All looked well for the OKC Thunder ahead of their game last night against Philadelphia, but then just hours before tip-off the Sixers decided to bring back Joel Embiid. The Thunder couldn’t do much to contain the reigning MVP, he scored 24 points and dished out 7 assists in a 109-105 defeat for OKC. Very discouraging for a team that’s playing a 2nd night of a back-to-back in Boston tonight. Granted, OKC did win the first meeting of the season 127-123 back in early March, but we still don’t know if they’ll have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander available tonight. He has been bothered by a quad injury lately, after sitting out last night’s game there is a chance he might suit up here. The Thunder could definitely use him, they’ve got just 4 wins in the last 9 meetings against the Celtics.
It's only a matter of time when the Celtics clinch the number 1 seed throughout the entire postseason, getting a win over the Thunder gets them a game closer to achieving that goal. They’re coming off a convincing 118-104 win at Charlotte on Monday night and although they didn’t cover as 18.5 point favorites, the Cs will still take the win. With the game seemingly under control early, the starters didn’t have to exert themselves too much so the rest advantage is on Boston’s side coming into this game. Containing SGA will be a priority, he had 36 in that first meeting in early March and was the main reason why the Thunder got the win. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are eager to lock him up and I think they have a pretty solid chance of doing so with him not being at 100% here.
