The Boston Celtics start a five-game road trip in the Bay Area this Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors, who are looking to extend the woes of Jayson Tatum and company.
Catch this game live on Wednesday, February 3, at 11 AM, Manila time.
HOME TEAM: Golden State Warriors (11-9, 8-4 at home)
The Warriors have recovered nicely from a 114-93 road loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29, as they subdued the Detroit Pistons, 118-91, at home last Sunday. Stephen Curry blasted the Pistons with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including six 3-pointers on eight attempts.
Curry has been ridiculous of late. He has averaged 26.8 points on 50.7 FG% and 53.7 3FG% over his last five games. Those are just unfair numbers, but it’s not only Curry who’s been having a blast the past few Warriors games. Andrew Wiggins is showing up as well, as he’s put up 19.5 points on 53.3 FG% over the same stretch.
Although they are missing Klay Thompson, Curry and the Warriors are still shooting the lights out from deep. They have made at least 14 3 pointers in four of their last five games, including the 17 they drilled in the win over Detroit.
With Boston missing Smart, the Warriors will have one less pesky perimeter defender to worry about when they take on the Celtics at home. The Warriors are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as the home team.
ROAD TEAM: Boston Celtics (10-8, 5-5 on the road)
The Celtics are on a two-game losing streak after dropping games against the San Antonio Spurs on the road on Jan. 28 (110-106) and versus the Los Angeles Lakers at home last Sunday, 96-95. To make things worse for the Celtics, they will be without Marcus Smart for 2-3 weeks after the versatile guard suffered a Grade 1 left calf strain in the Lakers game.
Temporarily losing Smart will impact the Celtics drastically, as he’s a key cog on both ends of the floor for Boston, who are averaging 111.6 points per game.
Without Smart, the Celtics might be forced to insert Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup, though that’s unlikely to move the needle for them. In any case, this unfortunate development only puts a heavier burden on the shoulder of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Brown is pacing the Celtics this season with 27.1 points per game, while Taum is right behind him with 26.8 per contest. The Celtics enter Wednesday’s matchup against Golden State with a 6-3-1 record against the spread in their last 10 meetings with Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
PREDICTIONS:
The Warriors pounce on a Marcus Smart-less Celtics, as Stephen Curry continues to sizzle and lead his team to a 119-116 win at home.
