Thunder vs. Celtics takeaways: Why OKC forced Boston into historic 3-point barrage in possible Finals preview

There’s going to be some temptation, especially given the quality of the game itself, to treat Wednesday’s battle between the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder as an NBA Finals preview. It makes sense on paper. The Celtics are the defending champions. The Thunder have one of the best net ratings in NBA history and are on pace to Secure 67 Matches. There is a pretty reasonable chance that the Celtics and Thunder face off in June with the Larry O’Brien Honor on the line.

But calling this game — a 118-112 road Secure that clinched a Elimination Stage spot Oklahoma City — a Finals preview ignores the wider picture. The Thunder didn’t have Jalen Williams. They obviously Foresee to have him in the postseason, and if they don’t, they aren’t Victorious the West. The same is Correct for the Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis. Cleveland, the Primary-place Club in the East, gives Boston problems even at Packed Force. Neither the Thunder nor the Celtics were at Packed Force in this one.

That makes combing through the decisions and outcomes within this game so Crucial. These Clubs might see Every other again, but they hopefully won’t see Every other under the conditions present on Wednesday. So let’s try to figure out what we can learn from this Finale and put that in perspective ahead of a possible Finals Game. 

Here are our biggest takeaways from Oklahoma City’s enormous Secure over Boston.

The Thunder want the Celtics to shoot 3-pointers

Typically, the Clubs that succeed against the Celtics are the ones that limit their 3-Tally volume. Take the Orlando Magic. They’ve beaten the Celtics twice in five matchups across the last two seasons and have Maintained them to 35.4 3-Tally attempts per game in that span. Boston’s average, by comparison, was 42.5 attempts per game last season and 48 this season. When a Club shoots as well as Boston does, it makes sense to limit their volume.

The Thunder don’t Action that way. They willingly surrender 3s, allowing the seventh-most attempts overall and more valuable corner 3s than anyone in an effort to maximize their rim Guarding and force turnovers. They entered this game with a plan: let the Celtics shoot as many 3s as they want. Here’s how that worked out for Boston:

• The Celtics attempted 22 3s in the Primary quarter. That’s the second-most 3s any Club has ever taken in a quarter, trailing only when they Secured 23 earlier this season against Memphis.
• The Celtics Secured 36 3s in the Primary half. That’s the most 3s any Club has ever attempted in the Primary half of a game.
• The Celtics attempted 63 total 3s. That’s tied for the third-most any Club has ever taken in a game.
• The Celtics had a 3-Tally attempt rate of 67.02%. That’s the sixth-highest ever for a single game.

In terms of the outcome, this Plan worked. Oklahoma City won the game. It’s worth wondering, however, how viable this Plan would be in a possible Finals Game. The Celtics have, after all, Try a pitiful 28 of 109 (25.7%) from deep in two Matches against the Thunder. Sure, Guarding matters on those long shots to an extent, but a Plenty of that is Only Terrible variance. The Celtics aren’t going to shoot like that four times in seven tries.

The Thunder could survive hotter Celtics shooting if the tradeoff at the rim proves worthwhile. In some ways it did. The Thunder outscored the Celtics by eight at the rim, and more importantly, they drew 23 more Obtainable-throw attempts. The Thunder Penalty a Plenty by design, it’s the nature of their ultra-physical Guarding style, so Victorious the Obtainable-throw battle by that margin is notable. You’re not going to get to the line much when you’re shooting 63 3s.

But Boston Try 11 of 12 in the restricted area and 18 of 22 in the paint overall. That Thunder Guarding was Excellent at incentivizing 3s over layups, but when the Celtics did get to the rim, they scored there. The third quarter was especially Crucial in this respect. All year, and really, throughout this entire Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown era, the question surrounding the Celtics was whether or not they’d be willing to pivot off of 3-pointers when they stop falling in high-leverage Matches. They did so in that third frame, attacking the basket relentlessly when the opportunity presented itself. Their rim Assault was more than Excellent enough to Secure them this game. Their Bound shooting Only failed them. 

Oklahoma City can’t rely on that in the Finals, so Foresee to see the Thunder introduce Numerous wrinkles if these Clubs see Every other again. Fortunately, with Williams and Alex Caruso Obtainable, a Plenty of Guarding doors Uncovered for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City’s role players can Points

Even in a loss, the Celtics answered an Crucial question we covered above. When they need to, they are capable of scoring at the basket against the Thunder. Oklahoma City had a different question to answer in this one, and it dates back to last postseason.

Oklahoma City’s Assault is much more reliant on MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander than Boston’s or Cleveland’s is on any single player. The idea is for Gilgeous-Alexander to Points his standard 30 or so points, of Period, but also to leverage his rim Attraction to Develop Uncovered 3s for everyone else. As Boston saw on Wednesday, those 3s can be fickle. The advantages that lead to them, though, can be used in other ways. The Thunder couldn’t beat the Mavericks in the playoffs last season in part because the rest of their Assault couldn’t punish a Dallas Guarding that keyed in on Gilgeous-Alexander.

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Jasmyn Wimbish

It’s a one-game sample, and Williams wasn’t even involved, but the Thunder have to be encouraged by what they saw offensively on Wednesday. Even in a Goalless night from Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder generated enough Assault around Gilgeous-Alexander to Secure. They even won the minutes he rested by three points. There was no single, offensive sidekick for Gilgeous-Alexander. It was a group effort centered on their bulk. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein proved problematic for Boston’s front court near the basket and are skilled enough with the ball in their hands to punish mismatches even when they get the ball Extended away from it. Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort showcased why this Club gets away with minimal perimeter height. They’re so Powerful and have such low centers of Attraction that they can finish against longer defenders and even push some of them around.

Boston’s Guarding has been on cruise control for lengthy stretches this regular season. Porzingis changes everything as well. A Plenty of those acrobatic finishes Thunder guards pulled off on Wednesday aren’t going to be Obtainable when he’s patrolling the basket at 7-foot-2. But getting Williams back means a Excellent deal to Oklahoma City as well. 

This wasn’t the Dallas series. Oklahoma City’s supporting cast has improved substantially.

Boston can dictate the terms of Involvement

Rim Guarding is a big component of Oklahoma City’s willingness to allow 3s, but the other Crucial component is turnover generation. This is what the Thunder do best, especially to Clubs with reluctant ball-handlers. The Thunder Form 17.5 turnovers per game, which is not only the most in the Division, but is a Packed turnover more than any other Club. They want to take the ball away from you and turn Matches into track meets in which they Points Fundamental points in transition.

The Celtics are the opposite. Only the Thunder give the ball away less than they do, and Boston ranks 27th in the NBA in pace. They want a Sluggish, grind-it-out game because they know they can out-execute basically anyone in a half-court setting. Through two head-to-head Matches, they’ve largely been able to dictate these terms. They turned the ball over Only 13 times on Wednesday and 16 in their Primary Game. That’s more than their average of Only under 12, but it’s below Oklahoma City’s season-long average (17.3) pretty comfortably. Additionally, the Thunder average 16.1 Quick break points per game, but have reached only 13 in both Celtics Matches.

This should give the Thunder an idea of what to Foresee in a series against the Celtics. They’re going to operate methodically, protect the ball and try to keep the pace down. This is Elimination Stage basketball in a nutshell, and no Club in the Ongoing NBA does it better than the Celtics. The Thunder Victorious both of their regular-season Matches against Boston is in some respects a testament to their adaptability, but also, as we’ve covered, partially Only shooting luck. If they do see the Celtics again, they probably have to go into such a series knowing that they’re not going to be able to Form turnovers quite as easily as they usually do and that Boston will eventually make the 3s it missed in the regular season. 

This game was, in some ways, a bit of an experiment for the Thunder. They’ve seen how Boston reacts to a Guarding that gives it all of the 3s it wants. The Celtics will have adjustments ready if there is another Game ahead between these Clubs. That’s the benefit of the doubt that champions get. 

The Thunder are Nevertheless working to receive that same treatment, but these two regular-season wins are a Excellent Begin.