Three reasons why Thunder are Celtics' top threat to title repeat

With all due respect to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two-best teams in pro basketball will meet at TD Garden on Wednesday night when the defending champion Boston Celtics host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a potential 2025 NBA Finals preview.

The Thunder lead the Western Conference standings with a 53-12 record. They have won three of their last four games against the Celtics, including a 105-92 victory in OKC back in January.

The C's are second in the Eastern Conference with a 47-18 record. The Celtics have won five games in a row and eight of their last 10, including victories versus top contenders such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets on the current homestand.

The Thunder are the favorite to win the West and reach the Finals for the first time since 2012. But they are a young team without a ton of experience. This group has not yet advanced past the conference semifinals in the playoffs.

It wouldn't be surprising at all if their breakthrough comes this season, however. In fact, a strong argument could be made that the Thunder represent the biggest roadblock for the Celtics on their quest to repeat as champions.

Let's look at three reasons why OKC is such a tough opponent for a team like the Celtics.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is almost impossible to defend

Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite for league MVP, and it's not hard to see why. He's averaging a league-leading 32.7 points per game, while adding 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per contest. He's also shooting an impressive 52.5 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.

Gilgeous-Alexander almost never has a bad game. For example, he has scored 20-plus points in 59 consecutive games. No other active player has a streak longer than nine. If he scores 20-plus against the Celtics on Wednesday, he'll become just the seventh player ever to put up that many points in 60 straight games, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

The beauty of Gilgeous-Alexander's offensive game is that he scores a ton of points without relying on 3-point shots. He scored 41 points against the Grizzlies last week and made only three 3-pointers in that game. He hasn't made more than five 3-pointers in any game this season. He is an elite finisher at the basket, his midrange game is phenomenal, and he consistently gets to the free throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 8.9 free throw attempts per game are the second-most in the league, and he makes 90 percent of them. He's one of just eight players shooting 90 percent or better on free throws.

The 26-year-old guard also has performed quite well in his career against the Celtics, averaging 25.1 points, 5.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds in eight career games. He has dominated the C's in his last three matchups:

• Jan. 5, 2025: 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals, two blocks in 105-92 win at home
• Jan. 2, 2024: 36 points, seven assists, six rebounds in 127-123 win at home
• Nov. 14, 2023: 37 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two steals in 126-122 loss on the road

The Celtics sometimes struggle to defend guards like SGA and Donovan Mitchell who can create their own shot in any situation and attack the basket. They also do a tremendous job creating contact and picking up fouls.

Completely shutting down Gilgeous-Alexander is a near-impossible task, but if the Celtics can make him work hard for his points and keep him off the free throw line, all of a sudden the Thunder become a lot more beatable. OKC doesn't have a No. 2 scorer who strikes fear in opponents. That puts a lot of pressure on Gilgeous-Alexander, but he has risen to the challenge so far.

Thunder are elite defensively

The Thunder rank No. 4 in offensive rating, No. 1 in defensive rating and No. 1 in net rating. They are one of only two teams, along with the Celtics, that rank top-five in both offensive and defensive rating.

The defensive end of the court is really where the Thunder shine, though. They lead the league in the following defensive categories:

• Defensive rating: 106.1
• Deflections: 21.8 per game
• Fewest fast break points allowed: 12.3 per game
• Fewest points in the paint allowed: 43.6 per game
• Opponents' 2-point percentage: 51.6
• Opponents' 3-point percentage: 33.6
• Opponent field goal percentage: 43.6
• Points off turnovers: 22.1
• Steals: 10.7 per game
• Turnover differential: plus-5.7 per game

The Thunder have several good wing defenders, highlighted by Jalen Williams (who won't play Wednesday night), Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, as well as multiple centers who protect the rim, including Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

This team has the athleticism, size and length needed to disrupt the best offenses in basketball.

Thunder defend 3-point line better than anyone

The Thunder lead the league in opponents' 3-point percentage. Teams are shooting just 33.6 percent on 3-pointers versus OKC.

The Celtics are often unbeatable when they're hitting a lot of 3-pointers, and they are on pace to break league records for the most 3-point shots made and attempted by a team in a single season. The Thunder, with their abundance of wing defenders, are well-equipped to contest 3-point shots and force opponents to put the ball on the floor.

We got a glimpse of this stellar perimeter defense in the Jan. 5 matchup between these teams in OKC. The Thunder held the Celtics to an abysmal 9-for-46 (19.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Zero Celtics players made more than two 3-pointers in that matchup.

It's important not to put too much of an emphasis on one game, but to put it into perspective, that loss to the Thunder is one of only two games this season in which the Celtics have made fewer than 10 3-pointers.

And since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Celtics are shooting just 31 percent on 3-pointers against the Thunder in five games over that span.

The Thunder's ability to guard the 3-point line makes them a tougher matchup for the Celtics than just about any other potential playoff opponent. The best way to beat the Celtics is make it tough for them to hit 15-plus 3-pointers. Boston is 41-12 this season when it makes 15 or more 3-point shots.