In A Big Time Battle Between Title Contenders, The Celtics Were Punched In The Mouth And Responded With Some Of The Worst Basketball Ever Played

Joshua Gateley. Getty Images.

What a battle. For a game that had all the hype in the world heading into the matchup, it sure did deliver. Sure I'd prefer the Cetlics didn't play the worst second half in the history of basketball, but in terms of a big time competitive game in January? BOS/OKC delivered. Two legit title contenders going back and forth for 48 minutes was awesome, even if the ending made me want to rip my eyes out of my head.

As with most Celtics losses, there's a good amount of mass hysteria around this one. I'm not sure why, it seems like a lot of people forgot this same exact thing happened last season when OKC beat the Celtics at home in January. Why are people surprised that there are other really good teams in the NBA? Teams where if you don't shot up and execute, especially on the road, you're going to lose? 

I never really understood the idea of taking regular season results and using them to project what will happen come the Spring, win or lose. They are entirely two different beasts, and nothing that happens in the regular season matters come the Spring. That certainly doesn't imply that the games don't mean anything, but you take them for what they are. At this moment in time, the Thunder are playing better basketball than the Champs and did enough at home to come back and secure the win. They deserve all the credit in the world for that, and that's really it. Doesn't mean they'd win when these two teams play again later in the season or in a Finals matchup, nor does it even mean that both teams will make it.

But what I can say is that in a world where a lot of people are quick to label Team X a "contender" just because they rip off a few wins against bad teams (think MIL, LAL, PHI etc), that is not the case with the Thunder. They are as legit a title contender as you can find, and at 30-5 with their point differential, they've now entered the world where anything other than a title would be a colossal failure. That's something that only exists with true contenders. As of now, I have 3 teams like that on my list

1. Boston

2. OKC

3. Cleveland

That's it. Those are the only teams I would put in that category, and I'm not sure how anyone could deny that. As much as Cavs and Thunder fans might not want that pressure, that's the reality. If you want to be the best, you have to accept what comes with it

From a Celtics perspective, yesterday was a reminder that NBA basketball games are in fact, 48 minutes. You'd think they know that by now, but given what we saw yesterday it seemed like they were under the impression games were 24 minutes long. Whoops! Classic mixup. 

This was another one of those performances where pre-NBA title, I'd be way more upset. Now, I'm just mostly annoyed. If it takes one of the worst shooting performances in NBA history in a second half to lose, then so be it. At this point I don't get too worked up when the Celts lose by doing something very much not in their nature. You hear a lot about "panic", but for me "panic" would only set in if both teams played to their ceiling and the Celts still lost by 13. That's worthy of being concerned about.

The entire roster missing every shot they took over the course of 24 minutes? Sucks, but whatever. Take it on the chin, credit the opponent for their execution on both ends and move on. 

Before we do, let's talk about what happened

The Good

- This is an interesting spot because I wouldn't exactly say any individual player played all that well, but as a team, there was plenty to like from this game.

For example, the entire 1st half. The Celts came out in this game and followed the playbook of how to contain OKC perfectly. They took care of the basketball (6 TOs, 5 points off TOs) which didn't allow them to get out on the break, and ensured that the Celts weren't having empty possessions. Their approach offensively was perfectly balanced, with 22 3PA and 23 2pt FGA where they did a great job of exploiting their mismatches, especially with Jaylen and KP.

The way their offense was generated was also exactly what you need to do against OKC. You can't get cute with the ball on the perimeter against them (more in this in a bit). You have to start your offense other ways, and the Celts played that perfectly in the first 24 minutes

First, with Jaylen

Then with Porzingis

What we didn't see in the first half was a lot of standing around watching guys hold the ball and dribble on the perimeter. That allows OKC to load up on you, cheat over, and cause TOs, which we all know are death. 

Their gameplan and execution in the first half was great, even without making their 3s. They survived that because of their paint execution

51% shooting, 13-14 at the FT one, only 6 TOs and they won the rebounding battle 27-19 with 14 AST on 23 FGM. It was about as strong a half as you can have against the best defense in the NBA.

Jaylen got off to an 8-12 start, Tatum was equally as impactful with his 3-6 start, KP was great starting 4-5 etc. They looked focused, they looked locked in, and they looked like a team that was ready to match the moment. 

Defensively they held OKC to just 41/36% and nobody other than SGA really got going. 

Sadly, it all went to complete shit the second they stepped out back onto the court for the second half.

The Bad

- We have a lot to get to, and unfortunately the majority of this stuff will be in the next section, so for this one let's focus on the bench production. Or should I say, lack of production.

On the road against an elite team, you cannot get absolutely nothing on either end from your second unit. That's sort of non-negotiable. It's also no surprise that whenever the Celts have a bad looking loss like this, one factor usually ends up being that the bench was a complete zero.

That, is how I would describe this

Pritchard was only out there for 10 minutes, but he went 0-5 (0-3), Hauser, who recently had looked like a guy who had found his shot again put up a brutal 1-5 (1-5). Horford wasn't all that great either, with 2-6 (2-5) while not really providing any sort of defensive resistance at the rim.

Unfortunately, where this game really turned was in the 3rd quarter when we saw the bench + Tatum lineup. It was only for 5 minutes, but the results were a disaster

ORTG: 33.3

DRTG: 125.0

Net rating: -91.7

This lineup took the floor at the 4:36 mark of the 3rd quarter, with the Celts up 74-66. By the end, it was an 80-76 game and all of the momentum had completely swung and it would have looked even worse had KP not made a jumper at the buzzer after subbing in for Kornet with 5 seconds left.

The biggest issue during this stretch has to be that after Tatum's 3PA where he was fouled (and missed 2 FTs) at the 4:36 mark, he didn't take a single shot for the rest of the quarter. That, cannot happen, especially with that lineup on the floor and Pritchard/Hauser being a gigantic collective brick. Over the last 4:36 all Tatum had was 1 TO and a technical FT.

Whether you want to put that on coaching or Tatum for not being aggressive enough, I don't really give a shit. I just know that with how the game was going in that 3rd quarter and that specific lineup on the floor, Jayson Tatum needs to shoot the ball more than 0 times. Now, would it have helped if literally anyone could have hit a wide open shot he created for them? Yup. But once that wasn't happening, they needed to find ways to get Tatum FGAs.

- Speaking of Tatum creating for others, look at this shit. 15 potential assists….1 actual assist. My god

That is legitimately insane and also why I'm not too upset. I'd say about 95% of the time, the rest of the roster doesn't miss every shot they take that Tatum creates for them. Just one of those nights that happened to show up at the worst possible time. It happens. 

But given how much Tatum has the ball and how much defenses key in on him, that requires the others to come through and make them pay for it. If they don't, a game like last night happens. If guys knock down their open shots, defenses can't cheat as much on the Jays and everything looks much better offensively, just like the first half. 

- For as well as his defense has looked since his return, I thought Jrue had a world of problems staying in front/guarding SGA. Just no real resistance at the point of attack which allowed him to get to his spots and hurt you either with the midrange or the FT line. 

I was very surprised we saw that matchup so much and not a whole lot of Jaylen/Tatum on SGA, especially Tatum. He had a ton of success in that matchup last year, but it felt like we never got it. Instead, it was Jaylen for stretches in the first half and then primarily the guards in the second. No trapping, no doubles and forcing someone else to beat you. I'm not sure what the gameplan was against SGA, but it stunk in my opinion.

The best way to contain him isn't with strength like Jrue, it's with length like Tatum/Jaylen. If OKC wanted to try and free him up with a high screen, who cares. Fight through it. Be physical. Get the ball out of his hands. The Celts did none of that really, it and hurt them.

- Given the success KP had in the first half in terms of exploiting mismatches, his second half approach was baffling to me. Just look at the difference

This isn't to say KP shouldn't take 3s, that'd be stupid. But to completely go away from what was working in the first half was an off choice. Again, I put that on everyone. The coaching staff, the players on the floor, all of them.

Perhaps it's because he's still working his way back, but he doesn't feel in rhythm yet. That will come with games played, but at the same time it's not like this is Year 1, and it's not like that was an issue in the first half. The dude is 7'3 and is a cheat code. Put him on the nail and run offense that way, instead of dribbling on the perimeter and turning it over. 

- Another game where it was pretty clear the physicality and the whistle impacted how the Celts played. That's not me saying it, that's Jaylen Brown saying it

to me, this is the most unacceptable part of the loss. This is something that used to happen to the younger version of this team. Bad calls or no calls would get in their heads and they would start playing terrible basketball as a result. 

Now? At this stage? That should never happen. For starters, you should know OKC is physical and be ready for that challenge. Then, when things don't go your way or you feel like you were wronged, big deal. Play the right way. That's a drop in mental focus that championship teams do not have. It's what made the Celts champions in the first place. They were able to put that stuff aside and not let it impact their play. When they do, it gets them into trouble just like we saw in this game.

The Ugly

- OK, my apologies to anyone reading this section because things are about to get very, very, very gross. Let's start with what is without a doubt one of the worst overall half an NBA team could possibly have

27 points in an entire half? On 20/12% shooting? I didn't even think this was physically possible. I mean, that's a bad quarter let alone an ENTIRE HALF, and honestly, it's so bad I'm sort of impressed? Like, if this is what it takes for the Celtics to lose a game on the road against a title contender, I guess that has me feeling OK? I feel pretty confident we won't be getting a 20/12% half again in our lifetimes so whatever. In fact, it had been nearly 13 years since we last saw something like this

While the shooting was horrific, that's not even the worst part of the half.

That of course, was the turnovers. The one thing you couldn't do against OKC is exactly what the Celts did in this 2nd half. 10 TOs for 17 points is the ballgame. They lost the fastbreak points battle 13-0 in that half, all of which came off TOs. I mean look at this shit, this is losing basketball

Everyone knew the Thunder were going to ramp up the defense in the 2nd half. It's what they do. They are 7-5 this year when trailing at the break, and it's because they come out and cause chaos defensively. The Celts were very much not ready for that ramp up and it showed.

Low TOs / points off TOs in the first half = 10 point lead

High TOs / points off TOs int he second half = lose the half by 23 points

Not only that, but this was a great example of why all TOs are not created equal. OKC had 15 themselves, but they were almost all dead ball turnovers. You can live with those because it allows you to go back and set your defense. The Celts only had 11 points off those 15 TOs compared to the 22 points allowed on their 17, because all of theirs were live ball TOs which allowed OKC to get out and run. 

- As you saw above, a big problem with that was Jaylen and his offensive approach in the second half. A brutal 0-7, he didn't secure a single rebound or assist either in that half. Suddenly, it was back to the approach that we saw in the 2023 ECF, which we all know was a disaster.

Just look at those TO videos above. What do you see? You see Jaylen hold the ball and play with it on the perimeter, allowing the nail help to cheat over. Then, for some reason we see Jaylen drive into that help and turn the ball over. That is EXACTLY what happened in 2023 and was the complete opposite of what we saw in the first half. 

So while his first half production was a huge reason why the Celts had a 10 point lead, his second half play on both ends of the floor was a huge reason why things went so poorly. Your 2nd best player cannot only play 24 minutes in a game like this. 

I'm not sure what sparked the change in approach, but what I do know is that it was both a poor choice with even worse execution.

- Again, this does not even seem possible

- The 9/46 from deep obviously stands out, but again this was a night where the Celts were generating solid looks, guys just need to convert. The Thunder did a good job of running them off the line early, but they still got up 46. It's simply a matter of execution. Guys you expect to make wide open looks couldn't, and that was the difference. Shots like this have nothing to do with OKCs defense

and that's just a small sample. 

You can't turn the ball over like the Celts did, also go 3-12 in the paint in the second half and lose the 3P battle 16-9. Not to mention add in some very poor late game defensive rebounding which led to big OKC 2nd chance buckets down the stretch. It was every part of losing basketball that you cannot have in those moments.

- That 4th quarter? Holy fuck

That is some of the worst execution the Celts have had since the dark days of the Rick Pitino Era. What the fuck even is that? 7 TOs and only 3 FGM? 0-6 in the paint? You deserve everything that happens to you when that stuff happens. 

During their skid in December and now this loss, it's hard to overlook how poorly the Celts have been playing in the 4th quarter. For whatever reason, they are not finishing games and when you play with fire like that eventually you're going to get burned. Especially against an elite team. 

In the end, it was a frustrating loss that the Celts probably could have avoided had they not decided to play like complete assholes in the 2nd half. Oh well. As I said at the top of this blog, this is really no different from what happened last year. You take it on the chin and move on. Why? Because a date with Nikola Jokic awaits to end this trip. There's a big mental difference between ending the trip 3-1 compared to 2-2, so hopefully this was the West Coast trip stinker you tend to get during a 4 game trip and the Celts play a full 48 tomorrow night. 

At the very least, please do not miss every shot you take up and down the roster. I'm good with that never happening again.