Tonight, an NBA team’s double-digit win streak will come to an end.
The 31-4 Cleveland Cavaliers (10 straight wins) will host the 30-5 Oklahoma City Thunder (15 straight wins) in a battle of conference leaders, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell will go head-to-head for the first time this campaign.
For Celtics fans, the contest serves as a measuring stick. Which of these two juggernauts is ready to compete for the title?
Both have already defeated Boston this season. After the Celtics handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season on November 19th, Cleveland responded by besting the Celtics, 115-111, on December 1st. The Thunder and Celtics had their first encounter this past Sunday, where Oklahoma City overcame Boston’s double-digit third quarter lead and emerged victorious, 105-92.
Despite these disappointing showing from the Celtics, their status as defending NBA champions still has them garnering recognition as this year’s title favorites. While they may not finish with the first seed, they’ve shown they can win at the highest level. However, these two teams are viable threats to Boston’s hope of repeating as champs. If the Celtics faced either one of these teams in a seven-game series, how do they match up?
Beginning with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics would likely still be considered the favorites in a potential playoff series. They defeated the Cavs in last year’s playoffs, 4-1, with very similar rosters for both teams. The biggest change is in the form of Cleveland’s new coach, Kenny Atkinson, who has the Cavaliers in a much better position than this time last year. Additionally, Jarrett Allen sat out for that entire series, while Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games. The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis.
Matchup-wise, this could be a grueling series for Boston. The Celtics currently rank 18th in opposing points in the paint. Cleveland’s starting lineup includes both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, two players who can pose serious threats in the post. Donovan Mitchell averages 30.2 points per game against the Celtics, a sizeable jump from his career rate of 24.2 points per game.
A Thunder-Celtics series is much more difficult to predict. The face of their franchise, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is a true MVP candidate who’s third in the league in points per game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has only faced the Celtics twice in the last two seasons. In both games, the Thunder won at home. Oklahoma City continues to improve and is yet to play a game fully healthy. Chet Holmgren is recovering from a hip injury, and Isaiah Hartenstein missed a chunk of games at the beginning of the season. The Thunder lead the league in defensive rating and net rating. Between their perennial MVP candidate, great coaching, elite defense, and ability to withstand injuries, it’s hard to pick any team to beat them right now.
While it may look grim on paper, the Celtics have a distinct advantage in a category that goes beyond the stat sheet. The gap in experience between Boston and either of these teams is enormous. Besides the obvious factor of just winning a championship, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have played together in two finals series and five Eastern Conference finals. Jrue Holiday has two championships. Al Horford has been in the league for 17 years. Cleveland has two players (Max Strus and Tristan Thompson) who have been to the finals, while Oklahoma City has one (Alex Caruso).
Additionally, it’s possible that the Celtics record reflects a “championship hangover” effect. It’s hard to maintain motivation for all 82 games of an NBA season, which could explain why the Celtics have dropped more than they had at this point last year.
Regardless, it’s very likely that Boston will have to run through one or both of these teams in order to raise Banner 19 on next season’s opening night. Tonight provides a great opportunity to see which one is more ready for the task of defeating the defending champions.
