Sometimes, the NBA is very weird and unexpected – just ask fans of the Boston Celtics.
Most people expected the Celtics to easily put the Oklahoma City Thunder away on Tuesday night.
This was even more true because the Thunder weren’t going to have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was sitting out with an injury.
It should have been easy work for the number one team in the East.
It wasn’t.
Malcolm Brogdon says the Celtics didn't play with the intensity they should've once they learned SGA was out. 🫥 pic.twitter.com/H4BHO8mOgK
— theScore (@theScore) January 4, 2023
In the end, the Thunder left the Celtics speechless as they beat them 150-117, an absolute drubbing that few people saw coming.
Following the game, Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon got honest about how the team let their guard down and thought they had an easy victory in the bag.
“We took a deep breath and relaxed,” Brogdon said about finding out Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t suiting up.
“Honestly, we should know better than to come out and not play with aggression, not play with energy and urgency.”
These are all fair points from Brogdon and, hopefully, the Celtics don’t make the same mistakes again.
The Celtics will look to bounce back quickly but their next opponent will be more difficult than the last: Boston will be in Dallas on Thursday to take on the Mavericks, who have been steaming ahead at full speed lately.
The entire Thunder roster showed up on Tuesday and there were multiple guys who scored more than 20 points.
That means that even with Jaylen Brown‘s 29 points and Jayson Tatum‘s 27, the Celtics couldn’t overcome.
Winning an NBA game is about more than numbers and stats, there is much to be said about aggression and urgency, just like Brogdon said.
The Celtics didn’t play with authority and purpose on Tuesday and it showed.
NEXT: Video Shows Marcus Smart Frustration Tuesday Night