Warriors remain impressed with Celtics’ conference record.
The defensive-minded Celtics invade Oracle Arena in a possible Finals preview, with three wins in the teams’ past four meetings
Back when the frustration still remained raw over the result and the officiating, Warriors guard Stephen Curry stood patiently in the hallway and willingly answered every question. That included an inquiry that Curry clearly could have ignored with a scowl, a frown, an insult or silence.
Will the Warriors meet the Boston Celtics in the 2018 NBA Finals?
“Very, very likely,” Curry said with a smirk. “They’re playing the best today in the East. They have to beat Cleveland, who has done it three years in a row. We’ll see. I heard the weather is great here in June, so we’ll see.”
Curry playfully uttered those words after the Warriors’ loss in Boston in late November. But how do the Warriors (39-10) feel entering Saturday’s game against the Celtics (35-14) at Oracle Arena?
Do the Warriors still see the Celtics as the main Eastern Conference threat? Does Golden State feel vulnerable after losing three of its past four games against Boston?
Warriors forward Kevin Durant said that the Celtics are “just as good as any team in the league,” but he dismissed the commentary that suggests the Celtics could give them fits in the Finals because of their regular-season win.
“You’re going to see the narratives that are kind of a reach,” Durant said. “We know how important every day is and how we want to get better as a team. But we can’t put all our stock in a win or a loss, especially in the regular season.”
The Warriors might not put much stock on what a regular-season loss to the Celtics might mean in June. Golden State, though, has put stock in what that regular-season game means for Saturday.
Golden State remains impressed that Boston has kept the Eastern Conference’s best record despite the ongoing absence to Gordon Hayward and a recent four-game losing streak.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr gushed about Celtics coach Brad Stevens for his basketball smarts, his communication skills and how he uses a deep roster. Kerr raved about the Celtics’ versatility with veteran forward Al Horford, rookie forward Jayson Tatum and second-year forward Jaylen Brown.
And the Warriors noted the immediate impact the Celtics made in trading Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder for Kyrie Irving, whom Kerr called “one of the best players in the league and one of the best one-on-one players.”
“Kyrie is the most skilled player, top three skilled players in the league and one of the most skilled ever to play,” Durant said. “Hell yeah they changed. They upgraded with the position at the point guard.”
The Celtics have also upgraded their defense. They rank second among 30 NBA teams in total points allowed (98.3), first in defensive field-goal percentage (43.3) and first in perimeter defense (33.3).
Though the Warriors average a league-leading 116.1 points per game, the Celtics became much more productive in drawing trips to the foul line.
In Golden State’s 92-88 loss to Boston on Nov. 16, 2017, the Celtics went 33 of 38 from the free-throw line as the Warriors committed 26 fouls.
“We have to play without reaching. We want to be aggressive, but we have to figure out how not to put teams in the bonus early,” Durant said.
“That takes our momentum away. With them being on the line so much, that slowed us down a bit. I’m saying all that to say we have to lock in without fouling and put them on the line. We can’t leave it in the refs hands.”
The Warriors have done that far too often recently. Through 12 games in January, the Warriors have averaged 19.1 fouls per contest. In related news, Kerr has recently cited the team’s defensive lapses.
“We’re not at our peak form defensively, obviously,” Kerr said.
“We’re not great as of late. But I don’t expect us to be all year. Not this year. Not this season. Not with what we’re facing and have been through. As long as our guys are aware of our current status and where we need to be, I’m fine with that.”
For now, the Warriors remain aware that a regular-season game, no matter who the opponent, means very little in a possible Finals matchup in June. An informal sample of NBA assistant coaches, executives and scouts suggest that most still consider the Cavaliers the top Eastern Conference team because of LeBron James.
Yet, Kerr has often monitored Boston along with Cleveland, Toronto, Houston and San Antonio because all of those teams could meet the Warriors in the postseason.
So even Curry was just being facetious with a reporter who asked if he could guarantee the Warriors would be in Boston in June, he fully understood what a mid-November loss to the Celtics meant for the Warriors’ development.
“We’re not immortal by any sense of the imagination,” Curry said.
“We know if we don’t play our game, we are capable of being beat. They have proven that the last couple of years. So it’s the opportunity on Saturday to protect home court. You have to lock in on the details of what it takes to beat a solid and fundamentally sound Boston Celtics team.”