The Boston Celtics beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to snap OKC’s 12-game winning streak, in what could be a potential NBA Finals matchup.
The Boston-OKC matchup did not disappoint, as the two teams split the season series (1-1). It also represented another data point that could be an issue for the Thunder.
Looking at the big picture, the defending champions have once again been dominant this season, despite all the injuries, leading the NBA with 57 wins. They began the season on pace to break the Warriors’ 73-win record. OKC has since cooled off, by their standards, being 33-15 since, and are now on pace to “only” finish north of 60 wins for the second year in a row. But interestingly, when the Thunder face similar competition, their record is shakier.
Half of OKC’s losses this year have come from the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder have played the No. 2 in the West, the Spurs, five times this season and lost four of those games. They lost to the No. 1 seed in the East, the Pistons, in their lone matchup thus far. The Thunder split the season series with the No. 2 seed in the Celtics. They also split the season series with the Timberwolves. They are 6-0 against the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. OKC has a 10-8 record against the NBA’s best teams.
The defending champs are 47-8 against the rest of the league; take that number for what it’s worth.
Analyzing the Thunder’s Record Against Top Teams
Context behind Thunder’s six losses to top two seeds this season
One thing to mention, three teams that met the infamous Phil Jackson 40-20 championship rule: the Thunder, Spurs, and Pistons. But as noted above, OKC is 2-6 against the No. 2 seed in the West and the top two seeds in the East. The average margin in those six losses was just slightly under 11 points. In those losses, the Thunder averaged 108.6 points per game, 10 points below their season average.
Four of the losses came on the road, and two came without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In all of the Thunder’s losses this year, Wednesday night’s was the only one with their roster at full strength.
Three of the San Antonio losses are situations worth noting. The first happened in Vegas. The next two came on the second night of a back-to-back, as well as the loss to Detroit, which was without five of their six leading scorers — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Isaiah Joe.
Thunder’s Co-Stars’ performances against top teams are something worth noting
The Thunder co-stars’ performances against top teams are worth considering and need to be elevated ahead of the playoffs.
Wednesday night’s loss is the latest caveat, as it is not ideal for the co-stars to be unable to take pressure off Gilgeous-Alexander by underperforming against the top teams. This isn’t unique to the Thunder, which is worth noting as OKC will need to step up and help their franchise superstar if they hope to repeat.
Playing in 14 of those games, Chet Holmgren is averaging 15.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and one turnover per game, on 50.3% shooting from the floor on 10.3 shot attempts, 37.7% from beyond the arc on 3.7 attempts, and 81% from the free-throw line on 4.1 attempts a game. The offensive inconsistency has been evident all year long, especially against the top teams. The Thunder need their co-star to hit open shots and play with more force offensively to win the big games.
Jalen Williams’ numbers this season in general, can be primarily attributed to his injury-riddled year, as he is averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1.8 turnovers, on 40.8% shooting from the floor on 14.2 shot attenpts, 35.7% from beyond the arc on 2.8 attempts, and 68.7% from the free-throw line on 3.2 attempts a game. As stated, Williams has missed the majority of the season, including missing 13 of their 18 games against the top teams. The Thunder will need their co-star to regain his form and rhythm if they want to defend their title.
The Thunder should take some lessons from all these losses. But if there’s something to take away, these losses are indicative of what comes with the territory of being the defending champs: the reality of taking the best punches from the best teams.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
