Warriors appreciate C’s game
When the Celtics overhauled the roster during the offseason, it was done with an eye on taking out the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference and ultimately the West’s Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the NBA.
Losing Gordon Hayward in the first blink of the season was the last thing anyone anticipated, but after dropping the first two games, the C’s have ripped off 13 straight wins for the best record in the NBA.
Other teams have certainly noticed, including tonight’s opponent and the team closest for the best record in the league — the defending champion Warriors, who are 11-3 and arrive at the Garden riding a seven-game winning streak.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday to reporters in Oakland that the Celtics are “the team of the future in the East.”
“They found a way to jell pretty quickly,” the Warriors’ Stephen Curry said following practice last night at the Garden. “Especially in this building, it’s going to be pretty tough (tonight).”
While the Celtics have been grinding out wins, winning four of their last five by single digits, Golden State’s run has been more about blowing opponents away. Other than Monday’s 110100 victory against the Orlando Magic, the closest of the seven wins for the Warriors was 17 points.
“A lot of it’s our defense. We’ve picked it up in that department,” Curry said. “Trying to keep our focus, intensity, five guys moving on the streak. We’ve had different guys show up every night. Our depth has been huge for us.”
While Kevin Durant missed out on a chance to play for coach Brad Stevens when he chose Golden State in free agency in the summer of 2016, what he sees in Kerr is also what has helped the Celtics reach their current level.
“Everybody is touching the ball, everybody is moving, everybody is feeling good about themselves,” said Durant, who noted the contributions of Celts like Daniel Theis and Semi Ojeleye in addition to Al Horford. “This is a feel-good game and as a player you want your coaches to trust you and put you where you can be most successful. Brad Stevens has done a great job of putting every player on his team in position to do what they do best, and that’s what coach Kerr does for us.”
Over the last three-plus seasons, the Celtics are 2-4 against Golden State. The .333 winning percentage might not sound like much, but the rest of the league is just 40-214, a .157 clip, during that span.