick, Jalen Williams, will be out on Wednesday. Naturally, this adds more pressure on the rest of the Thunder squad. However, it’s worth noting that Williams scored just 10 points in the first matchup, yet OKC’s supporting cast still propelled them to a dominant victory. The Celtics must focus on containing that supporting group and forcing SGA to shoulder the bulk of the offensive workload. If it comes down to a battle between SGA and Boston’s depth, the Celtics’ strength in numbers gives them the edge.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, this game is set to be a chess match between two of the best teams in the league. The Thunder are on a mission to seize the Celtics’ spot as championship favorites, but it’s up to Boston to remind them who truly runs the league. In a possible Finals preview, this is more than just a regular-season matchup – it’s time for the Celtics to prove they’re still the team to beat.
