The Golden State Warriors will visit the TD Garden to battle the Boston Celtics tonight at 8:30pm (EST). The game will be nationally televised on ABC. In what could be a preview of the NBA finals in June, the current betting lines favor the Warriors -3.5, total 232.5 over/under -110. Money line shows Golden State at -160 and the Celtics at +140
After what many considered a bumpy start to the NBA season for each team, they have now found their groove. Both teams enter the game on winning streaks. The Warriors are in the midst of a season record nine game winning streak while the Celtics boast a five game winning streak heading into the match-up. The Warriors are 34-14 on the season and the Celtics have a 30-18 record. Over the past 4 seasons, the Celtics are the only team in the league without a losing record against the Warriors. Over the last 6 games, the two teams come in with a 3-3 record against each other.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr will be competing for his 300th win in only 377 regular season games as the team’s head coach. If he reaches that mark, he will pass Pat Riley in fewest games to reach 300 wins. It took Riley 416 games to reach this mark. If Kerr doesn’t surpass Riley tonight, he certainly will soon.
Many of the Warriors’ players, including Draymond Green, think the Celtics are the most talented team in the Eastern Conference. He understands that you can’t just put good players together and expect it to immediately click. He explained that it takes time and has no doubt that they will figure things out sooner than later.
With previous all star Demarcus Cousins back on the court, the Warriors have won their past nine games by an average of 17.9 points per game. Celtics coach Brad Stevens will have his hands full tonight trying to coach against five all stars, but one thing is for sure, Stevens will have a well-prepared game plan ready before the ball is tossed into the air.