Preview: Celtics Look to Get Back to .500 Against Short-Handed Thunder Squad
Photo by Omar Rawlings | Getty Images
After a revitalizing win last night vs. the Bucks, Boston plays for the second night in a row tonight. They’ll take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been having a phenomenal season thus far. He’s averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists a night. Second on the team in scoring is an old friend of the Celtics - Al Horford. Horford is having a bounce-back season with the Thunder, putting up 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists a night. Other standout players for OKC include Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, George Hill, and Ty Jerome, all having double-digit scoring seasons.
The Thunder currently sit at 19-25, good for 13th in the Western Conference. They have performed better than most assumed they would after losing most of their key contributors from last season. They are 5-5 in their previous ten games, including wins over the Mavericks and Grizzlies.
Boston is riding the high of a monster win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics snapped Milwaukee’s eight-game win streak and did so in blowout fashion. It was close to a wire-to-wire victory for the Celtics, who just recently revamped their roster a bit. Danny Ainge moved former starting center Daniel Theis in a trade to Chicago and gave the keys to Robert Williams. Apparently, that was enough to recharge the team.
The Celtics still sit at one game below .500 and are in 7th in the East. Newly acquired wing Evan Fournier will make his debut for the team tonight. Fournier was traded from Orlando to Boston at the deadline to bring some much-needed wing depth and scoring to the Celtics rotation.
The trio of Romeo Langford, Tristan Thompson, and Semi Ojeleye all remain out for Boston tonight. The Thunder, on the other hand, will be without many of their key pieces. Gilgeous-Alexander has been ruled out for several weeks with a foot injury, while Bazley remains out with shoulder issues. Austin Rivers and Tony Bradley are also out. They were just traded to the Thunder and are not yet ready to play with the team. Wing Josh Hall is also listed as out on the Thunder’s injury report.
Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, the Banner Town Build Up, 30 minutes before the game on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook @GuyBostonSports. The Celtics will tip-off against the thunder at 9:00 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
