In Part II of my “Golden State Warriors challengers” series, I take a look at the Boston Celtics. What will Boston’s recent success against Golden State mean, should the teams meet next June?
Over the last three years, no team has given the Golden State Warriors a tougher time than the Boston Celtics.
That isn’t hyperbole. The series is tied 3-3 since 2015-16. No other team has played Golden State even in that stretch.
The San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz are the closest (each are 4-7), while the Houston Rockets are 3-7, Oklahoma City Thunder are 2-7 and Cleveland Cavaliers are 1-5.
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The Celtics are the only team Golden State has failed to sweep at least once in the past three years, and they seem to cause trouble no matter the venue or personnel.
First it was Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Evan Turner nearly knocking off the 73-win Warriors twice.
Boston failed to give them their first loss of 2015-16, falling in double OT on Dec. 11, but it did deliver their first home loss months later, ending their perfect season at Oracle after 36 straight wins.
Turner took his talents to Portland that summer and the Celtics opted to use their cap room on Al Horford. They dropped another December home game to the Warriors, but went into Oracle months later and held Golden State to 6-of-30 shooting from deep in a 99-86 win.
Danny Ainge continued to reshuffle in the summer of 2017. Exit Thomas, Bradley and Crowder, enter Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum. Hayward’s injury opened the door for Jaylen Brown, who helped the new-look Celtics finally beat the Warriors in Boston.
Then came the “Kyrie-Steph” game, which Golden State escaped from victoriously.
Of course, personnel matters. Smart was absent from the above game, which helped Stephen Curry get off for 49 points on 24 shots (86.3 true-shooting percentage), with just one turnover.
It was a far cry from his nine points on 14 shots (28.6 TS percentage) with four TOs at TD Garden earlier that season, or the 19.5 points on a 51.0 TS percentage in 2016-17.
Blue Man Hoop
Still, Curry’s struggles — and by extension Golden State’s — are about more than individually great perimeter defenders. Brad Stevens’ club uses strategy, mindset and depth to slow down the Warriors machine.
They guard with extreme physicality, force the ball out of Curry’s hands and let Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant do their thing in isolation. With their stable of switchable wings, they can limit the damage here — particularly when they
are forcing turnovers.
Some may chalk Boston’s success up to small sample size. Six games is not a lot, particularly when they arrive at random points during the dregs of the regular season. Consider, however, the larger pattern from Boston’s perspective.
We are talking about a team that was expected to win 50-something games in 2017-18, lost who many believed to be its best player on opening night, and ended up winning 55 games.
If Hayward was not their best player, it was Irving, who went down before the postseason. Yet Boston still lived up to its preseason hype, making it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
None of this is to say that a beaten-up Celtics team can contend with the Warriors. Rather, it is to say that given the foundation, a healthy Celtics team will be a monstrous opponent.
Hayward will add yet another capable wing defender, not to mention a versatile scorer and creator that demands attention on and off ball. Brown and Tatum are also a year older. Each should be stronger.
Both are more seasoned, after carrying their team to within eight points of the NBA Finals.
Hardwood Houdini
There is still a talent disparity here. Should these teams meet in June, Golden State will have the best two players, and its next two are on the level of Boston’s best.
The Celtics have every other advantage. They’re deeper. They’re hungrier. They are certainly younger, without four straight Finals trips on the odometer. In a series that may demand quick action and bold tactical adjustments, they are probably better coached.
For Golden State to overcome all of that, it needs its stars to be better than Boston’s. While they certainly are, how large that gap is over a seven-game series is the real question. We’ve seen Irving go toe-to-toe with Curry on the Finals stage before.
We’ve seen Durant revert to hero-ball habits against tough defense. We’ve seen Thompson disappear offensively as the playoffs get deeper.
If this series comes to pass, the Warriors will likely be favored, but the Celtics will likely be the smart money. It will be a legacy series for Golden State, as winning will require transcendence from its stars.
On the Finals stage, with healthy bodies on both sides, this matchup will be something to behold. After three years of palette-wetting regular season duels, let’s hope we finally get to see it.