BOSTON CELTICS (47-24) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (57-15)
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
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Max Shulga – QUESTIONABLE (G League, on assignment)
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John Tonje – QUESTIONABLE (G League, two-way)
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Nikola Vucevic – OUT (right ring finger fracture)
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Amari Williams – QUESTIONABLE (G League, on assignment)
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Brooks Barnhizer – OUT (G League, two-way)
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Payton Sandfort – OUT (G League, two-way)
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Thomas Sorber – OUT (right ACL surgical recovery)
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Nikola Topic – OUT (G League, on assignment)
What to watch for: This may be the Boston Celtics’ biggest test of the season. On March 12, they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder by two points (104-102), but Jayson Tatum was sidelined.
Now, both teams are as close to fully healthy as one could ask for (outside of Nikola Vucevic, who is still dealing with a broken finger). If Boston wants to be considered a serious contender, Wednesday night is a chance to put its name in that ring once and for all.
Tale of the tape: Boston’s 104-102 loss to the Thunder came largely at the hands of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The OKC star finished the game with 35 points, and he shot 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter (on all twos).
Jaylen Brown scored 34 points, but the Celtics shot just 13-of-41 (31.0%) from three-point range, and they couldn’t produce enough offense.
Their defense held the Thunder at bay fairly well, but it just wasn’t enough.
Last game: On Sunday night, the Celtics lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves (102-92) in one of their most disappointing performances of the season.
Boston struggled against Minnesota’s aggressive defensive style, and when the Wolves changed up their coverages with Rudy Gobert off the floor, the Celtics wilted once again.
It was yet another example of Tatum’s return-to-action struggles, as he endured yet another inefficient performance (outside of an impressive third-quarter stretch).
The Thunder’s defense will likely mimic a lot of the aggressive tactics Minnesota deployed on Sunday, so if the Celtics hope to take home a victory, they will have to come to play with a new game plan.
Standings check-in: Boston still remains in second place in the East, but only because they have one fewer loss than the New York Knicks.
The Celtics and Knicks are now effectively tied for second, both sitting five games back of the first-placed Detroit Pistons.
Thunder check-in: The Thunder are as hot as a team can be in today’s NBA. They have won 12 games in a row and have been a virtual lock for the West’s top seed for most of the season (despite the San Antonio Spurs trying to steal it away from them).
Gilgeous-Alexander has continued his (likely) MVP season. In his last nine games, he has averaged 29.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks while shooting 57.7% from the floor and43.8% from deep on 3.6 attempts per game.
On March 23, Jalen Williams returned from his hamstring injury. He hadn’t appeared in a game since February 11. In his return game, Williams put up 18 points, four rebounds, and six assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from deep range.
Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell have been right behind Gilgeous-Alexander in the scoring column. Holmgren has put up 17.6 points per game in his last eight, and Mitchell has scored 15.0 in his last six.
Meanwhile, Jared McCain (who OKC added at the trade deadline) and Jaylin Williams have been on fire from three-point land. In their last 10 games, McCain is shooting 44.6% on 6.5 attempts and Williams is shooting 50.9% on 5.5 attempts.
One fun play: This play is two things.
One, it’s a great way for the Celtics to help Tatum get in a rhythm without him having to create his own shot. And two, it’s a great example of how Brown and Tatum can thrive together.
First, Tatum screens for Brown. This makes Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels switch. If nothing else, this makes Minnesota’s defense work a little bit.
In an ideal world, the Celtics could have run this play further up the left wing and closer to the half-court line. That would have given Tatum more space to come off Neemias Queta’s flare screen behind the three-point line, allowing him to get an open three or a better driving lane. And Brown could have thrown the pass.
That said, the play still served its purpose.
Since McDaniels was guarding Tatum, as soon as the flare screen failed to produce an open pass, Queta immediately went to screen for Brown instead.
And since McDaniels had switched, Randle was forced to navigate the screen. Plus, since Rudy Gobert was still trying to prevent Tatum from getting open, he was late to the Brown-Queta pick-and-roll action.
Brown got a wide-open mid-range shot because of Tatum’s screen and the gravity it created.
The play could have ended with a great shot for Tatum, but since the Wolves guarded him air-tight, Brown got a great look.
That’s the benefit of having two players. These are the types of looks Boston should go to more in order to help Tatum get more comfortable within the flow of the offense (without letting go of what has made Brown’s season so special).
