Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics Prediction & Match Preview - December 17th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22
The Golden State Warriors will play their fourth match of a five-game road trip to the East Coast against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday.
The Warriors are coming off two consecutive wins. They beat the New York Knicks 105-96 in their previous outing, on a night where Stephen Curry finally broke Ray Allen's 3-point shooting record. Meanwhile, the Celtics defeated defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks 117-103 in their last match, snapping a three-game skid in the process.
Match Details
Fixture - Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics | 2021-22 NBA Season.
Date & Time - Friday, December 17th, 2021; 7:30 PM ET (Saturday, December 18th, 2021; 6:00 AM IST).
Venue - TD Garden, Boston, MA.
Golden State Warriors Preview
The Golden State Warriors will be in great spirits entering this contest against the Boston Celtics. They produced two stellar outings in a row, brushing aside the disappointment of losing against the Philadelphia 76ers in style.
The Dubs are coming off another all-round performance against the Knicks. They entered halftime trailing their opponents by a point but turned things around drastically in the third quarter, outscoring New York 24-16 in that stretch. That set the tone for them to win the game by a comfortable margin.
All players carried out their roles, pretty much as expected for the Golden State Warriors. Star of the night, Stephen Curry, scored a team-high 22 points, while Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins combined to score 37 points.
A historic shot for @stephencurry30. https://t.co/93iqFKJ9LN
The Dubs will have to maintain their sharpness at both ends of the floor against an unpredictable team like the Boston Celtics to ensure they do not slip up in their pursuit of a third consecutive win.
Key Player - Draymond Green
Draymond Green has been in sublime form to start the season. The former DPOY winner's contributions have been key to the Golden State Warriors' successful run as the best defensive team in the league. Green's ability to limit the opposition's best players and anchor the Dubs' defense is an important aspect of them executing their plans.
Green will have to continue doing that against the Boston Celtics as well. His main challenge would be to limit Jayson Tatum from finding his rhythm early on. Draymond is more than capable of disrupting the opposing team's offensive schemes, making him a key player for the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors Predicted Lineup
G - Stephen Curry | G - Jordan Poole | F - Andrew Wiggins | F - Draymond Green | C - Kevon Looney.
Boston Celtics Preview
The Boston Celtics will be looking to carry over the momentum they gained from beating the Bucks in their last game, against the Golden State Warriors. The C's maintained the pressure over their opponents after taking control of the match against Milwaukee in the third quarter to secure the win.
They outscored Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, 66-53 in the second half. Ime Udoka's men did their jobs perfectly well on the defensive end. Their interior defense was solid as they limited the Bucks to 44 points in the paint. Jayson Tatum and the Celtics also made sure they did not let their opponents get too many open looks from 3-point range as Milwaukee converted only 11 shots from deep.
Boston found their rhythm on offense early on. That helped them make 50% of their shots overall and 20 of 47 from the arc. The Celtics will likely find it difficult to create shots like that against the Warriors. That said, they will have to rely on their defense to make this a closely contested match to give themselves a chance of winning.
Here are Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum playing directly off each other in Celtics big win over defending champs on Monday.
Some good plays and looks between these two: https://t.co/V5WimgoS4R
Key Player - Marcus Smart
Opting to keep Marcus Smart on the roster was one of the wisest decisions made by the Boston Celtics this summer. Smart's contributions for the team on both ends of the floor have helped the C's churn out most of their wins this season. The point guard will have to try and do more of the same against the Golden State Warriors as well.
On defense, he will be up against Stephen Curry. Smart will have to keep him out of the game as much as possible to give his team a realistic chance of winning the match. Meanwhile, Smart will also have to support the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on offense by emerging as a viable third scoring option and primary playmaker.
Boston Celtics Predicted Lineup
G - Marcus Smart | G - Jaylen Brown | F - Jayson Tatum | F - Al Horford | C - Robert Williams.
Warriors vs Celtics Match Prediction
The Golden State Warriors will be the overwhelming favorites to win this game. The Boston Celtics haven't been that great against teams that are better than them on paper and performance-wise as well. Unless they manage to produce a season-best outing as a unit, they are likely to lose this encounter.
Where to watch Warriors vs Celtics
The match between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics will be televised nationally by ESPN and locally through NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports Boston. Fans can also catch live action online via NBA League Pass.