OKC Thunder vs. Celtics Stats Comparison
In spite of their will to win, this team doesn’t have copious All-Stars, All-NBA assets, or grizzled vets to help the squad win in those close contests.
What they do have is a burgeoning All-NBA, All-Star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is making the case to be on both those aforementioned teams.
Although he’s only in his fifth season he’s got the second-longest NBA tenure (Mike Muscala) on the Thunder and is functioning as the team’s captain.
Safe to say, he excels in that role!
Through 13 games there were nights when it seemed like SGA was trying to carry the entire offensive burden as the club struggled to put points on the board.
But having to face the Bucks, Raptors, and Knicks who all began last week with impressive defensive statistics seemed to coincide with Mark Daigneault figuring out where this roster can excel offensively.
I’m not sure I’ve seen the Raptors ever allow so many weak side, back cuts leading to easy lay-ins or dunks, or the Bucks allow 64 points in the paint, or a Tom Thibodeau defense allow an opponent to score back-to-back 43-point quarters. The Thunder did that in three successive contests!
The Celtics bring a six-game win streak to the hardwood and have lost just a single time at TD Garden.
They boast the top offense scoring the most points per game: (119.5), rank second for field goal percentage (48.4%), and third in 3-point efficiency (39.0%).
Defensively, they began the season seemingly ignoring that side of the court but after losing three of four games, refocused as they realized they couldn’t wait for Robert Williams to return to play on both sides of the hardwood.
Overall they rank 17th in opponent scoring allowing 113.5 points per game with their foes shooting 46% from the field and 36.2 % from the perimeter which ranks 12 and 19th respectively.
For the majority of the season, the Thunder were nestled in the basement offensively but these last three matches resulted in a charge up the ladder.
Specifically, the Thunder who ranked 23rd in scoring prior to the weekend jumped all the way to ninth (115.8). And they’re no longer in the basement for efficiency ranking 21st in field goal percentage (46.4%) and 26th for perimeter efficiency (33.0%).
Defensively, the OKC Thunder rank 22nd for opponent scoring (115.5), while allowing opponents to shoot 46.2% from the field (13th) and 35.7% from the perimeter (16th).