BOSTON CELTICS (43-22) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (51-15)
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
-
Payton Pritchard – AVAILABLE (neck spasm)
-
Baylor Scheierman – AVAILABLE (left thumb fracture)
-
Jayson Tatum – OUT (right Achilles injury management)
-
John Tonje – OUT (G League, two-way) Out G League – Two-Way
-
Nikola Vucevic – OUT (right ring finger fracture)
-
Derrick White – QUESTIONABLE (right knee contusion)
-
Branden Carlson – OUT (low back strain)
-
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (left calf contusion)
-
Thomas Sorber – OUT (right ACL surgical recovery)
-
Nikola Topic – OUT (G League, on assignment)
-
Jalen Williams – OUT (right hamstring strain)
What to watch for: For the second straight game, the Boston Celtics will take on one of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the league right now, and they haven’t even been fully healthy most of the season.
This will be Boston’s second major test in a row. A chance to see how they hold up against the best of the West.
Tale of the tape: The Celtics and Thunder have not squared off yet this season.
Last game: Boston lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. The Spurs took down the Celtics 125-116. But the result of the game wasn’t necessarily the biggest story.
Victor Wembanyama took a career-high 15 three-pointers (and made eight), largely because the Celtics decided to give him space to let it fly. As for Jaylen Brown, he got ejected late in the second quarter.
Standings check-in: With their loss to the Spurs, the Celtics fell a bit further behind the first-place Detroit Pistons. They are now 2.5 games back.
As for their lead over the New York Knicks, the Celtics are still a full two games ahead of their East Coast rivals.
Thunder check-in: It’s no secret that the Thunder have been dominant this season. They started the season with a 24-1 record and have owned the No. 1 seed in the West for the entire year.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has only played in five of the Thunder’s last 10 games, Ajay Mitchell has only played in one, and Chet Holmgren has only played in seven.
Still, though he’s only played in five of the team’s last 10 games, Gilgeous-Alexander is putting up 30.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per contest.
Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain (who joined the Thunder at the deadline), and Jaylin Williams have been red-hot from deep in their last 10 games. Joe is shooting 39.4% on 7.1 attempts, McCain is shooting 43.4% from deep on 5.3 attempts, and Williams is shooting 50.0% on 5.2 attempts.
One fun play: This is how you know the Celtics are developing a group of elite defenders.
First, look at how well Ron Harper Jr. does on the ball. He sticks with Keldon Johnson stride for stride, and at the last moment, he uses his 7-foot-1 wingspan to perfectly contest the shot.
All the while, Hugo Gonzalez is waiting in the corner, like Derrick White so often does, to play help defense. He almost swats Johnson’s shot into the balcony.
