After their first conflict in Oklahoma Metropolis on January fifth, the Celtics will as soon as once more tackle the Thunder. Led by MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC at present sits atop the Western Convention with a stellar 53-12 document. This marks Boston’s remaining likelihood to check themselves towards the Thunder earlier than a possible Finals showdown.
In case you forgot, the Celtics led that first recreation 65-55 at halftime earlier than collapsing within the second half, scoring simply 27 factors and falling 105-92. On the time, Boston was within the midst of an uncharacteristic 11-9 stretch over 20 video games. Since then, they’ve discovered their rhythm, however that matchup nonetheless serves as a worthwhile intel shifting ahead.
Let’s dive into the three key takeaways the Celtics should apply to Wednesday evening’s rematch.
Limiting turnovers
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder power extra turnovers than any group within the NBA, with a jaw-dropping 17.5 per recreation. That’s their motor. With an athletic, fast-paced assault, the Thunder power errors, after which zip the ball down the ground or let Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slither by means of the protection and masterfully end on the cup.
Within the first half of the final matchup, they solely turned the ball over six occasions. Then, the Celtics’ second-half turnovers opened the floodgates. Six of these ten turnovers had been described as “dangerous go turnovers,” two had been Jaylen Brown shedding the ball driving into the center, and the opposite two had been offensive fouls.
With the dangerous passes, the Celtics can’t panic within the face of the Thunder’s swarming protection. Lots of these passes had been pressured over-the-top publish entries or failed bounce passes by means of visitors. The C’s simply by no means bought settled into the second half.
With higher rhythm, home-court benefit, and prior expertise towards OKC’s defensive schemes, the Celtics ought to be higher ready to deal with the stress this time round.
As for Brown’s turnovers, they had been a product of forcing the difficulty towards a stagnant offense. Credit score to him for attempting to spark one thing, however head-down drives into the center of OKC’s protection merely gained’t work.
A helpful comparability? Final weekend, the Celtics dismantled Luka Dončić by forcing him into 5 turnovers, most of which got here when Doncic tried to assault by means of the center. The Thunder, with entrance workplace and training roots from New England, have adopted the Celtics blueprint, and boast an analogous tenacity for stopping center drives — like killer whales, if you’ll.
The reply is spacing out the Thunder protection to open up driving lanes, which ends up in the following adjustment.
Spacing and using the pick-and-roll
After the final matchup, Joe Mazulla said that the Thunder “took benefit of [the Celtics] poor spacing and [their] poor screening.” Like he all the time does, Coach Mazzula bought proper to the purpose.
The Celtics’ offensive struggles in that recreation stemmed from their incapacity to tug OKC’s rim protectors out of the paint. Isaiah Hartenstein was left largely unbothered inside, and the Celtics didn’t assault him in pick-and-roll conditions, which eliminated a key a part of their common offensive strategy. This error was evident in Brown’s second-half struggles, the place he went scoreless.
Often, a giant man anchoring within the paint would open up kick-out for the Celtics. Effectively, it did; nevertheless, the Celtics shot simply 12.5% from the three-point arc within the second half. We are able to’t anticipate the Celtics to shoot that poorly from three-point land once more — belief me, if I might title one in every of these classes “make your three-point photographs,” I’d.
Nonetheless, even when the C’s flip it on from three on Wednesday, they nonetheless must open up area within the paint. This turns into much more essential with Chet Holmgren now within the combine, as he wasn’t accessible for the primary matchup.
Holmgren is averaging almost three blocks per recreation and is an arguably a greater inside presence than Hartenstein. Nonetheless, his skinny body presents a possibility: by dragging him out and attacking him in switches, Tatum and Brown ought to discover simpler driving lanes.
Win the “different” matchups
When these two groups meet, it’s like wanting in a mirror: an MVP-caliber celebrity main the way in which, an elite All-Star wing in assist, and a productive, savvy supporting forged.
In January, that supporting forged battle swung decisively in OKC’s favor. Lu Dort (14 factors), Cason Wallace (13), and Aaron Wiggins (15) all delivered, whereas Boston’s function gamers struggled. Derrick White scored simply 11, and Jrue Vacation, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser mixed for less than 11 factors. Payton Pritchard didn’t make a single bucket.
Importantly, Kristaps Porzingis put up 19 in that recreation, and he’s formally questionable for tonight. This makes it much more very important that some mixture of White, Vacation, Pritchard, Horford, and Hauser can discover their rhythm early. Though Tatum and Brown are greater than able to placing up historic performances, an isolation-heavy strategy gained’t bode effectively towards the Thunder’s dynamic depth.
Fortuitously, Derrick White is on the opposite finish of his taking pictures stoop, Pritchard has been extra constant, and Jrue’s taking pictures has improved in his first two video games again from damage. And naturally, Horford simply placed on a masterclass towards the Lakers.
In the meantime, the SGA’s sidekick, Jalen Williams, shall be out on Wednesday. Naturally, this provides extra stress on the remainder of the Thunder squad. Nonetheless, it’s value noting that Williams scored simply 10 factors within the first matchup, but OKC’s supporting forged nonetheless propelled them to a dominant victory. The Celtics should give attention to containing that supporting group and forcing SGA to shoulder the majority of the offensive workload. If it comes all the way down to a battle between SGA and Boston’s depth, the Celtics’ power in numbers provides them the sting.
Ultimate ideas
Finally, this recreation is ready to be a chess match between two of the most effective groups within the league. The Thunder are on a mission to grab the Celtics’ spot as championship favorites, however it’s as much as Boston to remind them who really runs the league. In a doable Finals preview, that is greater than only a regular-season matchup – it’s time for the Celtics to show they’re nonetheless the group to beat.
