NBA (3/25) | Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Boston Celtics: Battle for MVP
Written by: Varun Sharma
Published: Wed Mar 25, 2026, 4:59 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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Big time matchup at TD Garden tonight with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Boston Celtics. Superstars on both sides. Two MVP candidates going head to head and (maybe) a potential NBA Finals preview?
We've got a lot to talk about, let's jump right into it.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: TD Garden; Boston, Massachusetts
- Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2026
- Tipoff: 7:40 PM EST
Key Players
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC): 33.4 MPG | 31.5 PPG | 4.5 RPG | 6.6 APG
- Jaylen Brown (BOS): 34.2 MPG | 28.5 PPG | 7.0 RPG | 5.1 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Back to Back?
The Oklahoma City Thunder once again have the best record in the NBA, a top-3 offense and a top-3 defense. The team has been elite across the board and it all begins with their MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Shai's averaging 31.5 points per game this year, shooting 56% from the field and 39% from three. His volume from outside is minimal but his impact on the offense can't even be quantified. Shai's third in NBA in points created, 2nd in points per game and he's once again the favorite to win this year's MVP award.
The Thunder have had a ton of missed games between their starters and still haven't missed a beat. Head Coach Mark Daigneault has done a great job of developing this roster and it seems like when one guy goes down, someone's more than ready to fill in.
Oklahoma City's 2nd leading scorer, Jaylen Williams, has played just 27 games this year and he just recently made his return to the lineup. He's averaging 17.5 points per game in just 28.7 minutes and he's shot the ball extremely well (48%).
The only issue with JDub's been his availability and with just 10 regular season games left, it's tough to predict when he'll be back to playing 30+ minutes.
Oklahoma City's success revolves around Shai and as long as he's out there, this team's got a chance to win.
Growing Pains
Jayson Tatum's now played in eight games this year, the team's won six of those games and he's played over 30 minutes in five straight games. This is all less than a year after tearing his achilles and being told he wouldn't even play this year.
With so much chatter about the Celtics and how this team's going to function with Tatum back, they've been great. With JT on the court this year, their offensive rating sits at 118.4; 3-points lower than with him off the floor but that's expected with how poorly he's shooting.
Defensively, the team gets significantly better with Tatum on the floor. Boston's defensive rating drops 8-points to 104.8 with Tatum on the floor and their net rating jumps to +13.6. With both Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the floor, that defensive rating drops to 100.8 and their net rating jumps to 18.7.
We haven't seen Boston's full potential yet but what we've seen so far has been promising. Not just because of Tatum's progression from his achilles injury but the teams won six of the eight games he's played in. Tonight they enter TD Garden as an underdog in their own house and look to upset the defending Champs.
Wednesday Night's Best Bets
Jared McCain o1.5 3s (+140) | Lucky Rebel
Jared McCain has been incredibly fun to bet, but tonight's going to be a sweat. We've got a 3-point spread in this game and it's looking like we're going to see a fairly close game. With this being a close game, McCain's playing time is more likely to be limited but his 3-point shooting has just been so good.
The Celtics have struggle to guard the perimeter this year, ranking 23rd in 3s allowed, 22nd in wide open 3-point attempts allowed and 28th in opponent 3-point frequency. Boston's style of play makes their opponents shoot more 3s and McCain's been one of the Thunder's most reliable shooters since the trade.
McCain leads the Thunder in wide open 3-point attempts per game (3.4) and he's shooting 43% from three in the month of March. He's comfortable on the east coast and tonight in Boston I just think two threes isn't asking for a lot.
Jayson Tatum o8.5 Rebounds (+100) | Lucky Rebel
No big sell job on this one. Tatum's played just eight games this year but in the small sample size he's already taken over as the team's leading rebounder. He's averaging 8.9 rebounds per game this year and he's cleared this line in four of the five games he's played 30+ minutes.
The Thunder rank 28th in offensive rebound rate and they just haven't put a ton of pressure on the offensive glass. We've got a low total at 220 and I'm expecting enough missed shots to get Tatum over this line.
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