Golden State Warriors aim to capitalize on Boston’s indifferent home form

The Golden State Warriors may have tied the NBA Finals with a resounding victory in game two, but it’ll mean very little if they can’t steal at least one game back on the Boston Celtics’ home floor.

Their confidence in achieving that should be high, not just because of themselves, but because of their opponent’s indifferent home form through the last two playoff series.

The Warriors meet the Celtics at TD Garden for games three and four of the NBA Finals, with the road team aiming to steal back home-court advantage.

Since the beginning of the conference semifinals, the Celtics have gone a combined 3-4 at home against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. This included their last home outing, a disappointing 111-103 loss to the Heat as they sought to close out the Eastern Conference Finals in game six.

The loyal and passionate home fans can certainly intimidate traveling teams at TD Garden, but does their thirst for more success place greater pressure on their own team and players? According to Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, it’s more about the team’s lack of urgency rather than any sense of pressure.

"“Human nature plays a part when you go on the road, obviously it’s a tough environment. I feel like recently we’ve kind of relaxed at home. Whether we thought because we had home-court advantage, we came out a little more relaxed. But just having that sense of urgency, knowing that we’re at home, but that we need to play better at home.”"

Golden State will be further buoyed by the fact they won their only meeting in Boston this season, a 111-107 win on the 17th of December last year.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry had 30 points, while Andrew Wiggins had 27 points on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Curry has been dominant this series and is the only play to top 25 in both games.

The teams’ look a little different this time around, with Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Al Horford, Derrick White and Grant Williams having not participated in that matchup. Horford and White have both played instrumental roles in the NBA Finals so far.

Coincidentally, Golden State are 3-4 in road games during this postseason.