Many believe this will be the Finals matchup including myself. Last night’s showing wasn’t the prettiest sight. OKC was trailing most of the way, but turned their defense up in the 2nd half which led to them getting the win. There are a few takeaways from this game.

The Celtics shot the 3 horribly, going 9-46 which is 19.6%, this kind of shooting performance is a rarity. I don’t want to discredit the Thunder’s defense, but it was a combination of Thunder defense and some shots that just weren’t falling. We all understand that’s what you sign up for when your philosophy is to live and die by the 3 like so many teams do. Any other night I believe the Celtics would have gotten this win.

Concerns for the Thunder, JDub had an off game and I have been skeptical of JDub as the second option for this team. Strictly when it comes to playoffs and more specifically the finals can JDub be that robin SGA needs. SGA did his thing scoring 33 pts, 11 rebs and 6 assts. The Thunder got a nice contribution from Aaron Wiggins (15 points off the bench), but will you he be able to do that consistently in a 7 game series. Keep in mind Alex Caruso and Chet Holgrem were also out for this game. We also know the Thunder get the job done by committee and playing team basketball. We should be confident in the Thunder after this win right?

I believe this was more of a Celtic poor performance than a convincing Thunder win. I’m not saying the Thunder can’t win a 7 game series against the Celtics, but I still think they need Jimmy Butler. Yes it’s clear I’m a huge fan of the guy, but this could be OKC’s perfect opportunity to land him and win a championship. If I was apart of the Thunder’s FO I’m calling Pat Riley, offering Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng and the draft picks included would be negotiable. By doing this the Thunder would put themselves in the 2nd apron of the NBA’s salary cap. That’s fine, they’re trying to win a championship. Would Pat Riley accept this type of offer? From what it sounds like he isn’t getting any offers that are intriguing. The Thunder need to really cement their chances and get Butler by holding picks over Riley’s head.

Why Butler? I don’t believe this needs to be discussed. All basketball fans know what Jimmy does in the playoffs. We have seen it year in and year out. Put Butler on a loaded Thunder team there is no doubt in my mind they win it all. Butler is a veteran with playoff and finals experience, an absolute dog, one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA, plays hard defense like the rest of the Thunder. Lastly, it gives the Thunder another certified shot creator and bucket getter. Go get Butler and win a championship.