Warriors vs. Celtics
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Coaches: Steve Kerr, 4th season with Warriors (218-42 with Warriors and overall); Brad Stevens, 5th season with Celtics (179-164 with Celtics and overall)
On air: TV on TNT and NBC Sports Bay Area; Radio on 95.7 The Game
Records: Warriors (11-3); Celtics (13-2)
Projected starters: Warriors: PG Stephen Curry (25.2 ppg, 6.7 apg), SG Klay Thompson (20.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg), SF Kevin Durant (24.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg), PF Draymond Green (10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 6.6 apg), C Zaza Pachulia (3.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Celtics: PG Marcus Smart (9.6 ppg, 5.5 apg), SG Jaylen Brown (14.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg), SF Jayson Tatum (14.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg), PF Al Horford (15.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg), C Aron Baynes (6.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Warriors injury report: PG Stephen Curry (right thigh contusion) is probable. C Damian Jones is on a G League assignment.
Celtics injury report: SF Gordon Hayward (left ankle fracture) is out.
Line: Warriors by 7.5 points
Things to watch:
How will Stephen Curry look? Curry, who missed Monday night’s win over Orlando with a right thigh contusion, has gone through light practices the past two days with no problems and is expected to play Thursday in Boston. Still, thigh bruises can be tricky. A healthy Curry would be big against a Celtics team that has ridden a 13-game win streak to an NBA-best record of 13-2. Boston point guard Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds, looks like an early MVP candidate.
Will Golden State reinforce that it’s the class of the NBA? The sample size is small, but Boston appears to have eclipsed the Cavaliers as the Warriors’ biggest championship threat. Finally out of LeBron James’ shadow, Irving has been the most complete point guard in the league. His defense, long a glaring weakness, has helped anchor a group that easily paces the NBA in defensive efficiency. In the wake of Gordon Hayward’s season-ending ankle injury, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum have been more-than-worthy sidekicks. Still, Golden State is favored by 7.5 points for a reason. No team has been more dominant than a Warriors team that has won each of its past seven games by at least 10 points.
Can the Warriors keep up their torrid offense? Though its defense has been inconsistent at times, Golden State has had no issues scoring this season. Its 119.6 points per game are 8.2 more than any other team. The Warriors are shooting an absurd 51.9 percent from the field, including 41.2 percent from three-point range, and they average a league-leading 31.3 assists. But if anyone can quell Golden State, it’s Boston. The Celtics have allowed their opponent to score more than 102 points just twice.
source:sfgate
No comments