In their big chance to show they were still the NBA’s alpha, Boston sent the opposite message. And I’m ready to maybe-sorta-kinda freak out about it.
The Boston Celtics just got bonked over the head by the Oklahoma City Thunder. But how big of a disaster is this really?
Short answer: fairly large. The Celtics had their full arsenal facing a partially depleted Thunder team, and they got snuffed out like a little artisan candle facing an industrial-grade fire blanket. Boston had an excellent first half, but faced serious resistance from a possessed group of Thunder defenders. Presumably terrified, the Celtics were unable to hit a three for the better part of an hour, and promptly lost.
This is the type of loss I’m tempted to forget about. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because it’s not statistically to matter that much particularly now. The Celtics have a whole Eastern Conference to worry about before they find the Thunder in the NBA Finals, and OKC will have to get there in the first place, no small task in a jumbled west.
But unfortunately, we can’t forget about it. Because the Celtics may have just lost The Belt.
The NBA isn’t a zero-sum game. There are degrees of success, with some teams thinking championship-or-bust, while others are actively trying to lose. But there is always that one team that inspires a unique kind of fear. One that feels inevitable, indestructible. The one that won’t be denied no matter how many locks you put on the door. That team has The Belt. Until last night, that was the Boston Celtics. But now, I think it’s Thunder.
Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images
What even is The Belt, you may ask? Well, The Belt is different from the champion, and is of course less prestigious. The title defense will always supersede it, but The Belt does carry a somewhat-special purpose in NBA discourse. It’s an entirely constructed narrative, and because there isn’t a once-yearly trophy attached to it, it can be passed much more freely. The team with The Belt doesn’t have to lose to the team that takes it, but it certainly helps. And that’s what the Thunder just did.
Sometime circa the 3rd quarter, the Thunder solved the geometry of the game and hit the Celtics like a natural disaster. They began switching more aggressively, closing out like maniacs and flying around like peregrine falcons dive-bombing unsuspecting Celtics ball-handlers. It was something to behold, like rare footage from the eye of a hurricane or of a great white shark breaching the surface. It was a perfect storm, and shocking to see the full-strength Celtics totally swept away by it.
It was also emotionally traumatic, as it was totally explainable and not even remotely a fluke. Yes, the Celtics shot poorly from three, but that’s because the Thunder defense had them questioning their lefts and rights. They got punked, and it’s the type of loss that is liable to make you question the fabric of the universe or if your team still has what it takes. It is the first loss of that color since Celtics-Clippers on January 27 of last year. They’re like blue moons.
Like the Clippers loss last year, the Celtics got out-physical’d and out-executed, though this time is arguably more concerning given the Thunder were missing both Alex Caruso and Chet Holmgren. At full tilt, this team is horrifying, and… horrifyingly young. They may have won 15 games in a row, but what if they just don’t lose for the next five years? What is there to do? Give up? Become a die-hard rugby fan? Swear off sports entirely and take up piano lessons? What if they five-peat and go 455-0 in that stretch?!
(Deep breath)
As I said with the Nuggets last year after they impressively handled the Celtics in Denver, the odds of actually running into Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals is not very high. It seems almost certain now, but that’s because the playoffs haven’t started. People get injured, teams get upset. In short, shi…chicanery happens. And the Celtics should rightly focus on the East before they freak out about the West.
Thankfully, the Celtics will have March 12 at home to maybe take The Belt back, or perhaps send me into an even further freak-out spiral than I’m already in. But that was bad, and bad enough to force some big, uncomfortable questions. The only thing Boston can do now is start answering them, and then we’ll all see which ones we like. Gulp.