Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics: NBA Saturday Primetime Preview
As the 2020-2021 NBA season comes to a close, more and more games are becoming essential. Especially for teams that are on the bubble when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs. With the NBA play-in tournament rules, each conference’s seventh and eighth seed is no longer guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
They must now earn their seeds by winning the NBA play-in tournament. The play-in concept was created last season once the league returns to action after the COVID-19 shutdown. As it currently stands, the Golden State Warriors are the ninth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.
As previously stated, the ninth seed does not guarantee a playoff berth. The Warriors must continue to build on their current streak of success to maintain their seeding or at least move up to the sixth spot if possible. As for Golden State’s opponent, the Boston Celtics, they are the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston has struggled to maintain a level of consistency when it comes to being a significant player in the conference.
They have bounced up and down in the current seedings of the Eastern Conference for the majority of the season. However, there may be signs of long-term success based on their recent performance. Boston is on a five-game winning streak. Despite their winning streak, the margin for error is slim, especially with the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat being a few games behind them for the fifth seed in the East.
Warriors vs. Celtics: Keys to Victory
Celtics
The Celtics’ number one priority in Saturday’s matchup will be to slow down Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. As of lately, Curry has been on a tear throughout the NBA. Based on his most recent performances, Curry may very well be on the road to winning his third Most Valuable Player Award. He has been deadly behind the three point-line. The only way that the Celtics can stifle the two-time MVP is by being very aggressive with him.
Even if that results in trips to the free-throw line, Kemba Walker maybe the Celtics starting point guard, but Marcus Smart may be more physical when defending the three-time world champion. Boston must also be successful in the scoring department if they won’t take down Golden State tomorrow.
Despite their four-game winning streak, this is not the best version of the Golden State Warriors. They are not as potent as when both Steph and Klay were in the lineup, but they can still make quality shots. Boston must take advantage of a Warriors team that at certain times has looked inconsistent outside of Curry in the scoring department.
Warriors
If the Warriors want to continue their winning streak on Saturday versus the Celtics, they must stop the two most important players on the Celtics roster. Those two players are power forward Jason Tatum and forward solid Jaylen Brown. On Thursday night, Brown dropped 40 points on the Lakers en route to their fifth consecutive victory. Veteran Kent Bazemore must slow down the effectiveness of how Brown can impact Saturday’s game.
Bazemore’s fellow teammate Draymond Green will be tasked with defending Tatum for most of Saturday’s contest. Outside of Boston defending Steph Curry, the battle between Green and Tatum will be the most intriguing matchup of the game. The effectiveness of how the Warriors can defend both Tatum and Brown will be the determining factor when it comes to being victorious on Saturday.
Prediction
The Golden State Warriors are on a four-game winning streak right now. A massive bulk of their success is on the shoulders of Steph Curry. On Saturday night, their winning streak comes to an end as the Celtics continue their current run of success. Curry’s scoring streak has been historical, but all things must come to an end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today.
