Golden State Warriors at Celtics: Dubs set to face best team in the East
The Golden State Warriors will open their 4-game road trip with a visit to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Thursday.
After missing out on last Monday’s 110-100 win at Oracle Arena, Stephen Curry is expected to make his return to the court when the Golden State Warriors face off against a masked Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics on Thursday at TD Garden.
The Dubs currently hold the best regular season record in the Western Conference, standing at 11-3. They’ve won their last seven games after struggling a bit to start the season. The Celtics, on the other hand, have won their last 13 games, standing atop the entire NBA with a regular season record of 13-2.
The Celtics have been quite the Cinderella story, surging to take the NBA’s top spot even after losing Gordon Hayward on opening night. Under the leadership of Coach of the Year candidate Brad Stevens, young players like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have looked absolutely incredible alongside vets like Irving and Al Horford.
Basketballs fans should expect an intense game as both of these teams battle it out against each other in hopes of keeping their respective winning streaks alive.
Game Details
Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics
Tip-Off: Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. PST
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area, TNT
Radio: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Radio Network
Projected Starting Lineups
Boston Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Head Coach: Brad Stevens
Golden State Warriors
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Draymond Green
Head Coach: Steve Kerr
Injury Report
GSW: Steph Curry is still listed as probable due to a right thigh contusion. Damian Jones and two-way contract players Quinn Cook and Chris Boucher are with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.
BOS: Despite him already donning a face mask in his last game against the Brooklyn Nets, Uncle Drew is still listed as questionable due to a minor facial fracture. Gordon Hayward remains out due to the left ankle fracture he suffered Opening Night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Next: Celtics stand as the biggest test to the Dubs thus far this season
Keys to the Game
The Golden State Warriors need to find a way to disrupt either Kyrie Irving or Al Horford. Unless the Dubs get lucky, there’s no way both of them can be stopped at the same time, so you really have to pick you poison.
The foundation of my gameplan would probably focus on trying to limit Irving’s outside scoring, turning him into a distributor and forcing the rest of the team to make plays.
Irving currently leads the Celtics in scoring with 20.6 points per game, so the Warriors will be that much better for it if they can at least run him off the line consistently.
(All game information provided via Warriors PR)