NBA: Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics Preview, Odds, Head to Head, Prediction

The Golden State Warriors visit their rivals in the previous NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics, tonight. After their trip to the White House, the Warriors are now in Massachusetts, where they meet the top seed in the East and the NBA. Golden State is sixth in the West, on the verge of staying in the playoffs, while the Celtics run the East and look quite confident. Jayson Tatum wants to win the NBA MVP award, and if he continues to play like he did in recent times, that won’t be a problem.

Preview

Golden State Warriors (22-22, +150) have only five wins on the road in 22 outings, which is pretty bad for one NBA champion. This is going to be their fourth consecutive road game, with them winning two and losing one. The wins were in San Antonio and Washington, while in between, the Chicago Bulls trashed the Dub Nation.

A win in Washington, 127-118, was good for the Warriors’ morale. The game was leveled until the final period once GSW pulled away from Washington. Curry and the boys made 18 threes in 44 attempts and also had 20 fast break points, twice as many as the rivals.

Steph ended the night with 41 buckets, 6-for-15 for three. Jordan Poole had 32, 7-for-13 from behind the line, and both had seven boards. Draymond Green had a very productive night as well, 17 points, 10 assists, and six boards.

Boston Celtics (33-12, -175) have eight wins in the past 10 events and are on a seven-game winning streak. These results are even more valuable because five of those victories were on the road, in Dallas, San Antonio, Brooklyn and back-to-back in Charlotte.

Those wins over the Hornets were more or less routine; the first 122-106 and the second 130-118. Jayson Tatum was at the highest possible level in both, scoring 33 in the opening event and 51 in the latter one.

Tatum was 15-for-23 from the field and 7-for-12 with nine boards and five assists. Meanwhile, the next best scorer among the Celtics was Derrick White with 19 buckets, while Malcolm Brogdon entered off the bench to add 16 points.

Head to Head Games

We all remember the finals from the previous year and the Warriors’ triumph in six games. This year, there was only one meeting, and Golden State had more success in it, 123-107. Klay scored 34 points, Steph had 32 and Jordan Poole 20. On the other side, Bronw added 31 with nine assists, Tatum had only 19, and Brogdon scored 16.

The Warriors shot 51.1% from the field and had 53 boards, compared to 39 of the hosts, and they were better in pretty much all the aspects of play.

Prediction

Things are going to be much different now because the Celtics have 17 wins at home in 22 appearances and are on the rise. The Cs are the top favorites for the title this year, and right now, they have a massive motive to get back at the Warriors for the defeat in the finals the previous year. Them winning this matchup is our choice, and the current odds are sitting at -175, which is quite solid.

Pick: Boston Celtics win -175