The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics are two teams off to an ideal start this season, and obviously have history with one another. The Warriors won their 2022 championship on the Celtics’ home court and the last time the Warriors came to Boston, they were manhandled and lost by 52 points.
In another exciting matchup between the two gold standard franchises, the Warriors rode defense and and timely scoring to a win and a 7-1 record on the early season.
Stephen Curry’s 27 points on only 17 attempts, seven rebounds, nine assists, four steals, and a block is the stuff headlines are made of, but the Warriors defense and depth is the reason they were able pull out the 118-112 win.
Buddy Hield contributed 16 points, hit four threes, and added a timely three to give the Warriors a seven point cushion with only 47 seconds to go. Not to mention his impressive finish against notorious shot blocker Derrick White. The off-season acquisition of Buddy “Buckets” Hield has paid off for The Bay so far; perhaps a new splash sibling San Fran?
Defensively, Steve Kerr’s Warriors are establishing themselves as a juggernaut, especially with the effort of guys like Draymond Green and Gary Payton II. This was no different Wednesday night when they held the defending champions to only 40 points in the first half. Kevon Looney’s 10 rebounds in 16 minutes is also crucial to the win, and with a rebound differential of 53-47 in a tight game down the stretch, its not hard to see why.
Kerr is running a 13 man rotation and advising players not to pace themselves, high and fresh energy at all times seems to be working for Dub Nation early this season.
Boston was without last season’s Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and floor spacing big-man Kristaps Porzingis; so losing a tight game down two stars doesn’t sound off any alarm bells, but also isn’t an excuse.
Jayson Tatum continued his offensive tear this season with 32 points with five threes but also managed four turnovers, a stat he’ll need to improve going forward. Derrick White scored 26 and made seven threes. The Celtics continue to follow their formula of shooting a whole lot of behind the arc shots, finishing 19-54 from three, The Warriors 14-34.
The Celtics fall to 7-2, 2nd in the East and take on Brooklyn Friday night.
The Warriors improve to 7-1 and are tied for first in the West, and look to hand the undefeated Cavaliers their first loss of the season on Friday.
Written by Raven Ullah, WUFO Intern
