Four things to watch for in Celtics-Thunder showdown

The Celtics (+9.2 points per game) and Thunder (+10.3 points per game) enter tonight's contest with the two highest point differentials in the league through three weeks of the regular season. Let's take a closer look at the early matchup between two of the NBA's heavyweights through Nov. 2 and get a sense of what to watch out for while determining if the Celtics are playing over their heads with a 6-2 start to the season.

1. Can the Celtics keep Steven Adams off the offensive glass? The Celtics have surprisingly been the fifth-best defensive rebounding team in the league through eight games, but they are about to get their stiffest challenge of the season against Thunder center Steven Adams. The seven-footer is wreaking havoc against opposing defenses by grabbing 4.9 offensive rebounds per game. Adams is not only elite on the glass, he's also managing to take great advantage of scrambling defenses as they try to rotate onto shooters like Paul George and Carmelo Anthony on the perimeter. With Russell Westbrook driving into the paint all night, the Celtics will need to stay disciplined defensively to not only contain the point guard, but help guys like Aron Baynes and Al Horford keep a body all night on Adams. Otherwise, Adams will take advantage of smaller guys boxing him out and eat up boards.

2. Will it be a defensive struggle? The Celtics have the top defense in the league, while the Thunder are third in defensive efficiency in the early going. Normally, you wouldn't connect strong defense with players like Westbrook and Anthony, but the Thunder have a pair of elite defenders in their starting five with Adams and Andre Robertson. Jerami Grant off the bench is an athletic phenom as well. They have only allowed offenses to shoot 41 percent per game and they also force 19 turnovers a night. Both of those areas will put an inconsistent Celtics offense to the test Friday night. Oklahoma City's offense brings far more firepower than the Celtics have seen all year (Thunder are sixth in offensive rating) so it will be fascinating to see how real the C's defensive domination is against a team like this.

3. Can Marcus Smart maintain his scoring magic in Oklahoma City? The Oklahoma State product has never made a secret about how much he enjoys playing in his former home and it's hard to blame him when examining his numbers. In three career games playing in Oklahoma City as a member of the Celtics, Smart has performed like an All-Star. Take a look at his phenomenal splits:

20.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.0 bpg, 56.4% FG, 52.4% 3pt. 

It's unfair for the Celtics to expect that kind of production from him tonight, but given his slow offensive start to the season (31% FG, 28% 3pt) the timing couldn't be much better for the 23-year-old to return to Oklahoma to jumpstart his offensive game. Boston is going to need him to be a force against Westbrook and George defensively, but they could use a scoring boost from him as well.

4. What kind of impact will Marcus Morris make? After a three-week wait, the veteran forward is finally recovered from a sore left knee and ready to make his Celtic debut against one of the top teams in the league. With the Celtics in the midst of a six-game winning streak, it will be intriguing to see how much Stevens opt to go with Morris out of the gate in his playing rotation. The team has wisely taken it slow with his rehab, so he can hit the ground running in a game like this. However, the C's have gotten strong contributions across the board from their wings in the last couple games, which puts a bit more pressure on the 6-foot-9 forward. Morris will come off the bench and have a minutes restriction of 20-22 minutes, so don't expect to see him crunch time minutes right away but I'm curious to see how much of a leash Morris will get as he tries to start his season defending guys like Anthony and George.