The Celtics have a tall mountain to climb to even get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2022. Getting past the Bucks, 76ers and even a longtime nemesis like the Heat will be no easy task despite Boston’s big-name additions this offseason. While the level of urgency can’t get much higher for this group given the way the 2023 postseason ended, the Celtics’ loss to the Thunder Tuesday night also provided a bit of an eye-opener for a squad just emerging on the national scene.
Boston had their full starting five available for this matchup and they were torched by the Thunder’s offense in a 127-123 loss, dropping that unit to 14-2 on the year when they play together. Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points each in the loss but it wasn’t enough against a Thunder squad with an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and an imposing supporting cast with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey among others.
“That’s a talented young team,” Porzingis told reporters in Oklahoma City, “and I don’t believe this was some fluke game for them.”
Oklahoma City improved to 23-9 with the win over the Celtics, giving them five straight victories overall and putting them just one game behind the Wolves for the Western Conference lead in the standings. While there is plenty of formidable competition in the West this year between the defending champions in Denver, the conference looks a little more wide open than expected with some unproven (Minnesota) and constantly unhealthy (LA Clippers) at the top of the standings beside them.
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The Thunder not only look like the real deal through 32 games but they are in a position of power. Nearly every other contender in the West has depleted their asset pool of draft picks and young talent. Sam Presti has done the exact opposite in Oklahoma City. He has a boatload of future first-round picks he has been assembling for the past several years and a bench loaded with young talent. The Thunder have the assets to take a swing on a big name in the trade market in the next month and that could push them towards a top-tier contender alongside Boston. Performances like we saw against the Celtics Tuesday night show this group that can go toe to toe with the NBA’s best.
Whether or not Presti is willing to take a bigger swing this early remains to be seen. This group is still incredibly young so there is a case for letting the young guys like Holmgren and Williams develop with the way this group is currently composed.
However, holding onto future draft picks too tightly can come back to bite at times with an overachieving young team (ask Danny Ainge). If Presti sees a window of opportunity now with some of his young guys on cheap rookie deals, a strong case can be made to push his chips in before he has to pay everyone bigger deals in short order.
The Celtics should be rooting for him to take the patient approach in the meantime since this team is a matchup nightmare for Boston. They may even be good enough as is for a deep run in the West Playoffs but they are guaranteed to be a handful in the years to come. As tough budget decisions come in a couple years for Boston that may force key players out the door, the Thunder has the weapons to continue to add talent to this already impressive core.
That reality should only increase the urgency for the Celtics in the present to take advantage of this unique window with this group. The Thunder may wait to make a push towards becoming a top-tier contender but their entry into that group could be coming much sooner than expected.
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