{"id":617997,"date":"2026-04-19T23:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T23:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617997\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T23:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T23:01:10","slug":"nba-playoffs-2026-takeaways-thunders-title-defense-off-to-dominant-start-jayson-tatum-stars-in-celtics-big-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617997\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA playoffs 2026 takeaways: Thunder’s title defense off to dominant start; Jayson Tatum stars in Celtics’ big win"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NBA playoffs<\/a> continue Sunday with four Game 1s: 76ers-Celtics, Suns-Thunder, Magic-Pistons and Trail Blazers-Spurs. We\u2019re breaking down the key takeaways from each game.<\/p>\n

Here are our takeaways from Saturday\u2019s Game 1s.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thunder 119, Suns<\/a> 84The Thunder (defense) rolled<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City<\/a>\u2019s defense being great is not exactly breaking news, but it broke this game open. The Suns came out aggressive, a Jalen Green<\/a> layup giving them 12 points with 8:05 left in the first quarter. They made exactly one field goal over the next five minutes, a 17-2 run from OKC setting the tone. That volume would amplify during a 16-4 run from the 10:34 mark in the second quarter to the 5:28 mark. And if you didn\u2019t think the saxophones could get louder \u2026<\/p>\n

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You get my point.<\/p>\n

OKC played with a high level of activity on the defensive end of the floor: Ball pressure from its elite personnel to bother the Suns guards; consistent effort to navigate screens and work to recover; Chet Holmgren<\/a> and Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a> working to get to the level of a screen and drop back to contain drives; toggling on-ball switches. When the Suns wanted to mix in off-ball actions, OKC was physical, working to switch and deny to get them later in the clock. When the Suns wanted to drive, there was help coming from the elbow or the baseline. There were not a lot of windows for Phoenix to open up in this one, and when they did \u2026 they closed quickly. Twenty-four points in the paint (12 of 32!!) and a grand total of two fast-break points did not help matters for the Suns.<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> is in control<\/p>\n

The Suns came with the (obvious) mindset to make life as tough as possible on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. On one hand, their efforts got him to shoot 5 of 18 from the field. The issue for them is SGA has found ways to impact the game on the nights his shot isn\u2019t falling. His blend of driving, play-making and tough shot-making always gives him the opportunity to control the dance. (Yes, 15 of 17 from the free-throw line, I know, I know.)<\/p>\n

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Phoenix worked to show help at the elbow and the nail to try and take away SGA\u2019s driving lanes. OKC countered by working to have Jalen Williams<\/a> one pass away. Shai saw the help, made the right read and let his playmaking do the talking early. OKC worked to keep the wings clear, the Suns stuck with their help, and OKC worked to punish the second closeout. In the third quarter, we saw OKC tap the pick-and-roll button to get two on the ball against Shai. Being able to get to the team effort early in the series speaks to what OKC has built (Williams had 22 pts on 9-of-15 shooting and Chet Holmgren had 16 points on 5-of-10).<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be interesting to see how Phoenix reacts in Game 2. If SGA\u2019s straight-line drives return or the fadeaways and stepbacks go down, do the Suns send more doubles? Does that open even more up for the Thunder offense?<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019s formula?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tough pill to swallow when you have one of those \u201cthis is just not our night\u201d moments in the playoffs. The positive? It can\u2019t get much worse, right? RIGHT?<\/p>\n

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Devin Booker<\/a>, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks<\/a> have the ability to make tough shots, but that alone won\u2019t beat OKC. Tempo in the half-court feels like the easiest answer. Quick decisions will be in their favor. Knowing help is coming on drives gives you an opportunity to spray in the perimeter and work to keep the advantage. They have to get into their actions quicker, make the right read and play out of it. Bottle up what they had in the start of the third quarter, hope to defend better and get back to their formula.<\/p>\n

Jayson Tatum<\/a> looked like Jayson Tatum<\/p>\n

If there were concerns about how Jayson Tatum might look in his first playoff game since tearing his right Achilles last May, he eased them in the opening minutes. He played the entire first quarter, logging a 10-7-4, well on his way to 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in 33 minutes.<\/p>\n

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He did all of the Jayson Tatum things \u2014 scoring from every level, playmaking, rebounding, defending at a high level, you name it. He called Tyrese Maxey<\/a> or Andre Drummond<\/a> into the action, operating out of the high post or from the perimeter. He was, quite simply, the best player on the floor, and who could have seen that coming in Game 1 of a 2026 playoff series at year\u2019s start?<\/p>\n

Everything to know for the NBA playoffs: Predictions, series previews, X-factors<\/a><\/p>\n

Joel Embiid<\/a>\u2019s absence is everything<\/p>\n

For all the wear and tear on his oft-injured knees, Joel Embiid is still a top-end rim protector. Few players contested more shots than Embiid\u2019s 7.1 challenges around the rim per game, and opponents shot 5.5% worse than their season averages on those attempts. Without him, even if Adem Bona<\/a> is statistically as stout (on fewer opportunities), the Celtics can almost taste the rim.<\/p>\n

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On their very first possession of the game, the Celtics called Bona into the action, employing Neemias Queta<\/a> as the screener. Tatum found Queta with a pocket pass, and they got two free throws out of it. A little over 90 seconds into the game, Bona already logged his second foul.<\/p>\n

The absence of Embiid isn\u2019t only felt on defense. He draws so much attention on offense, even in a limited capacity, that it generates opportunities for Maxey, VJ Edgecombe<\/a> and Paul George<\/a>. Now, it\u2019s on them to create, and they tried it on their own. Against a versatile Boston<\/a> defense, unconcerned with Bona or Kelly Oubre Jr.<\/a>, Philadelphia<\/a> managed just two assists on six made field goals in the first quarter, when the lead ballooned to 33-18. The Sixers never led.<\/p>\n

The question is whether Embiid can make it back to the court before the series is over. He underwent an appendectomy on April 9. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said prior to the series that Embiid\u2019s status would be updated game-to-game. It\u2019s hard to imagine him making it back for anything beyond the tail end of a long series, and if Game 1 is any indication, this won\u2019t be that.<\/p>\n

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Philadelphia\u2019s pick-and-roll defense is a nightmare<\/p>\n

The 76ers tried hiding Maxey on Sam Hauser<\/a> defensively, and the Celtics found him anyhow. Whether it was Tatum, Jaylen Brown<\/a>, Derrick White<\/a> or Payton Pritchard<\/a>, Boston\u2019s ball-handler could work his switch onto Maxey, call Andre Drummond into a pick-and-roll and go to work. That combo of Maxey and Drummond is a pick-and-roll defensive nightmare.<\/p>\n

Maxey is not tall or stout enough to match Boston\u2019s bigger playmakers, and Drummond is too slow to contain them. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is relentless, too. He will not feel bad about repeatedly calling for Maxey and Drummond (or Bona, for that matter). Boston just didn\u2019t even need to call on them all that often. But if any of these games get close, keep an eye on how easily they manufacture points against the Maxey-Drummond combo, spraying out to shooters when anyone helps them.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 Ben Rohrbach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NBA playoffs continue Sunday with four Game 1s: 76ers-Celtics, Suns-Thunder, Magic-Pistons and Trail Blazers-Spurs. We\u2019re breaking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[155899,70744,113499,64,63,483,2870,3894,62056,7224,20447,46028,5669,12831,15610,7230,37975,191802,590,32203,192049,5673,31650,81448,5136,97394,12841,85,9391,187456,52204,9694],"class_list":{"0":"post-617997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-adem-bona","10":"tag-andre-drummond","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-boston","14":"tag-celtics","15":"tag-chet-holmgren","16":"tag-derrick-white","17":"tag-devin-booker","18":"tag-dillon-brooks","19":"tag-isaiah-hartenstein","20":"tag-jalen-green","21":"tag-jalen-williams","22":"tag-jaylen-brown","23":"tag-jayson-tatum","24":"tag-joel-embiid","25":"tag-kelly-oubre-jr","26":"tag-nba","27":"tag-neemias-queta","28":"tag-okc","29":"tag-oklahoma-city","30":"tag-paul-george","31":"tag-payton-pritchard","32":"tag-philadelphia","33":"tag-sam-hauser","34":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","35":"tag-sports","36":"tag-suns","37":"tag-the-suns","38":"tag-tyrese-maxey","39":"tag-vj-edgecombe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}