Everything you need to know about the Celtics 111-105 win over the OKC Thunder with BSJ insight and analysis
IN A NUTSHELL
The Celtics casually built a 13 point halftime lead out-scoring the Thunder by 7 in the first quarter and 6 in the second. The Celtics moved the ball well, and had 17 assists on 22 made field goals. They settled here and there but still attacked enough to build the lead.
They had a rough patch in the third quarter, but after a timeout, they built the lead up to 25 and things looked like they were in total control.
Hahaha of course they were not.
They slipped a bit at the end of the quarter, and they ended it with some weird lineups on the floor. Those provided enough defensive miscues to allow some wide-open shots for the Thunder, made more of them than normal. Once again the Celtics let an opponent chip away and make a run. This time, though, the Celtics were able to hold on.
HEADLINES
No lead safe, especially with this team: This was a 25 point game, yet the Celtics once again let it go all the way down to four. We knew coming in the Thunder were not going to back down.
"They’ve had some massive comeback wins this year," Ime Udoka said. "They beat the Lakers down 20, they beat the Lakers again down 26, they got down 20 in Milwaukee and got back into the game in the fourth quarter. So we know they’re going to keep playing. They’re young and scrappy and play aggressive. We got a little sloppy, took our foot off the gas a little bit."
They won, but this is a terrible trend, and Udoka was complicit (more on that in a bit).
Accentuate the positive: On a back-to-back the Celtics resorted to some weird lineups to help keep minutes down, so in addition to the “here we go again” feeling, there has to be some level of understanding that Udoka would be pushing the limits with some of his groupings. And while he took that to some extremes, the end result is a win and the team is back above .500.
Jayson Tatum is on a roll: He’s averaging 34.7 points on 51.4% shooting (45.5% 3pt) over his last three games.
TURNING POINT
Dennis Schröder's two layups, along with an Al Horford layup, over a 1:35 stretch at the end of the fourth quarter gave the Celtics just enough pad to hold on for the win.
SECOND GUESS
We should know this team well enough by now that starting the fourth quarter with Juancho Hernangomez and Enes Kanter on the floor was a rough decision. Kanter played fine, but that combination left too much defense on the bench and cleared the path for OKC’s mid-quarter run
FOUR UP
Jayson Tatum: He shot 50% on 2-pointers and 3-pointers to finish with 33 points. He also tacked on 8 rebounds and 5 assists. He mixed up his attack, drawing fouls and getting hot (especially from the right side of the floor).
Dennis Schröder: 29 points and in attack mode again (8 of his 13 makes came in the paint). He shot 13-22 and 3-7 from deep. Most importantly, he only committed two turnovers.
Marcus Smart: A team-high 8 assists and +23. He’s playing under control and not forcing shots. He hit the first 3 of the game for the Celtics and only took one after that.
Grant Williams: He shot 4-6 from 3, continuing his scorching hot stretch. "I feel like just being more confident taking those shots," he said. "The past two years, sometimes I would have those looks and would shot fake or pass them up because I'm passive thinking that maybe I can get other guys involved. Now, that confidence is there where the shot feels natural and just got to keep playing with that confidence and that ability which should open things up for the rest of those guys."
THREE DOWN
Aaron Nesmith: The Celtics had a 25 point lead and won by 6, but Nesmith was a -14 on the night. He looked horribly confused on some plays, like this one.
He and Grant Williams got crossed up there and it’s hard to say whose fault it was, but he left himself in a tough spot.
Sam Hauser: I’m sorry, Sam, but I have to do this. With 43 seconds to go in a 9 point game and the bench emptied for the Celtics, Hauser caught a pass at the right wing and fired a 3-pointer with 17 seconds on the shot clock. It was very clear that he needed to pull the ball out, get fouled, and calmly make two free throws for your first NBA points. He missed the shot. OKC scored, the Celtics turned it over, OKC hit a 3-pointer, and the Celtics had to call timeout in a now four-point game to reinsert the starters.
Ime Udoka: I understand the need to limit guys on the back-end of the back-to-back, but the combinations on the floor were weird, and emptying the bench with a minute to go in a nine-point game when it’s obvious OKC was still pushing is a bit much. Just let the starters close it out at that point.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Pure Marcus Smart
SMART DOING SMART THINGS#SunLifeDunk4Diabetes pic.twitter.com/bCoAOwwcRc
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 21, 2021
ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Bench guys need a reset: I’ve brought this up multiple times, but the Celtics need to find some way to get their young bench guys some playing time and confidence.
Whenever Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams come back and Schroder and Josh Richardson go back to the bench, it’s time to send guys like Nesmith and Payton Pritchard to Maine for a few days to get them some badly needed game-speed reps.
“We’ve looked at that,” Ime Udoka said. “Some of our younger guys not playing as much right now, keep sharp for whatever may happen.”
That’s the whole point.
I want to be clear here: I don’t think Nesmith and Pritchard belong in the G League. I think they’re NBA-level players caught in a numbers crunch. And right now, that’s growing into something that can set them back quite a bit.
Yes, they’re getting reps in at the practice facility, and they’re obviously working as hard as they can, but it’s not the same.
“Obviously a ton of individual work and then they are getting their five-on-five in, albeit not game situations,” Udoka said. “So it’s something we have discussed and something we’re going to look at closely over the next few weeks.”
Get these guys some game speed reps. Get them some confidence. Get them against an opponent trying to stop them so they can work through some mistakes.
The Celtics are going to need these guys at some point. Watching Nesmith do pirouettes on defense was brutal. Get them out of their own heads, into a Maine Celtics uniform for a couple of games, and back on track.
While we’re at it, it'd be nice if Boston could put away some of these big leads so the young guys can get some burn in garbage time. This was a 25 point game in the third quarter. There’s no reason for this to not be a 25 point game in the fourth so these guys could have gotten five or six minutes of actual playing time.
