Oklahoma vs Celtics Prediction 5 January 2025

🔊 How will the champions withstand the fierce resistance of the Western leader? The NBA regular season brings us a clash between Oklahoma and Boston. The hosts have excellent defense, which may cause significant problems for the Celtics' offense. A tough basketball game is predicted, in which Daigneault's team will have a good chance of winning. The "Paycom Center" will try to exert psychological pressure on the Celtics.

📊 HEAD-TO-HEAD

The last encounter resulted in a major victory for the Celtics with a score of 135:100. 4 out of the last 5 head-to-head meetings ended with a victory for those with the home court advantage.

🔵 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Oklahoma is demonstrating exemplary basketball, with an 85.3% win rate. The leader of the Western Conference is capable of challenging the reigning champion. Yes, the absence of Caruso and Holmgren is concerning, but recent matches indicate the Thunder are in great form. Recently, they managed to deal with New York (117:107). Prior to that, there were diverse style victories over the Clippers (116:98), Minnesota (113:105), and Memphis (130:106). We understand that Oklahoma will primarily play from defense - on average, the team concedes 103.3 points. This is the best result in the league. As for offense, Gilgeous-Alexander and company appear to be solid mid-tier players: 115.4 points per game. The execution of free throws is also significant: 81.3% (2nd). Against Boston, there will be many moments where the Thunder will tempt fouls. The match will be challenging - it might be possible to stifle the champion's offense, which risks playing without a pair of leaders.

🟢 BOSTON CELTICS

Brown and Horford are major doubts for the upcoming game against the Celtics. Tatum can easily take on more responsibility, but this does not guarantee high efficiency against the Thunder. Boston's offense seems quite simple: it involves as many long-range shots as possible. As long as they hit, the team wins. 119.3 points per game is a decent figure, but it will be a bit tougher against top defense. Yes, they recently managed to defeat a fairly defensive team, Houston (109:86). But the away factor, as well as Brown's absence, might severely impact the quality of their offense. The Celtics' defense, except for lapses like the game against Indiana (123:114), looks decent. But in very intense games, they might lack strength - from the bench, Pritchard and Hauser come out for the guests. But apart from them, Mazzulla has no one else to field.

📝 EDITORIAL PREDICTION

In this matchup, we cannot identify a clear favorite. Boston has status, while Oklahoma has current form and excellent defense. It is quite likely that the hosts will manage to set up good perimeter defense. Especially considering that in terms of anthropometry, they even surpass their opponent. Oklahoma has large and very agile players who are the best in steals (11.8 per game). The Celtics might be stunned by the level of resistance. And some players might start missing shots - White, for instance, isn't showing the same magic he did last season. Our editorial suggests that the depth of the roster and home court advantage will allow the Thunder to approach victory. Therefore, we propose a bet on Oklahoma's victory.