Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City is coming into this match looking monstrous! Who in the world can stop Russell Westbrook? I mean, it is not fair anymore. It seriously looks like other teams have little kids playing against Russell, because nobody can do anything. He is still averaging a triple-double per game. That is impressive alone, but I just want to ask you all: how in the world can someone let a PG average over 10 rebounds per game? He is the best rebounder of his team...

Anyway, Thunder will be looking strong and will do it all to defend their home court against Celtics. After all, Thunder is on a winning path, they have a great chemistry, and their game is still improving. In my opinion, OKC is the favorites on this one.

Leaders of Oklahoma City Thunder:

Well, if we are talking about leaders of Oklahoma City Thunder, it is pretty straightforward - Russell Westbrook. The guy is playing explosive basketball and he is averaging triple double per game! That is sick on so many levels that I cannot process it in my head. The last guy who averaged triple double in December was legendary Oscar Robertson. Nuff said.

Of course, there are other guys as well. Victor Oladipo is solid second option in offense, he is playing consistent, and better with every day. Steven Adams has found his scoring game, averages over 10 points, and is playing the main big guy of this OKC team. Also, other big guys like Kanter, Sabonis, and Lauvergne are always waiting for their moments, and usually capitalize on them.

Talking about Domantas Sabonis - he is a son of legendary Arvydas Sabonis. Even though, Domantas is still having a lot of troubles against tougher opponents, his skills and basketball IQ are surprising every basketball analytic. This kid was a win of OKC management during the off-season, and we will see how Sabonis is evolving into a great NBA player in upcoming years.

Source

The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which it owns. The Thunder is the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma.

The team was originally established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics relocated in 2008 after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington following a lawsuit. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, and won the 1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They followed that success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.

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Boston Celtics

After the last big 3 went to different directions, Boston Celtics were struggling to find their best basketball. However, it seems that those days are over, and this year's Celtics might easily reach Conference finals, and even more. They won their last 7 out of 10 games, and 6 victories were on the road. It only shows how good of an away team, Boston is.

Celtics will fancy their chances against OKC as well, but only if Isaiah Thomas will be fit for the game. At this very moment his is questionable, because of the ankle injury, he faced on Wednesday's game against Orlando. Without Thomas, it might be too hard to fight Thunder, so all Boston will be hoping to see Thomas getting fit as fast as possible.

Leaders of Boston Celtics:

This year, Celtics are showing great team basketball, and every member of the team gets a chance to show his talents, and it is so important in a long run, because the leaders get a chance to rest. However, when we are talking about clutch moments, we have to distinguish 3 players, who are the true leaders of this team.

Avery Bradley. This guy was the 19th pick by Celtics in the 2010 drafts. Since then, he is loyal to Boston and the results are starting to show. Man oh man, how Avery has improved in those years. He is one of the main options at the offensive end for the last 3 years; however, this season is his best yet. Avery averages 18 points per game with impressive 40 percent shooting beyond the arc. Also, being a guard, he adds 7.8 rebounds per game and that is the best result in the team. Impressive.

Al Horford. Al joined Boston this off-season. Earlier, while representing Atlanta, he proved himself to be one of the best centers in the league. Nothing has changed this year as well. He is currently averaging 15 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. It is pretty good numbers for a center; especially those 5 assists. It shows that he is not only good to fight in the paint, but he also has a great vision of the court and can timely pass the ball to open guys. That is why it is not wise to put a double defense on him, but without that - only a few players in the league can defend Al.

Isaiah Thomas. It is the second season for Isaiah with Boston Celtics, and someone please tell me what the hell happened. He just went from being really good to a beast mode. Isaiah is the main guy of this Boston team, averaging 26 points per game. His crossovers are simply stunning and there is only a few players in the league that can keep up with his pace. In my opinion, he is one of the most improved players from last year, and I am pretty sure that we will see Isaiah in this year's NBA all-star game.

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The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams (out of 23 total teams) to survive the league's first decade, the team is owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Boston Bruins. The franchise's 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, and account for 24.6 percent of all NBA championships since the league's founding in 1946. As a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues.

The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the Finals, including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010, where the Celtics have won nine meetings (but only two since 1980). Four Celtics players (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards.Their mascot 'Lucky the Leprechaun' is a nod to the team's Irish heritage and to Boston's historically large Irish population.

The Celtics rose again after struggling through the 1990s to win a championship in 2008 with the help of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in what was known as the new "Big 3" era, following the original "Big 3" era of the 1980s that featured Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.

After the end of the Big 3, general manager Danny Ainge began a rebuilding process with the help of new head coach Brad Stevens, who led the Celtics to a return to the playoffs in 2015.