On Wednesday night time, the Boston Celtics fell to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder 118-112. With the win, the Thunder accomplished a two-game season sweep, sending a powerful message that they’re to be taken very significantly in a doable Finals matchup.
Since Joe Mazzulla took over as head coach, the Celtics have embraced an aggressive, predatory offensive fashion. Final season, Mazzulla in contrast his group’s strategy to a pack of killer whales trying to find seals — relentlessly attacking the weakest defender on opposing groups. In different phrases, the offense depends on discovering mismatches. This technique has been the inspiration of Boston’s dominance, permitting the Celtics to persistently expose among the league’s finest groups.
However in opposition to the Thunder, there was no weak hyperlink to assault. OKC possesses a traditionally deep and disciplined protection, making them tailored to neutralize Boston’s relentless offensive stress. Boasting the NBA’s second-best defensive score, the Thunder don’t depend on a single anchor; as an alternative, they defend by committee.
On the perimeter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort set the tone on Wednesday, dictating the move of Boston’s offense with their physicality and instincts. They hounded the Celtics’ main ball handlers — Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum — forcing them into poor selections, rushed passes, and plenty of possessions that stalled alongside the three-point arc. Except for some tipped balls, damaged schemes, and transition performs, the Thunder not often allowed something straightforward. Even Tatum’s 33 factors, a substantial variety of his pictures had been contested fadeaways alongside the baseline.
Trying deeper at different Celtics’ shot makes an attempt, the Thunder’s elite perimeter protection turns into much more obvious. Of Derrick White’s shot makes an attempt, solely two of his fourteen makes an attempt had been contained in the three-point line. Payton Pritchard took only one shot that wasn’t a three-point try. Horford was in the identical boat, with solely two of his makes an attempt coming within the paint.
Even when the Celtics discovered a manner inside, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein proved to be an impenetrable final line of protection. Time and time once more, the Celtics had been funneled into low-percentage pictures or compelled into last-second kick-outs to the perimeter. The influence of OKC’s defensive presence was confirmed midway by the fourth quarter: Jrue Vacation was proper beneath the basket for any straightforward layup however hesitated upon seeing Holmgren far in his periphery. As an alternative of making an attempt the layup, he kicked the ball out to the perimeter, settling for a decrease share shot in an important second.
Boston’s struggles didn’t finish with OKC’s starters. When the Thunder went to their bench, their defensive scheme by no means wavered. Isaiah Joe and Kenrich Williams supplied useful minutes, guaranteeing that the protection by no means skipped a beat. OKC’s protection is just not tied to particular person stoppers however fairly a collective dedication and strategy that makes life troublesome for any group, even one as proficient because the Celtics.
To beat the Thunder, the Celtics can’t simply depend on their standard looking techniques. The Thunder aren’t a scattered group of prey like most groups; they’re a tightly bonded unit that strikes in unison. As an alternative of ready for a weak hyperlink to look, the Celtics must create one. Whether or not it’s quicker ball motion, sharper off-ball actions, Boston should discover a approach to make OKC their prey.
Towards the Thunder, it’s hunt or be hunted.
