BOSTON — The last time the Warriors stepped into TD Garden, they suffered a 52-point defeat. Two years before that, they closed out the 2022 NBA Finals on Causeway Street. This summer, the Celtics won their first NBA championship since 2008. Then Warriors coach Steve Kerr benched Boston’s best player, Jayson Tatum, for multiple games during Team USA’s Olympic run to gold.
Asking the Warriors about what to expect in the Garden on Wednesday night is somewhat of a loaded question. There’s a whole lot of history, a whole lot of animosity, a whole lot of championship pride to parse.
“We beat them in the NBA Finals a few years ago, and then they just won one,” Draymond Green said on Monday. “So they want to dish everything back to us about them just winning one. It’s always a hostile environment. Don’t expect anything different. It’ll be a tough environment against a very good team, great team. Tough team to play against. But it’s a hostile environment just like any other hostile environment.”
The boo birds will be out. So will, almost certainly, chants directed at Kerr. The Celtics have only played two home games during their 7-1 start to their title defense season, making their crowd eager for a game like this.
But Green, Kerr and Steph Curry are used to playing in difficult atmospheres. For years, they were the hunted. Now, the Warriors (6-1) are the clear underdog — a deep group who has started the season strong walking into their first big test of the year.
“It should be a rowdy one tonight,” Warriors guard Gary Payton II said at morning shootaround.
No single game is necessarily a bellwether for a team’s outlook, especially a November tilt. But the Warriors have taken care of business against overmatched teams (they have wins against Portland, Utah, Washington, Houston and New Orleans twice). They recognize their early schedule has been kind, while also taking pride in winning a trio of games without Curry, who returned Monday from an ankle injury.
Welcome to Boston.
The Celtics boast a league-best 121.8 offensive rating a year after setting the all-time record in the metric. They take an unprecedented 50.9 3-pointers per game and are getting an MVP-caliber early season from Tatum.
Although Finals MVP Jaylen Brown (hip) is sidelined and Kristaps Porzingis remains out indefinitely, Boston has the best defensive backcourt in the NBA with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White — two more gold medalists under Kerr. The Celtics are prepared to apply ball pressure, which has given Golden State trouble at times this year.
But Tatum will be the biggest focal point.
After Kerr played LeBron James and Kevin Durant over Tatum, the Celtics wing has averaged 30 points while taking over 11 3s per game, apparently fixing the jumper that deserted him in Paris.
“He’s motivated,” Green said Wednesday. “He’s playing great basketball. He’s motivated, living up to who he’s supposed to be.”
Limiting Tatum, particularly his pull-up 3 game, will be among the keys for the Warriors on Wednesday night. …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
