Simone: Spurs-Thunder proves how tough a spot the Celtics are in

As I am writing this, Game 1 of the Western Conference finals just wrapped up. It went to double overtime. The San Antonio Spurs won, but it took 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks from Victor Wembanyama to get them over the finish line.

They outdueled an Alex Caruso-led Oklahoma City Thunder team. The Spurs doubled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 24 points and 12 assists on 7-of-23 shooting. Caruso shot 8-of-14 from deep range.

It was one of the most entertaining basketball games I can remember watching. Up there with the entirety of the Indiana Pacers’ 2025 run.

And it showed just how far away the Boston Celtics might be.

Anything can happen in the world of basketball. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are elite players. They could go on a run. Make tough shots. Lead Boston to a Finals appearance next season in the blink of an eye.

But the current-day Celtics are not equipped to compete with the Thunder or Spurs. They weren’t even consistent enough to take down the Joel Embiid-led Philadelphia 76ers. What would they do against Wembanyama or Gilgeous-Alexander in a seven-game series?

The Celtics played high-level regular-season games against the Spurs and Thunder this year. But if this postseason taught anything, it’s that something changes in the playoffs. No matter how many times Joe Mazzulla and the players say otherwise. Something changes.

Scoring dips. Defenses intensify. Shot-making becomes all the more important. And the Celtics weren’t able to step up to the plate.

But after watching Game 1 of the WCF, the mood shifted even more.

There’s a world where the Celtics run back a very similar version of this past year’s basketball team. Tatum and Brown are leading the way. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard right behind them. Neemias Queta is holding down the fort down low.

Additions could be as simple as patching up the big-man rotation with someone as depth-focused as Robert Williams III or as high-level as Isaiah Hartenstein (which would require them to steal him from OKC).

They could bring in someone like Anfernee Simons on the mid-level exception. Collin Sexton. Even Ayo Dosunmu, who enjoyed a ton of success during these playoffs.

Maybe those types of moves would have made a difference against the Sixers. Boston could have made a deeper run. Gotten to the Eastern Conference finals or beyond.

But were this year’s Celtics a Simons away from taking down the Thunder or Spurs in a seven-game series? A Hartenstein away? Would any of those players have closed the gap enough? 

Probably not.

There’s always the philosophy of last year’s Pacers: If you get there, you have a chance. And now, the Pacers have built on that chance, and they should have an opportunity to replicate the success they had in 2025 with a bolstered roster and an improved center position.

Boston may not be able to live with ‘just try to get there’ mode. Because what if they don’t? What if it looks a lot like this year? Or what if they get to the Finals and, almost inevitably, have to go up against the Thunder or Spurs?

No number of ‘fire Joe Mazzulla’ chants will solve the apparent roster gap between the current Celtics and the best of the West.

Just as Boston isn’t a Hartenstein, Simons, or Dosunmu away, Tom Thibodeau isn’t coming to save them. He’s not the difference.

Adding depth pieces like the ones I mentioned would be useful. Improving the bench unit would give the Celtics more reliable pieces, and the internal development of players like Queta, Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and others will undoubtedly help.

But again, after watching Game 1 of Spurs-Thunder, it’s clear that the Celtics need to