Both the Warriors and Celtics have had a start that is slower than what most expected.
Golden State had a lot of hype surrounding it this offseason, mainly because Demarcus Cousins signed with the team. After that, everyone expected the Warriors to breeze through this season. But, the Warriors have 14 losses already this season and only need 10 more to tie last season’s total (24).
The Celtics made a heroic effort in the 2018 playoffs to try and beat LeBron James’ Cleveland squad, but fell in game seven. Boston’s effort was commendable, especially since they were without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
With both stars back this season, they were expected to be a pretty big favorite to take the No. 1 seed in the east. After a slow start, Boston is currently the fifth seed.
Saturday, both super teams will meet and battle at 8:30 p.m. EST in what could likely be a championship series preview.
For Saturday’s game, here are the players for each team that will be key in securing an important victory.
Since both teams have good chances to make the championship, a win Saturday will gauge how each team could handle each other.
Not much of a hot take, but the Warriors are riding an impressive nine-game win streak, even taking down the Nuggets with a 142-111 victory in Denver.
During that win streak, Curry has gone off. He’s averaged 31.2 points per game and lead the Warriors in scoring in six of the nine games.
Steph Curry has gone on a scoring frenzy in the Warriors’ nine-game win streak. Can he keep it going against the tough Celtics Saturday? Photo courtesy of NBCSports: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/steph-curry-did-something-very-rare-warriors-win-over-wizards.
Yes, the Warriors have plenty of scorers/weapons, but when Curry is playing well, so is the team. Even if he is not scoring but getting a lot of assists and rebounds.
Considering this game has the possibility of having a lot of writing on the wall for the future, Curry will need to play well against the tough Boston team to get an affirmative win.
Boston will want this strong win to help propel them into a strong second half, so they will play hard against the Warriors, and Curry will be important for the Warriors to win.
Speaking of Boston, they are sitting just outside the top four teams in the EasteConferencence, and, since the Pacers lost Victor Oladipo for the year, Boston has a good chance to at least get into the top four. The Celtics are also only trailing the Bucks for first place by five games, so getting the No.1 spot is not out of the question.
Boston is riding a five-game win streak of its own, with an impressive win over the Raptors. Hayward averaged 12.8 points per game off the bench in that stretch, and although he has had a down year compared to the rest of his career (stats wise), his impact on the Celtics is undeniable.
He is a smart player, and considering he played in the west against the Warriors for most of his career, he knows more about the Warriors’ strategy.
Gordon Hayward’s numbers are down this season, but his impact is still important for the Celtics. Photo courtesy of Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/profile/gordon-hayward/#7ca425121fff.
Looking back to last season, both games between the teams were decided by four points (92-88 Boston victory, 109-105 Golden State victory).
Assuming Saturday’s contest is nothing less than what they produced last year, Hayward will be important to play well off the bench in what could be a close game.
Yes, Hayward’s numbers are down this year, but he shares the floor with great teammates.
The Celtics have had to overcome this problem all season and are starting to figure it out more and more.
Hayward’s unselfishness off the bench is part of that: He is averaging 3.5 assists off the bench. That is the fourth-highest mark for that statistic of his career, and he is managing that on fewer playing minutes.
Simply said, he could be the difference off the bench in what could be a stalemate of a contest.
Now the winner of this game is not automatically better than the other and the guaranteed NBA champion, but ask any coach or player what a regular-season game of this caliber means for the future. They would agree that winning this game is a boost for the rest of the season. It would also be a high note before the All-Star break.
Featured Image courtesy of HERO Sports.
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