Celtics welcoming Thunder to TD Garden in potential NBA Finals preview
Wednesday night's Celtics-Thunder showdown will bring a postseason feel to TD Garden, as the much-anticipated tilt could be a preview of this summer's NBA Finals.
Much like it was Saturday night when the Lakers were in town, the Garden should be absolutely rocking when two of the NBA's best teams square off for the second and final time of the regular season on Wednesday. With just three more games against opponents sitting at .500 or better, this will be one of Boston's final true battles ahead of the playoffs.
The defending champion Celtics have found their groove, winning five straight, 11 of their last 13, and 15 of their last 18 games. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have Boston currently sitting in the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference at 47-18, and the Celtics possess the third-best offensive rating in the NBA (119.1) and the fifth-best defensive rating (110.1). The Celtics' 9.0 net rating is the third-best in the Association.
The Thunder have been even better though, possessing the NBA's best record at 53-12. They have been demolishing opponents this year with 42 double-digit victories, and like the Celtics last season, are on a historic pace with a plus-12.6 point differential, which would be the best in league history.
Oklahoma City has the best defensive rating in the NBA at 106.1. With a 118.5 offensive rating (good for fourth), the Thunder own the NBA's best net rating at 12.4. Wednesday night will feature a showdown of the only two teams that rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating this season.
The Thunder lost to the Denver Nuggets, 140-127, on Monday, but are riding a six-game road winning streak heading into Wednesday's game. OKC is 24-7 on the road this season and has won 16 of its last 19 games overall.
The Celtics will have plenty of motivation to win Wednesday's heavyweight bout, after they dropped their only visit to Oklahoma City this season back in early January. Boston jumped out to a big first-half lead over the Thunder, but fell apart after halftime and scored just 27 points in the second half. The Celtics were outscored 29-12 in the fourth quarter and lost, 105-92, as they hit just three of their 24 threes in the second half and nine of 46 overall.
Boston has done a lot to get rid of the bad taste from that loss, but a win Wednesday would be some solid revenge for one of the team's most disappointing defeats of the season.
Can Celtics slow down MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
Slowing down the leading MVP candidate will be a big part of Boston's gameplan against the Thunder, but keeping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check has been nearly impossible for any team this year. He's the NBA's leading scorer at 32.7 points per game, and has been unstoppable over his last eight games, averaging 37 points on 54 percent shooting overall and 46 percent from downtown. He dropped 51 points off 18-of-30 shooting against the Houston Rockets last Monday, one of four games this season that SGA has scored at least 50 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander is tough to stop when he puts his head down and heads to the basket, but Brown will once again be tasked with getting in his way and making life difficult for the Thunder star. Brown had the clamps on Luka Doncic on Saturday night in Boston's win against the Lakers, and the guard turned the ball over five times in the victory. This season, Brown is holding opponents to 46.4 percent shooting.
Back in January, Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 33 points off 11-of-23 shooting and hit all eight of his free throws against the Celtics. While Brown will likely get most of the run on SGA, expect to see Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White -- heck, anyone in a Boston uniform -- trying to keep the MVP favorite from having an MVP-like performance.
Kristaps Porzingis questionable for Celtics
Porzingis revealed during Monday's win over the Utah Jazz he's dealing with a viral illness which has forced him to miss Boston's last six games. But he was listed as questionable against the Thunder on Tuesday night's injury report, so the big man could potentially play in his first game since Feb. 26.
It looked like Porzingis was set to return against the Lakers on Saturday, but he was ultimately ruled out just before the game. So we really won't know if he's back or not until Boston's starting five is announced and Porzingis actually steps on the court. But his return would be huge for the C's against a Thunder frontcourt made up of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.
If Porzingis plays -- a big IF -- it would be the first time Boston's top starting five of Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and White play together since Feb. 23.
On the Thunder side, forward Jalen Williams -- who is averaging 21.3 points per game this season -- has been ruled out with a hip injury.
Celtics and Thunder can clinch playoff spots Wednesday night
Making the playoffs has been a foregone conclusion for both teams for quite a while at this point. But both Boston and OKC can officially punch their ticket to the postseason Wednesday night.
The Celtics are in if they win and the Atlanta Hawks lose to the Charlotte Hornets. The Thunder clinch with a victory and a Minnesota Timberwolves loss to the Denver Nuggets.
