By Michael Doutey

The Thunder fall to 0-4 on the season as the Thunder lose to the Boston Celtics 101-95.  If you can think back to last season around this time when the Thunder last played the Celtics in OKC, then you already watched this game. It was almost the exact same game. The Thunder took a double-digit halftime lead by playing some of the best defense the Thunder had played. The Celtics made a run in the third quarter and eventually won the game.

The Thunder played well in spurts. But they also became their own worst enemy in the second half, especially over the final 4:22 of the game. The fact of the matter is that the Thunder are off to a horrible start and it is really hard to detect where the problems really are. Is this an issue of poor roster building? Is this a team with a coach wanting to implement a style of play the players can’t execute? Is it the players not carrying out what the coach wants? Are they simply not good enough as a team? There are lots of questions about this team right now with very few answers. I guess that is what the next 78 games will be about.

ONE: 4:22

I know many people are looking at the third quarter where the Thunder lost this game. While I won’t tell you that you are wrong, I will tell you that wasn’t the biggest reason OKC lost this game. The Thunder, even after falling behind in the second half, held a nine point lead with 4:22 to go. Alex Abrines nailed two threes and PG nailed a couple free throws to get the Thunder that lead. Over the rest of the game, OKC scored one point. One. Uno. The Celtics went on a 16-1 run, highlighted by the go-ahead three by Marcus Morris with 28.7 second left to go. The Thunder didn’t run any offense. And I have already been badgered by the “Billy can’t draw up any plays in crunch time” crowd. We all know who runs the show in OKC, especially during crunch time. Russ tried to take over, shooting three after three. He missed and the Thunder had no chance to win. This loss lands squarely on number 0. 

TWO: 3rd Quarter Woes

This was a problem the Thunder faced last season. OKC would build a first half lead and watch themselves give the lead away in the third quarter. That came back tonight. The Celtics, who shot 0-11 from three in the first half, came out of halftime shooting on fire. Boston shot 9-14 from three in the frame and scored 40 points. The Celtics only mustered 34 opening half points but could score 40 in one quarter. Al Horford nailed three trey’s in a row and then Marcus Morris nailed two more in a row right after. Still, the Thunder fought back and took a nine point lead deep in the fourth quarter. While this catastrophic third quarter didn’t cause the Thunder to lose, it certainly didn’t help them win. OKC has to play a full 48 minutes like the did in the first 24 and it all starts on the defensive end for OKC.

THREE: Free Throws Still and Issue

OKC shot 25 times from the charity stripe. OKC made just 14, good for 56 percent. The Thunder are killing themselves at the line. Steven Adams was 2-6. PG missed two. Russ missed two. Schröder missed one. Noel missed one. Abrines missed one. Everyone contributed to this. It is just unacceptable for this team to shoot this poorly from the line, especially given their poor shooting percentages in general. They can’t afford to give up missed free throws.

FOUR: Starting Grant for Patterson Helped Both

Billy Donovan moved Jerami Grant to the starting lineup for Patrick Patterson tonight. Maybe it was more to matchup with the Celtics starters, which isn’t something Billy does. But for tonight, the move helped both players. Grant scored 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. He played really good defense, especially in the first half. Patrick played some of his best ball tonight, mostly in the fourth quarter as he helped OKC build back their lead after falling behind in the third quarter. He scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds and hit a big fourth quarter three. All of his scoring came in the fourth. I like the move and it should be used for the foreseeable future.

FIVE: OKC Goes as Russ Goes

This is how it is. For those who want Billy fired, calm down and think clearly. No matter who has the title of head coach for the Thunder the person who runs the show is Russell Westbrook. The Thunder would be doing the same things they did tonight if Gregg Popovich was the coach, or Red Auerbach or even Jesus himself. Russ is gonna Russ. We all love the highs we get from when Russ gets in that zone where amazing things happen. But he thinks he can do that every night. Russ is hard to coach. He might be the hardest player to coach in the NBA. He can do things most players can’t. But the biggest area of his game that he has to correct is his lack of being coachable. He has to be coachable. He has to accept that he doesn’t always have to do everything. He needs to trust his coaches that they are going to call the right play. He has to trust his teammates to make the right plays. Because he by himself isn’t making the right plays in crunch time. We see him not trusting anyone but himself, which is why I’m putting the blame on him. We’ve seen this for his whole career. It is part of why Kevin Durant took off. This is the next step Russ needs to take and I am starting to be skeptical that he’ll take it.

The Thunder have a couple days off before taking on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. inside the Peake.