A potential preview of the 2024 NBA Finals is on tap this Thursday, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics lock horns in a showdown between Western and Eastern powers. Will the Thunder strike in Beantown? Or, will the Celtics neutralize the visitors?
Catch this game live on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 7:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Oklahoma City Thunder (52-23, 23-15 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (DTD)
- Josh Giddey
- Luguentz Dort
- Jalen Williams (DTD)
- Chet Holmgren
The Thunder are a lock to make the playoffs, but there is still so much to play for this young squad. For one, the Thunder are very much in play to win the top seed in the Western Conference, as they are currently sitting in the third place of the West’s standings with a 52-23 record — just half a game behind the leading Denver Nuggets and have the same record as the No. 2 Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, there is a chance that Oklahoma City’s best player will not be there to help the Thunder on the court versus the Celtics, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dealing with a quad issue that forced him to miss Tuesday’s 109-105 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. It can be recalled that SGA had 26 points on 14/22 shooting in the Thunder’s 127-123 home win against Boston last January. Either way, the Thunder are carrying an impressive 8-2 record against the spread in their last 10 games against the Celtics, dating back to the 2018-19 season. They have also covered the spread in all of the last six meetings with the Celtics.
Home: Boston Celtics (59-16, 32-3 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Jrue Holiday
- Derrick White
- Jaylen Brown (Questionable )
- Jayson Tatum
- Kristaps Porzingis
Boston did what it was supposed to do on Tuesday and that was destroy the lowly Charlotte Hornets. With Jayson Tatum powering the Celtics, they ripped the Hornets in a 118-104 win to finish a six-game road trip on a high note. Tatum scored 25 points against the Hornets, while Sam Hauser came off the bench and fired 25 points on the strength of seven triples.
The Celtics barely felt they were missing Jaylen Brown, who did not suit up because of a left-hand sprain. The Celtics are just too talented and stacked to weather an absence of a player like Brown (even though it was just Charlotte they dealt with in their last game). Boston remains a powerful team with a +11.4 average scoring margin this season — the best in the league. The Celtics are also top-five in the league in both scoring (120.9 points per game) and scoring defense (109.4 points allowed per outing).
Picks
Spread: Boston Celtics (-9.5)
Over/Under: Under (230.0)
