Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

Boston Celtics: 3 keys to a Monday night win in OKC

By Austin DeCouta

Nov 20, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) dives for a loose ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) dives for a loose ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next

When the Boston Celtics set out for this four-game road trip against, Golden State, Sacramento, Denver, and now OKC, expectations were high but cautious.

Defeating the Warriors and Nuggets on the road is no easy task.

Now the shamrocks look to make it a perfect 4-0 on the trip as they get ready to do battle with the 14th place Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.

The Thunder enter the game with a slew of injuries amidst their lackluster season. Derrick Favors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kenrich Williams are all game-time decisions with nagging injuries.

Josh Giddey and Jerimiah Robinson-Earl are expected out another week.

To round off the lengthy injury report, Lu Dort, Ty Jerome, and Mike Muscala are all out for the season.

On the other hand, the C’s have a relatively clean injury report. Aaron Nesmith is the lone Celtic listed but was upgraded to questionable before Sunday’s game, before being ruled out.

Al Horford could see limited minutes, if not a night off. The 15-year veteran has had a stellar season as the glue that holds the team together at times. Often underappreciated, Al deserves some rest after a strong two games in the last three days.

At the time of this writing, the Boston Celtics are -15 and -1100, so clearly they’re heavy favorites.

Some were worried that Friday’s game against the Kings could be a trap game for Boston. The Celtics were able to silence that crowd very quickly and could do the same tonight with a strong start.

Without any further hesitation, here are the 3 keys to victory for Monday night’s bout against the Thunder:

Home/Celtics News