Jaylen’s All-Defense quest among top Celtics-Thunder storylines originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics host the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night in what is almost undeniably the biggest game remaining on the team’s regular-season schedule.
With Boston essentially locked into the No. 2 seed in the East, there shouldn’t be a lot of drama around the final 16 games. There’s plenty to work on before the postseason arrives, but the Thunder game feels like one of the last opportunities to see the Celtics go full throttle against a legitimate title contender.
So here are four questions we’re pondering before a marquee matchup that checks all the boxes for the “potential Finals preview” designation:
Can Jaylen carve a path to All-Defense vs. SGA?
When the Celtics played the Thunder in early January, Brown logged 42.6 percent of all defensive time spent on MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His six minutes, 30 seconds of matchup time was three times more than any other Boston defender.
Gilgeous-Alexander tallied nine points on tidy 4-of-5 shooting against Brown, per NBA tracking. But Gilgeous-Alexander was also more likely to move the ball against Brown than any other Boston defender, with Oklahoma City’s relentless driver routinely attacking any time anyone else was in front of him.
Here’s why it matters: Brown hasn’t been bashful in noting his All-Defense desires. He felt like he got snubbed a year ago. Now, it feels like Wednesday’s showdown is another chance to make a defensive statement.
This matchup comes just days after a national audience watched Brown pick up right where he left off in the NBA Finals while harassing Luka Doncic for much of Boston’s win over the rival Lakers on Saturday night.
Brown’s base defensive numbers this season don’t leap off the page. He is holding his opponents to 46.4 percent shooting, or 0.5 percent below expected output. Last season, when teammates were openly stumping for Brown for All-Defense consideration, those numbers were at 44.8 percent overall and 2.4 percent below expected.
The case for Brown hinges on the quality of the player he routinely defends, all while averaging 23.3 points per game on offense. You could create a couple of All-Star teams with the players who account for Brown’s top 20 most frequent matchups this season.
That list includes Zach LaVine, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Pascal Siakam, Cade Cunningham and Doncic.
SGA should join that list after Wednesday’s showdown. Brown’s size and strength could be key in corralling an MVP favorite. And a big night on the defensive end could give voters a lot to consider when filling out their All-Defense ballots next month.
Are the Thunder last season’s Celtics?
Oklahoma City is putting up historic numbers and has opened a huge gap atop the Western Conference. Oklahoma City’s +12.6 point differential is on pace to be the best in NBA history, and the Thunder lead the West by 11 games.
Last season, Boston finished with a +11.3 point differential — fifth best all-time — and was 14 games clear of the nearest rival in the East.
The Thunder clearly tick all the boxes of a championship contender. OKC sits ahead of Boston in title odds at most sportsbooks, and a Celtics-Thunder Finals showdown is the most likely pairing.
The question, of course, is whether the Thunder are ready for the bright lights and big stage. After winning 57 games last season, the Thunder got bounced by the more veteran Mavericks in six games in the West semifinals.
Can the Thunder sustain this season’s success if they have to go through seasoned squads like the Nuggets, Lakers, or Warriors as part of their playoff path? The West is an absolute gauntlet, and despite the regular-season separation the Thunder have created, it’s fair to wonder if this young squad could get stiff-armed one more time.
Brown and Jayson Tatum both had to endure defeat — first in the East semis and then in the 2022 Finals — before breaking through last year. The counterargument is that the MVP presence of someone like SGA might give the Thunder an accelerator that most younger teams don’t enjoy. Nothing about their play this season suggests they are not ready for the big moment.
Regardless of how this season plays out, it feels absolutely certain that the Thunder are going to be in the title mix for the long-term future given their talented young core and the outrageous stash of future picks the team holds.
Will Kristaps Porzingis be back on the court?
The Celtics listed Porzingis as questionable on Tuesday’s initial injury report, one day after he took to social media on Monday night to acknowledge the mystery viral illness that has sidelined him for the better part of two weeks.
All signs pointed to Porzingis being back Saturday night against the Lakers. The big man had hinted at a potential return on social media, he arrived in one of his finest suits, and he went through a long pregame warmup.
But that 15-minute session on the Garden floor on Saturday night ended with Porzingis conferencing with the Celtics training staff, then walking off the court. He didn’t have his usual zest as he navigated his pregame shooting routine, and it appears the team ultimately elected to give him more time to recover.
Boston’s preferred starting five — Porzingis alongside Tatum, Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White — hasn’t played together since February 23. That group has logged 307 minutes over 20 games overall this season.
The Celtics yearn to see more reps for that group before the finish line of the season, and it would be undeniably intriguing to see them against a top-line contender like the Thunder.
The good news: The four-man combo of Brown, Tatum, White, and Holiday have logged 654 total minutes and have a robust +7.2 net rating in that span. Lineups featuring that group and Al Horford thrived while Porzingis was recovering form offseason ankle surgery.
Still, it will be a bit of a relief for Celtics fans whenever Porzingis is able to shake the effects of this mystery virus and get back on the court.
Can Celtics tap into what propelled them early in OKC?
The Celtics produced one of their finest halves of basketball while building a double-digit lead during their January visit to Oklahoma City. Brown erupted for 21 fist-half points to pace four starters in double figures over the first 24 minutes, and Boston was thriving even while its 3-point shots wouldn’t fall.
But the wheels came off the offense in the second half, as the Celtics shot just 20 percent from the floor (8 of 40) and 12.5 percent beyond the 3-point arc (3 of 24) over the final two quarters. Those woes bled into Boston’s defensive intensity, and the Thunder roared back to win their 15th straight game.
Wednesday’s game is a chance for Boston to assert itself against a team it might very well see again at the finish line of the season. It’s one more chance to send a message to the league about who the defending champs are and how good they can be when the lights are the brightest.
