The Golden State Warriors make their next stop in their Atlantic Coast trip at TD Garden where the Boston Celtics look to cool off Stephen Curry and company. Read more about this game in our preview below.
Catch this game live on Saturday, December 18, at 8:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Golden State Warriors (23-5/9-3 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Jordan Poole
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
Stephen Curry’s hands might still be smoking when he takes to the floor this Saturday at TD Garden. Fresh off solidifying his status as the greatest shooter ever in the NBA by breaking Ray Allen’s record for all-time 3-pointers in a 105-96 road win over the New York Knicks, Curry will now look to become the first player ever in the history of the league to reach the 3,000 threes plateau. The Warriors’ offense as a whole is averaging 111.8 points and 28.1 assists per contest — third and first in the league, respectively.
Curry and the Warriors’ offense aside, Golden State’s defense continues to do wonders and fuel the team’s success. The Warriors, who held the Knicks to only 36.1 FG%, are no. 1 in the NBA with an opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 49.0. Moreover, teams are scoring just 100.2 points this season against Golden State. The Warriors hit Beantown with a 13-8 ATS record this season in games after a win and a 7-5 ATS slate in their last 12 outings away from the Bay Area.
Home: Boston Celtics (14-14/7-4 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Marcus Smart
- SG: Jaylen Brown
- SF: Jayson Tatum
- PF: Al Horford
- C: Robert Williams III
Like Curry, the Celtics were hot from deep in their last game. Boston snapped a three-game losing streak by taking down the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Tuesday, 117-103. Jayson Tatum outdueled Giannis Antetokounmpo by erupting for 42 points on the strength of a 7/13 shooting from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown scored 19 points and buried three triples. Altogether, the Celtics went 20/47 on their 3-point attempts.
Tatum is going to be a tough cover for any defender assigned to him, and the hope for the Celtics is that he remains hot for this marquee matchup against the Warriors, who got torched for 31 points by Julius Randle in the Knicks game. Unlike Randle, Tatum has an All-Star running mate in Brown. Then there’s Marcus Smart, a unicorn on defense who can singlehandedly cripple opposing offenses and form a steel curtain in the backcourt together with the returning Josh Richardson. The Celtics are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games on a Saturday (Manila time).
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Celtics have been subpar against the spread at TD Garden this season. Hard to trust them covering with the Warriors coming to Beantown for this game. Looking at a Warriors cover (-3) here.
Over/Under: The Celtics recently scored just 90 points against the Phoenix Suns, a team with a comparable defense to that of the Warriors’. Leaning on the Under (214.5) here.
