The Way The Celtics Took Down The Fully Healthy Thunder Was Not Only Their Best Win Of The Season, It Was A Glimpse At What They're Capable Of

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Ever since the first meeting between the last two NBA Champions, where the Thunder were bailed out with a foul with just 0.8 seconds on the clock to pull off the narrow 2-point win, there has always been a lot of attention and focus on the rematch. Things went up a few levels when we learned that not only would Jayson Tatum (and Derrick White) be playing this time around, but the Thunder were going to be completely healthy. It was one of the few times this season they've had their full roster healthy and available, which many people took to mean the Thunder would not only win this matchup, but they'd dominate.

"Who can match a fully healthy OKC?"

people wondered. The answer?

The Tatum Celtics. And not only that, but if we want to talk about full health rosters, the Celts didn't even have Nikola Vucevic active. That's right, this team can get to even higher levels when fully healthy. What you have to remember when it comes to the Boston Celtics is that they are easily the most hilarious trolls of all time. They are going to put you through emotional hell for 2.5 hours every game they play. Look like absolute dogshit and blow a very winnable game at home against the Anthony Edward-less Wolves? Only to then turn right around and give belt to the best team in the NBA that was fully healthy?

Yup, that sounds just like our guys, and it's why we love them. 

There had been a lot of bizarre talk about the Celtics inability to beat "contenders" recently, which given their overall record I understand. People don't like nuance. They avoid context in favor of getting off takes. But it did feel like maybe things were getting a little out of hand once you actually looked into all these games against the best of the best

- 3 of the losses (and 1 CLE win) came in the first week of the season (NYK/DET/HOU). Rockets' loss was a B2B 

- Another DET loss was by 1 point 

- One DEN loss was by 4 points, the other was a 2nd night of a B2B at altitude 

- One SA loss was by 5 points, the other Jaylen Brown got tossed after playing 8 minutes 

- OKC loss was by 2 points 

- One MIN loss was by 4 points 

- All NYK/DET/HOU/DEN/OKC losses came w/o Tatum

Let me ask you, fine reader of this blog. How did the Celtics look last night against a contender with Tatum/White back in the lineup? Pretty damn good I would say! So, because they lost a handful of games by one or two possessions (without Tatum), I'm supposed to believe that the Celtics WITH Jayson Tatum can't beat or play at the level of the best teams in the league? When that's all they've been doing for the last 4 years?

Giphy Images.

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Now it is important to always remember, none of what we saw last night guarantees ANYTHING come the postseason. The same way when they lost some of those games, it didn't mean they couldn't win in the playoffs. That's not what regular season basketball is about. But what I will say is I do think both the team and the fanbase needed a win like last night, just for our collective mental health. It got tired of playing the moral victory card coming out of those close losses without Tatum. It feels MUCH better to have an actual victory, especially when you play well. Given the Knicks playing nothing but cupcakes for the last 2 weeks and ripping off 7 straight, it was also a VERY important time for the Celtics to secure a big win, keeping them ahead of NYK for the 2 seed (they play CHA tonight). 

We have a lot to get to, so let's just dive in.

The Good

- As hard as some in the media, opposing fanbases, and even some supposed NBA scouts wants you to believe that Jayson Tatum "hasn't looked great" since his return

I'm here to tell you that in reality, here on planet Earth, Jayson Tatum looks fucking awesome

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Last night was now the 5th time in 9 games Tatum has secured a double double, his minutes got up to 35 in this game which feels like a PRETTY BIG DEAL, and against one of the most physical defenses in the league, I thought Tatum got pretty much whatever he wanted. I think we all wanted to see how he would handle OKC, and the early returns confirm a lot of what I expected.

Tatum is Thunder-proof.

He's too big for their perimeter defenders, and once OKC decided their only hope was to trap him and send extra defenders, that was no problem at all because Jayson Tatum is the best passing wing in the NBA not named LeBron James

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This is why you have to just ignore the morons who try and gaslight you into thinking Jayson Tatum hasn't looked great or isn't playing well since his return. That's all bullshit. So he's not shooting well, OK? And? That has never meant that Tatum isn't playing well. When opposing coaches are defending you like this despite your shooting struggles

that tells you all you need to know. Again, this is already happening in just Game 9 of the return, with Tatum shooting mostly like garbage. 

When it comes to getting Tatum back into rhythm and his legs under him, it's pretty clear in my eyes at least that the best way to do that is running him in P&R. Through 9 games, Tatum ranks in the 85th percentile running P&R. His passing out of that set is elite because he's seen every defense imaginable, when he wants to score off it he can, averaging 1.00 ppp, and if I had to choose, I would much rather spam P&R with Tatum as the ball handler than clearing out and forcing his isolation, which is taking some time to come around (3rd percentile on a 21% frequency). 

Given how much attention he commands and how brilliant he is at reading the floor, when I think of "Tatum initiating offense," I'm at the point where it should be like 85% P&R and 15% isolation. There's really no defensive solve for it. Either you trap Tatum and you die, or you don't trap Tatum and you still die. 

Also, how about all the jumpshot experts on Twitter who spent the last 2 days crying and freaking out about Tatum's jumper and  a "hitch" or whatever, only for it to look as smooth as ever in games. It's almost like nobody has watched Tatum play for the last 9 years. Very odd. His shooting issue is conditioning-related, not shot mechanics-related. Hopefully, we can be done with that. 

- Just like he did in the first meeting, Jaylen Brown once again went blow for blow with the league's MVP. After that game you couldn't avoid the meltdown from OKC fans all because Jaylen spoke the truth in regards to how SGA plays, and all you heard from them was how Jaylen Brown isn't good, Jaylen Brown isn't impactful blah blah blah

Well, choke on this

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34/7/6 in the first meeting, 31/8/8 in the second meeting, this time against the fully healthy OKC squad. What we've learned in these two games with Jaylen is the same problem they have with Tatum. The best Thunder defenders are simply too small. Then, if OKC wants to put their shooters on the floor, those players are not only smaller, they are a massive drop off defensively.

It's the same problem the Jays create for virtually every team they face. If you don't have size on the wing to prevent them from getting to their spots, things aren't going to end well for you. This version of Jaylen is much more patient (and much healthier) than the version we saw against OKC last year, and it's no surprise his play and production were much better. 

And giving SGA a taste of his own medicine? Chef's kiss

After a pretty poor showing against MIN, this was exactly the performance the team required from Jaylen. Against the best of the best, will you show up? Will you play winning basketball? 

Let's not forget, this is the best duo in the NBA. No duo has won more since they joined forces (fact). Last night was a preview of what things can look like, and if they are able to do this against the best defense in the NBA, the sky is the limit. 

- I thought the Celts were tremendous around the margins in this win. First off, the rebounding. Holding iHart without an OREB in his 22 minutes was massive. Chet only had 1. They won the overall rebounding battle 43-25, and that helped limit the Thunder to just 2 (!!!!) 2nd chance points.

Not only that, but the Celts were also great at limiting the Thunder's transition opportunities. They finished with only 10 fastbreak points, which is usually how they kill teams. They turn you over, then get out and run you to death. Celts also won the shot margin and the 3pt margin, all while essentially matching OKC from the FT line.

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A total of 25 AST on 38 FGM, the ball was moving. They didn't hold things and try to beat the Thunder in isolation. They forced rotations, they made the Thunder make decisions, and then had the perfect counter nearly every time. 

- It means something to me that both Hugo Gonzale and Baylor Scheierman look so comfortable and are able to make a real impact in a matchup against OKC. That's a rookie and a 2nd year player who look calm and ready for the moment. You understand how rare that is right? Against that caliber of team?

Baylor especially. This dude had SGA in hell, which is a sentence I never thought I would write, but it's true. I think he got SGA on the same fake 2 or 3 times for huge 3s, his defense was solid, and Baylor finished a team best +11 in his 19 minutes. Not bad for the 30th pick in the Draft if you ask me.

- Really, all of the bench played well for the most part. Garza did his thing in his 12 minutes with a solid 7/2 on 3-4 shooting. Hugo had his moments, Pritchard had some big buckets down the stretch for his second straight solid game against OKC, and ultimately that was probably the difference. 

We talk a lot about OKC's depth and it sure is great, but that doesn't mean they're the only team with elite reserves. 

- 70 second half points against that defense might be one of the more impressive accomplishments of the season. It was the 2nd highest total OKC has allowed in a half all year, and it was a complete team effort

I didn't even realize in real time that Jaylen only missed 1 shot in the entire half. I thought the Celts did a great job of getting thigns within striking distance to end the first half, and for them to come out ready like that and keep the execution consistent through the end of the game, I mean that's the good shit right there. 

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They didn't even choke things away in the 4th quarter! How about that for a surprise! In fact, they increased their lead! What an amazing concept, you don't have to actually piss away winnable games in the 4th quarter. In my expert opinion, they should try playing this way more often in the final 12 minutes!

- A Joe Mazzulla masterclass by the way. Pushed every right button, rotations were much better, and we didn't put things at risk by starting the 4th without a Jay on the court. Joe had a counter for everything OKC threw at this team, and in a game when everyone needed to be at their best, I thought this was one of Joe's better performances of the year. 

The Bad

- I am done with trying to figure out why the hell the Celtics cannot shoot to start games at home. It's been an issue for what seems like the entire season, and if there's one thing you can bank on it's the entire roster being a gigantic brick for the first 12 minutes. 

Just 29/30% splits as a team, things didn't look great early with Hauser missing about 4 or 5 WIDE OPEN looks, and then the team doubling down on the suck by being horrific in the paint. I mean look at this shit!

They finished 3-10 in the paint in the first quarter! People always cry about the 3pt shooting, but usually in a lot of the losses to the best teams, the Celts really struggle with their paint execution. That always seems to get overlooked for some reason, not sure why.

- Pretty fortunate to win a game in which Derrick White is 3-11 (2-7) and Sam Hauser is 3-9 (3-8). Neither guy could really hit a bucket all night, and I'd say their looks were generally pretty open. Hauser wide open corner 3s, Derrick some clean looks from three and in the paint, just a tough shooting night for two very important players. 

The good news is they still found ways to impact winning, but the shooting wasn't what I would call "good".

The Ugly

- I think if you are someone who thinks SGA is only good or productive because of his whistle, you're trying too hard. The guy is one of the greatest shotmakers the NBA has ever seen. Everything he gets off is an automatic bucket, it's unreal. It doesn't matter where he takes it from, he's fairly automatic from every level/zone.

However, what's beyond annoying is shit like this

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Between this play and the clean Derrick White block late, this is the shit that enrages everyone. These aren't fouls, yet SGA is bailed out and saved by the officials constantly. It's like they feel as though he's never allowed to miss a shot. Every time he did, it was somehow a whistle. Sure the 10-12 looks insane, but it also includes plays like this.

This isn't an SGA thing, it's an officials thing. We saw them call Jaylen Brown for that VERY SAME forearm shove for 2 separate offensive fouls, yet when it's SGA's turn, it's nowhere to be found. Then, not only do they allow it, they also call a foul with zero contact. OKC fans/media will gaslight you and tell you what you are seeing isn't happening, they'll point to fouls or FTA numbers etc, but we all have eyes. 

I have zero problem with the "flopping" or "foul baiting" or whatever. That's life in the NBA. What I care about is the inconsistency in terms of what is allowed on one end and then not the other. The bailouts given on one end, and then not the other. That's the bullshit Adam Silver needs to fix, but he never will.

- A combined 10 TOs for the Jays is a little high, but thankfully they weren't all live ball. I can live with offensive foul turnovers because at least it allows you to set your defense, but the Celt did get a little lucky there. They combined for 10 of the teams 13 TOs overall, which obviously needs to be cleaned up.

- It's nitpicking, but I'd still like to see Tatum get more late game touches, if anything just for the reps. We didn't really get any late game P&R, and while he was 0-4 in his 12 minutes, I don't really care about that. I just want him getting reps closing games as an initiator against a physical defense in high leverage situations. That doesn't always mean he has to shoot, as we saw all night he was killing the Thunder as a passer.

I just think it's a little unfair to expect that to be ready to roll in a playoff series without letting him get the rust off during the regular season. There are only so many games left for him to get those reps in, so I thought that was a bit of a missed opportunity last night. 

All in all? Easily the best win of the season, and a reminder that with Jayson Tatum in the mix, the Boston Celtics can absolutely beat any team in the league. The best part? They're only going to get better from here. As Tatum ramps up, with Vuc coming back, there's a reason many consider this team to be a legit contender and someone who could easily challenge any West team in the Finals should they get there.

We have a long way to go until that point, but last night was a great start.