The Celtics were absolutely listless in this game, letting Oklahoma City dictate the game. Give credit to the Thunder for coming out with a renewed sense of energy on defense; Scott Brooks clearly made his team believe that the only way it would win this one was to focus on that side of the ball without its star in Kevin Durant. Brooks went deep into his bench—Royal Ivey played 16 minutes and D.J. White 12—but thanks to the offense of Russell Westbrook, the Thunder earned the victory.

The Celtics, on the other hand, never seemed to wake up. Twice in the second half—on a thunderous dunk from Paul Pierce and a monster tip-in slam from Rajon Rondo—it looked like Boston would go on a run and take over, but the C’s could never materialize a run. And despite playing arguably their worst overall game of the season, the Celtics still had a chance to win a game they didn’t deserve to be in. A better team (read: a team not missing two of its three best players) would have won this one in a blowout.

But that’s just the thing. As Washburn reminds us, the Celtics play down to their competition. They play with an arrogance and a swagger that is instrumental in helping them beat some of the best teams in the league, as they did twice against the Miami Heat, but also causes them to underestimate lesser opponents. And without Durant, that is exactly what this Thunder team was last night.

That’s not a death knell on the Celtics, of course. This is still a good team, and we saw last season what it can do when properly motivated come playoff times. But still, there were really no positives to take from last night’s showing. Here’s a few other notes, though, from the loss.

(more…)