Thunder vs Celtics TakeaWays: Why OKC forced Boston in the 3 -point historic dam in the possible finals seen

There will be a temptation, especially given the quality of the game itself, to treat Wednesday’s battle between the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder as a Nba Overview of the finals. It makes sense on paper. The Celtics are the reigning champions. Thunder has one of the best net notes in Nba History and is underway to win 67 games. There is a fairly reasonable chance that the Celtics and the Thunder clash in June with the Larry O’Brien trophy on the line.

But call this match – a victory on the 118-112 route which won an Oklahoma City eliminatory spot – an overview of the finals ignores the wider image. The Thunder did not have Jalen Williams. They obviously expect to have it in the playoffs, and if they do not, they do not win the West. The same goes for Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis. Cleveland, The first team in the EastGives Boston problems even at full power. Neither the Thunder nor the Celtics were at full power in it.

This makes combing through the decisions and results of this game so important. These teams could meet again, but they hope, will not be seen in the conditions present on Wednesday. So let’s try to understand what we can learn about this confrontation and put this in perspective before a possible final match.

Here are our biggest dishes to remember from Oklahoma City’s huge victory over Boston.

Thunder wants the Celtics to pull at 3 points

As a rule, the teams that succeed against the Celtics are those that limit their volume to 3 points. Take the Magic of Orlando. They beat the Celtics twice in five clashes in the last two seasons and have kept them at 35.4 attempts of 3 points per game during this period. The Boston average, compared, was 42.5 attempts per game last season and 48 this season. When a team shoots as well as Boston, it is logical to limit its volume.

Thunder does not play this way. They readily abandon the 3, allowing the seventh most important attempts overall and the more precious corner 3 than anyone in order to maximize its rim defense and force the reversals. They entered this game with a plan: let the Celtics pull as much 3 as they wish. Here’s how it worked for Boston:

• The Celtics attempted 22 3s in the first trimester. This is the second biggest 3, any team has ever taken in a quarter, lying down until they took 23 earlier this season against Memphis.
• The Celtics took 36 3s in the first half. It is the most 3s that any team has ever attempted in the first half of a match.
• The Celtics attempted 63 in total 3s. It is equal for the third largest number of a team ever won in a match.
• The Celtics had an attempted rate of 3 points of 67.02%. It is the sixth higher of all time for a single match.

In terms of results, this strategy worked. Oklahoma City won the match. It is advisable to wonder, however, how viable this strategy would be in a possible final match. The Celtics, after all, pulled on a pitiful 28 out of 109 (25.7%) deeply in two games against the Thunder. Of course, the defense is counting on these long shots to a certain extent, but this is a great variance. The Celtics are not going to draw like that four times in seven tests.

The Thunder could survive the warming of the warmer Celtics if the compromise in the RIM is worth it. In some ways, this is the case. The Thunder has outraged the Celtics by eight on the edge, and more importantly, they attracted 23 other attempts at free throws. The Thunder Foul very much by Conception, it is the nature of their ultra-physical defensive style, so winning the Battle frank by this margin is notable. You are not going to go a lot to the line when you draw 63 3.

But Boston pulled 11 out of 12 in the restricted area and 18 out of 22 in the whole painting. This defense of thunder was good to encourage the 3 on the layups, but when the Celtics arrived at the edge, they marked there. The third quarter was particularly important in this regard. All year round, and really, throughout this time of Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown, the question surrounding the Celtics was whether they would be ready to rotate 3 points when they stop falling in high-level games. They did it in this third framework, attacker tirelessly when the opportunity arose. Their Rim attack was more than sufficient to win this match. Their jump shoot failed them.

Oklahoma City cannot count on this in the final, so expect to see the Thunder introduce several wrinkles if these teams come back. Fortunately, with Williams and Alex Caruso available, many defensive doors open for the Thunder.

Oklahoma city players can score

Even in a loss, the Celtics answered an important question that we covered above. When they need it, they are able to score in the basket against the Thunder. Oklahoma City had a different question to answer it, and it dates back to the latest playoffs.

The Oklahoma City offensive depends much more on the MVP favorite, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, that Boston or Cleveland is on a solo player. The idea is that Gilgeous-Alexander marks its 30 standard points, of course, but also to take advantage of its gravity as a rim to create 3 open for everyone. As Boston saw Wednesday, these 3 can be inconsistent. The advantages that lead them, however, can be used in other ways. The Thunder was unable to beat the Mavericks in the playoffs last season in part because the rest of their attack could not punish a defense of Dallas which rushed to Gilgeous-Alexander.

It is a sample of a match, and Williams was not even involved, but thunder must be encouraged by what they saw on Wednesday offensively. Even in a goalless night of Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder generated enough offense around Gilgeous-Alexander to win. They even won the minutes he rested by three points. There was no attacking companion for Gilgeous-Alexander. It was a group effort focused on their bulk. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein proved to be problematic for the ground before Boston near the basket and are sufficiently qualified with the ball in their hands to punish the offsets even when they distance the ball. Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort showed why this team is doing with a minimum perimeter height. They are so strong and have centers of severity so weak that they can end up against longer defenders and even push some.

Boston’s defense was on the cruise control for long sections this regular season. Porzingis also changes. Many of these Thunder Guards acrobatic finishes have succeeded on Wednesday will not be available when he patrols the 7 -foot 2 inch basket. But recovering Williams also means a good deal for Oklahoma City.

It was not the Dallas series. Oklahoma City’s support distribution has improved considerably.

Boston can dictate the terms of commitment

Rim Defense is a large component of Oklahoma City’s desire to allow 3, but the other major component is the generation of turnover. This is what thunder is doing best, especially for teams with reluctant ball bands. The Thunder generates 17.5 reversals per game, which is not only the most of the league, but is a complete turnover more than any other team. They want to keep you away from the ball and transform games into track competitions in which they score easy points in transition.

The Celtics are the opposite. Only the Thunder gives the ball less than them, and Boston ranks 27th in the NBA in rhythm. They want a slow and grind-out-out game because they know they can essentially exceed anyone in a half-terrain setting. Through two head-on games, they were able to dictate these terms. They returned the ball in just 13 times on Wednesday and 16 in their first game. It is more than their average of just under 12 years old, but it is below the average of the season of Oklahoma City (17.3) quite comfortably. In addition, the Thunder on average 16.1 fast break points per game, but has only reached 13 in the two Celtics games.

This should give the Thunder an idea of ​​what to expect in a series against the Celtics. They will operate methodically, protect the ball and try to reduce the pace. This is the basketball eliminatory in a word, and no team from the current NBA does it better than the Celtics. The Thunder winning its two regular season games against Boston is in some ways as a testimony to their adaptability, but also, as we have covered, drew part of luck. If they see the Celtics again, they must probably enter such a series knowing that they will not be able to generate turnover as easily as they usually do and that Boston will eventually do the 3 that missed the regular season.

This game was, in some ways, a bit of an experience for the Thunder. They saw how Boston reacts to a defense that gives him all 3 he wants. The Celtics will have ready adjustments if there is another upcoming match between these teams. This is the advantage of the doubt that the champions obtain.

The Thunder is still working to receive this same treatment, but these two regular season victories are a good start.