Boston Celtics: 3 Keys to Beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and Get Back on Track
By Thomas King
The Boston Celtics have not yet lived up to expectations as they hit the road to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy arena Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Here are three keys to getting back above .500.
Both the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2018-2019 NBA season with high expectations. Both teams have failed to meet those expectations in the early going, as Boston is 2-2 as they head out to Oklahoma City to meet the winless Thunder (0-3) Thursday night at 8 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Celtics entered the season expecting that with the return of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, the Boston offense would rise from the middle of the pack (18th out of 30 teams) where it ranked last season to put it on par with the championship-level defense which led the league last year. Instead, Boston ranks second-to-last in the league in offensive rating (99.3), ahead of only Oklahoma City.
The only reason the Celtics are treading water right now is because the defense, though sloppy by coach Brad Stevens’ standards, has been the top-rated unit in the league, according to NBA.com.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder expected to take a big step forward this season after convincing Paul George to re-sign and commit to the team long-term. With a season under their belts, George and Thunder star Russell Westbrook were supposed to have better chemistry which, along with a long, stifling defense, would propel Oklahoma City to top four seed in the West.
Alas, through three games, The Thunder’s defense has been nearly as bad as its anemic offense. Only the 0-4 Cleveland Cavaliers sport a worse net-rating than Oklahoma City (-12.1). Losing to Golden State in the season-opener and then on the road to the Los Angeles Clippers–without Russell Westbrook– isn’t all that alarming in and off itself.
But giving up 131 points and losing, at home, to the Sacramento Kings when Russell Westbrook scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his season debut, will raise plenty of eyebrows. After signing his max deal, George is shooting ice cold from the field and the Thunder have the worst effective field goal percentage (43.4) and true shooting percentage (47.3) in the NBA.
After such a lousy opening to the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder should be hungry for their first win of the season. Let’s look at how the Boston Celtics can get back on the right track and beat the Thunder on the road.