The Boston Celtics look to get back on track tonight in Oklahoma City after dropping their first game of the new year to the Denver Nuggets the last time this team took the court.

While the Thunder, on the other hand, have lost their last two games and will play their first of 2023, as they’re set to host the Celtics tonight.

Let’s “open up the files” on the 38th game of the season vs the Thunder.

For starters, the battle between Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgerous-Alexander will be on display tonight, as they’re neck-and-neck with each other in points per game, as Tatum is ranked fourth and SGA fifth in the NBA.

And as we know, Tatum plays his best when there’s another high-caliber player sharing the court with him.

But Tatum isn’t the only player the Thunder will have to watch out for tonight, as Jaylen Brown is playing the best basketball of his career right now this season, averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, all career-highs.

In some ways, Brown can be more dangerous than Tatum as he always gets started early in games and can remain consistent throughout more often than Tatum.

The Thunder are mostly a middle of the pack team, but in certain areas they’re near the top of the league, ranking sixth in steals per game 8.0), eighth in rebounds per game (44.6), and seventh in blocks per game (5.2). 

As we learned from the weekend mini-series with the Orlando Magic, the Celtics can’t take any teams lightly, and tonight’s game is another example of that.

This will be a great opportunity for the Celtics to right a few of their recent wrongs from their last game where they shot 27.3 percent of their 3-point attempts (9-33).

This will be a good game for the Celtics to get back on track and earn their first victory in 2023.

Celtics vs Thunder at the Paycom Center at 8:00 PM.

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Photo Credit: Alonzo Adams, USA TODAY