The Boston Celtics host the Western Convention-leading Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Wednesday evening in what is nearly undeniably the most important recreation remaining on the workforce’s regular-season schedule.
With Boston primarily locked into the No. 2 seed within the East, there shouldn’t be plenty of drama across the closing 16 video games. There’s a lot to work on earlier than the postseason arrives, however the Thunder recreation appears like one of many final alternatives to see the Celtics go full throttle in opposition to a professional title contender.
So listed below are 4 questions we’re pondering earlier than a marquee matchup that checks all of the packing containers for the “potential Finals preview” designation:
Can Jaylen carve a path to All-Protection vs. SGA?
When the Celtics performed the Thunder in early January, Brown logged 42.6 p.c of all defensive time spent on MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His six minutes, 30 seconds of matchup time was thrice greater than another Boston defender.
Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 9 factors on tidy 4-of-5 taking pictures in opposition to Brown, per NBA monitoring. However Gilgeous-Alexander was additionally extra more likely to transfer the ball in opposition to Brown than another Boston defender, with Oklahoma Metropolis’s relentless driver routinely attacking any time anybody else was in entrance of him.
Right here’s why it issues: Brown hasn’t been bashful in noting his All-Protection wishes. He felt like he bought snubbed a 12 months in the past. Now, it appears like Wednesday’s showdown is one other probability to make a defensive assertion.
This matchup comes simply days after a nationwide viewers watched Brown choose up proper the place he left off within the NBA Finals while harassing Luka Doncic for a lot of Boston’s win over the rival Lakers on Saturday evening.
Brown’s base defensive numbers this season don’t leap off the web page. He’s holding his opponents to 46.4 p.c taking pictures, or 0.5 p.c under anticipated output. Final season, when teammates have been overtly stumping for Brown for All-Protection consideration, these numbers have been at 44.8 p.c total and a couple of.4 p.c under anticipated.
The case for Brown hinges on the standard of the participant he routinely defends, all whereas averaging 23.3 factors per recreation on offense. You can create a few All-Star groups with the gamers who account for Brown’s prime 20 most frequent matchups this season.
That checklist contains Zach LaVine, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Pascal Siakam, Cade Cunningham and Doncic.
SGA ought to be a part of that checklist after Wednesday’s showdown. Brown’s dimension and power may very well be key in corralling an MVP favourite. And a giant evening on the defensive finish may give voters loads to think about when filling out their All-Protection ballots subsequent month.
Are the Thunder final season’s Celtics?
Oklahoma Metropolis is placing up historic numbers and has opened an enormous hole atop the Western Convention. Oklahoma Metropolis’s +12.6 level differential is on tempo to be the very best in NBA historical past, and the Thunder lead the West by 11 video games.
Final season, Boston completed with a +11.3 level differential — fifth greatest all-time — and was 14 video games away from the closest rival within the East.
The Thunder clearly tick all of the packing containers of a championship contender. OKC sits forward of Boston in title odds at most sportsbooks, and a Celtics-Thunder Finals showdown is the almost certainly pairing.
The query, after all, is whether or not the Thunder are prepared for the intense lights and large stage. After successful 57 video games final season, the Thunder bought bounced by the extra veteran Mavericks in six video games within the West semifinals.
Can the Thunder maintain this season’s success in the event that they must undergo seasoned squads just like the Nuggets, Lakers, or Warriors as a part of their playoff path? The West is an absolute gauntlet, and regardless of the regular-season separation the Thunder have created, it’s truthful to surprise if this younger squad may get stiff-armed yet one more time.
Brown and Jayson Tatum each needed to endure defeat — first within the East semis after which within the 2022 Finals — earlier than breaking via final 12 months. The counterargument is that the MVP presence of somebody like SGA may give the Thunder an accelerator that almost all youthful groups don’t get pleasure from. Nothing about their play this season suggests they don’t seem to be prepared for the large second.
No matter how this season performs out, it feels completely sure that the Thunder are going to be within the title combine for the long-term future given their proficient younger core and the outrageous stash of future picks the workforce holds.
Will Kristaps Porzingis be again on the courtroom?
Joe Mazzulla shares an replace on Kristaps Porzingis after the Celtics star revealed he is been battling a mysterious viral sickness in latest weeks.
The Celtics listed Porzingis as questionable on Tuesday’s preliminary damage report, in the future after he took to social media on Monday night to acknowledge the thriller viral sickness that has sidelined him for the higher a part of two weeks.
All indicators pointed to Porzingis being again Saturday evening in opposition to the Lakers. The large man had hinted at a possible return on social media, he arrived in one in every of his best fits, and he went via an extended pregame warmup.
However that 15-minute session on the Backyard ground on Saturday evening ended with Porzingis conferencing with the Celtics coaching employees, then strolling off the courtroom. He didn’t have his standard zest as he navigated his pregame taking pictures routine, and it seems the workforce finally elected to provide him extra time to recuperate.
Boston’s most well-liked beginning 5 — Porzingis alongside Tatum, Brown, Jrue Vacation, and Derrick White — hasn’t performed collectively since February 23. That group has logged 307 minutes over 20 video games total this season.
The Celtics yearn to see extra reps for that group earlier than the end line of the season, and it could be undeniably intriguing to see them in opposition to a top-line contender just like the Thunder.
The excellent news: The four-man combo of Brown, Tatum, White, and Vacation have logged 654 whole minutes and have a sturdy +7.2 web score in that span. Lineups that includes that group and Al Horford thrived whereas Porzingis was recovering kind offseason ankle surgical procedure.
Nonetheless, it will likely be a little bit of a aid for Celtics followers every time Porzingis is ready to shake the consequences of this thriller virus and get again on the courtroom.
Can Celtics faucet into what propelled them early in OKC?
The Celtics produced one in every of their best halves of basketball whereas constructing a double-digit lead during their January visit to Oklahoma City. Brown erupted for 21 fist-half factors to tempo 4 starters in double figures over the primary 24 minutes, and Boston was thriving even whereas its 3-point pictures wouldn’t fall.
However the wheels got here off the offense within the second half, because the Celtics shot simply 20 p.c from the ground (8 of 40) and 12.5 p.c past the 3-point arc (3 of 24) over the ultimate two quarters. These woes bled into Boston’s defensive depth, and the Thunder roared again to win their fifteenth straight recreation.
Wednesday’s recreation is an opportunity for Boston to say itself in opposition to a workforce it would very properly see once more on the end line of the season. It’s yet one more probability to ship a message to the league about who the defending champs are and the way good they are often when the lights are the brightest.
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