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| Former Celtic Kendrick Perkins will make his second appearance back in Boston as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. |
Things don't get any easier for the Celtics as the Oklahoma City Thunder (9-3) pay the Celtics (6-6) a quick visit.
After a bad loss on Wednesday night, the Celtics will look to clamp down defensively. However, that may be quite a task as the Thunder are the second in the league in scoring at 103 points per game and boast the three-time reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant.
Boston allowed San Antonio to shoot 58% from the floor, grab 16 more rebounds, and let Tiago Splitter (yes, Tiago Splitter) score 23 points off the bench while only missing two shots. The only reason the game was close was that the fact that the Celtics had a nice offensive game as well shooting 53%. However, in almost every other statistical category, the Celtics were basically crushed.
The Celtics had yesterday off to clear their minds and stuff their stomachs. Now it's back to work. This is the first time Jeff Green will face his former team. This is the second time Kendrick Perkins will return to the TD Garden. Will emotions play a role in tonight's outcome? We'll just have to wait and see.
Projected lineups:
Thunder:
Russell Westbrook
Thabo Sefolosha
Kevin Durant
Serge Ibaka
Kendrick Perkins
Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Jason Terry
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett
Keys to the game:
1. DEFENSE!: When the Celtics hold their opponents under 100 points, they're 6-1. So if you want to really simplify things, the key to the Celtics' success is keeping their opponent under 100. It's as simple as that, right? But with a team that averages 103, that may be difficult. But, nonetheless, the Celtics need big improvements defensively. The Celtics rotations need to be better, and they need to be able to get stops when they need them. Letting the Spurs have their way on the offensive end was pretty embarrassing, but it goes to show that this team still has a long way to go if they want to be elite. In order to be the best, you gotta beat the best. The Celtics can help their cause by beating the second-best team in the West tonight.
2. Containing Westbrook: This game features a matchup of arguably the two best point guards in the NBA in Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook. While Westbrook has scored more points in each of the seven games they've played against each other, Rondo has more assists. Something has to give, right? Well here's something to look for. When Rondo has a higher field-goal percentage than his opponent that night, the Celtics are 6-2. For the season, Rondo is shooting 53% from the field to Westbrook's 41%. If that trend continues tonight, the Celtics will be in good shape.
3. Stopping everybody else: Kevin Durant did not have a good game on Wednesday night. He missed 12 of his 19 shots and turned the ball over 6 times. Yet he still scored a season-high 35 points. What am I getting at? Kevin Durant is going to get his points, and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. So where does that leave the Celtics? They need to focus their attention on making sure guys like Kevin Martin and Serge Ibaka don't have a big impact. Ibaka is a tough matchup. He can shoot from the outside, but he's also an absolute beast on the glass and in the paint, so someone needs to step up (Brandon Bass?) Look for Courtney Lee to have a big impact tonight. He will most likely be matched up with Martin, and if he can bring out that defensive prowess he's shown in spurts for a full game tonight and use his quickness to beat Martin off the dribble, Lee could be a difference-maker.
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