The Celtics barely got the memory of playing the Thunder out of their heads, but now they get a rematch with Kevin Durant and the gang in Boston.

Since dropping that game to the C’s at home 92-83, the Thunder has reeled off wins in four of its last five games, including victories over Western Conference contenders Portland, Utah and Houston. But a stretch of good play can’t erase the fact that the Thunder let theCeltics jump out to a 22-point lead and could not catch up (thanks to some inspired play from Boston’s bench, which prevented an epic fourth quarter meltdown) last time these two met.

So what should we expect this time? Here’s a few things to watch out for.

1) Defense?: Let’s just say that in the Celtics’ last game, they were facing a team that was apathetic toward defense. Case in point: the Thunder are the fifth worst team in terms of opponent’s field goal percentage, allowing the opposition to shoot 48 percent a game. The only other team worse that has a record of .500 or better? The 6-6 Phoenix Suns, a team that clearly players the same way—get in a shootout and hope your offense plays a little better than the other team’s.

Well, this Thunder team clearly seems to be the same. After the C’s held it to a season-low 83 points, the Thunder has been back to its scoring ways, playing game with both teams in the 100′s.

Boston did a brilliant job of dictating the pace against OKC in the last contest, and should look to do the same here. In fact, it was the Celtics that took advantage of fast break opportunities and pushed the ball, taking the Thunder out of rhythm all night.

Should we expect that to happen again? Scott Brooks is a good coach, and he should have his team ready to adapt after it was humbled in the last game. The Celtics might not be able to stop Kevin Durant, but they limited everyone else on the court for almost the entire game (Russell Westbrook went off in the third quarter before settling down). That should be the focus again in this one.

2) Containing Durant: As was mentioned the last time these two sides met, Kevin Durant is the player that is most integral to his team’s offense (aka highest usage rate, which measures the percentage of offensive possessions a player uses when on the floor) in the league not named Kobe Bryant.

That shouldn’t be a surprise, but what might be is that a few of the other stats paint Russell Westbrook as OKC’s best player through its first 11 games.

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This one was supposed to be about the matchup between the top pick in last June’s draft, John Wall, and Rajon Rondo, but Wall missed Washington’s 109-94 win over the Toronto Raptors last night with a sprained foot, making it unlikely that he will be ready to go tonight (though he did make the trip to Boston, so there is a shot he plays). In his place, Gilbert Arenas started and provided some of his old magic with 20 points, seven boards and six assists to lead his team to its third victory over the season.

Before said win the Wizards had dropped four of their last five games, and a lot of it was due to sloppy basketball, as Washington “leads” the league with over 18 turnovers a game. The Wizards have also struggled on the glass (bottom five in rebounding and rebounding rate) and generally on the offensive end, where they are near the bottom in terms of offensive efficiency.

The Celtics, meanwhile, had to be happy to come back to Boston with a 3-1 record considering the level of competition they faced in their four-game road swing. The key will be to take that momentum (as opposed to rust) and not let Washington hang around.

What else should you watch for? Here’s three things.

1) The Return of Delonte West: Last we heard from the Celtics’ guard, he was punching out a teammate (Von Wafer). Before that he was in the news for his supposed liasons with Mrs. James. Now, Delonte West can finally have the headlines for playing in a real game.

All eyes will be on the Celtics guard in this one. Delonte is returning from his 10-game suspension and should immediately be slotted into the rotation for Doc Rivers’ club.

While we can’t know how much run he is going to get, no one should expect too much from his performance. West hasn’t played since the Celtics’ third preseason game on October 10th, missing the rest of the preseason with a back injury and then sitting out the last 10 games thanks to his suspension. While West has been practicing, it has certainly been awhile since he played in a real game.

Will Doc immediately give him minutes? I think he will at least get a look, though he certainly isn’t going to steal any from Wafer, because not surprisingly Wafer has barely played. So where will those minutes come from? Will Doc sit Nate Robinson at all, or will he give Paul Pierce and Ray Allen more rest? Allen has been playing a number of minutes with the second unit and has produced well in those spots, and Doc generally likes to keep one of that pair on the court with the second team as a stabilizer.

The tandem of West and Robinson looked solid in limited preseason action, but the truth is that this duo might have been just that—a preseason pairing. At one point I would have said that West could come replace a struggling Robinson, but Nate has picked up his game over the course of the last week and is playing his best ball of the season. So while the Celtics’ minutes situation is a little crowded, Doc will almost certainly create room for the talented West. Now let’s see if he can make his mark.

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Here’s what to watch as the Celtics try to follow up the big win over Miami Thursday with another strong effort tonight.

1) Talking defense: This will be a test for Boston’s D, because the Grizzlies are a strong offensive team. Memphis is averaging 104 points a game (eighth in the league), but they are not the most efficient offense (21st in that category). Instead, Memphis plays a fast-pace brand of ball and pushes up the court to create more possessions.

Now, normally that would not be good for an older Celtics team. But the C’s have actually played their best when they have been in transition, and Doc Rivers’ club has not been adverse to running with the opposition. While the Celtics will need to be wary of the Grizzlies’ myriad scoring options (from Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph down low to Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo on the perimeter), this one could actually come down to whether Memphis decides to show up on the defensive end. Which brings me to…

2)  TA: Celtics fans will get to see their first glimpse of old friend Tony Allen in Memphis colors tonight, but whether it is just in sweats or in uniform remains to be seen. That is because head coach (and former Portland Trail Blazers’ great) Lionel Hollins has not given the former Boston guard consistent minutes, even making Allen a healthy scratch in two games last week.

TA was brought in to be the defensive stopper on a team of offensive stars, but for a team that is clearly not shutting down the opposition whatsoever Allen can only get 12 minutes a game. It’s been a tough start for him, but if he plays he can add something to this Memphis club.

3) Manning the middle: Memphis has some impressive big men in Gasol and Randolph, and this will be the toughest test the Celtics’ D has faced in the paint thus far this season. With Jermaine O’Neal out and Shaq limited, Kevin Garnett will really have to control the inside area if the Celtics want to stop Memphis from getting easy buckets.

Let’s not forget that good power forwards and big men (minus Chris Bosh) have shredded the Celtics at times this season. J.J. Hickson put up a gem of a game against Boston in the Cavs’ upset win, Andrew Bogut was great offensively despite playing with basically one arm, and Joakim Noah put up 26 points for the Bulls. But those teams didn’t have two strong options up front like Memphis. The Celtics can’t let the Grizzlies get easy baskets inside, and they have to wear them down on the other end of the court.