The Celtics host the Golden State Warriors for the first of 2 games this season. They will meet again on January 20 in San Francisco. This is a game that most Celtics fans have had circled since the schedule came out. If the players are honest, they have also had this game circled. Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, coached the Olympics team he treated Jayson Tatum shabbily, not playing him in 2 games and limited minutes in others.
This is a rematch of the 2022 Finals that the Warriors won in 6 games. Since that Finals meeting, these two teams have split their games with each team winning at home. Last season, the Celtics demolished the Warriors 140-88 in Boston while the Warriors won 132-126 at Golden State. The Celtics lead the all time series 210-139 overall and 116-40 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics stood pat for the most part in the off season, bringing back their entire core of players and losing just Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft and signed 2nd round pick, Anton Watson to a 2 way contract. They have one open roster spot that they are likely to keep open in case of injury during the season. They have also added a couple of chips on their shoulder after Olympic snubs and other drama over the summer, largely because of Warriors coach, Steve Kerr.
The Warriors made some significant changes after finishing 10th in the West last season. They waived Chris Paul. They made the first 6 team sign and trade of Klay Thompson to the Mavericks for Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. They lost Dario Saric to free agency. They traded 2 second round picks for Lindy Waters III. They signed 52nd pick in the draft, Quinten Post.
The Celtics were expected to be among the top contenders again this season after bringing back their championship team from last season. The Warriors struggled last season and after losing Klay Thompson, a key part of their championship teams, they weren’t expected to do very well this season. However, they are surprising everyone by starting the season 6-1, with their only loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. They have won their last 4 games, including 2 games over the Pelicans and a win over both the Rockets and the Wizards.
The Celtics are returning from a 4 game road trip where they went 3-1, losing to the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics will be bouncing around over the next few games, with 2 games at home before playing at the Bucks then home vs the Hawks and then on the road again to visit the Nets. The Warriors are playing in the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip, with games at Cleveland and OKC before once again heading home.
The Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still rehabbing from off season ankle surgery and is not expected back until December. Jaylen Brown will miss his third straight game with a hip injury. I’m going to guess that Joe Mazzulla will once again start the double bigs. I’m guessing that Queta will start again, but it may be Kornet or Tillman. With Joe, it’s hard to tell. Only De’Anthony Melton (back) is out for the Warriors.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaylen Brown (hip) out
Baylor Scheierman (GLeague) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Warriors Starters
Warriors Reserves
Kyle Anderson
Buddy Hield
Johathan Kuminga
Kevon Looney
Moses Moody
Prandin Podziemski
Gui Santos
Lindy Waters III
2 Way Players
Reece Beekman
Quinten Post
Pat Spencer
Head Coach
Steve Kerr
Key Matchups
Jrue Holiday vs Stephen Curry
Curry is still the Warriors best player and it will be important for the Celtics to try to limit his scoring. He is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 41.2% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to especially guard him on the perimeter as he can hit from pretty much anywhere on the court.
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Payton Pritchard
Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
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Buddy Hield
Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Payton Pritchard vs Buddy Hield
Once again, we have a matchup between 6th Man of the Year candidates. Payton Pritchard (+400) and Buddy Hield (+550) are first and second in odds to win 6th man. Hield is averaging 21.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 51.4% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The biggest question about Hield is whether he can keep up that kind of production since he has been inconsistent in previous years.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins is averaging 15.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1 block per game. He is shooting 44.8% from the field and 44.8% from beyond the arc. Once again the Celtics will need to stick with him on the perimeter where he is shooting very well. Derrick White will need to step up a bit more to help to make up for Jaylen Brown’s contributions.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 1st in the league, averaging 123.6 points per game. They are 4th in the league with a defensive rating of 107.7. The Warriors are 3rd in the league, averaging 121.6 points per game. The Warriors are 2nd with a defensive rating of 102.1. The Celtics must commit to making defense their priority in this game. It is highly likely that the team that defends better in this game will be the winner.
Rebound – Rebounding is always a key to winning as you need the ball to score and a good way to get it is to grab rebounds. The Celtics are 18th with 43.8 rebounds per game while the Warriors are 1st with 49 rebounds per game. It takes effort to grab rebounds and the Celtics must make an extra effort to crash the boards and beat the Warriors to rebounds. The Warriors are 6th with 16.7 second chance points per game and so the Celtics especially need to keep them from getting offensive rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics play the best when they move the ball and find the open man. They struggle more when players try to do too much and when the ball sticks with one player too long and when they take quick shots without looking for the best shot. The Celtics are 22nd with 23.9 assists per game. They need to look to share the ball and not over dribble or try to take over at the expense of open teammates. They have to be careful with their passes as the Warriors are 2nd with 21.4 points off turnovers per game. The Warriors move the ball very well and are 3rd with 30.4 assists per game.
3 Point Shooting – Both of these teams take a lot of threes. The Celtics are 1st with 50.9 three point attempts per game. The Warriors are 4th, taking 42 threes per game. The Warriors shoot a higher percentage from 3 with 39.1% compared to 37.3% for the Celtics. Both teams will likely take a lot of 3 pointers in this game as well and a lot will come down to which team makes their threes and which team misses them.
X-Factors
Home Game vs Road Fatigue – The Warriors have won the first 2 games on this road trip and have 2 more games to go on the trip after this one.. The Warriors are away from family and home and have the distractions of staying in a hotel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of a (very) hostile crowd. Hopefully the Celtics crowd will be loud and rowdy and give the Celtics extra energy to avenge Kerr’s treatment of Tatum in the Olympics along with their loss in the 2022 Finals. The Celtics just returned home from a 4 game road trip and sometimes the first game at home after a road trip is a tough one.
Officiating – Officiating always has the potential to be a factor in every game. Every officiating team calls the game differently. Some call it tight and others let them play. Some favor the home team while some call it evenly. However the game is called, the Celtics must adjust to it and not allow the officiating to take away their focus on playing the game. Complaining about calls rarely changes anything other than to take away from their focus on playing the game and irritate the officials.
