Celtics vs Warriors preview

The upcoming Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors game is already generating a lot of buzz.

With Steph Curry back from injury and heading toward full fitness, the Golden State Warriors will be looking to be more competitive against the Boston Celtics than they have been since the start of 2023. 

As the season begins to move toward their campaign’s business end, the Celtics are favorites for this year’s title – their long and fiercely competitive rivalry with the Warriors over the last few years is ready for another chapter.

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Today, we will see if the Warriors can repeat the result from last year’s final and kickstart their campaign to move up the ranks of the Western Conference.

How will the Celtics shape up?

The Celtics will enjoy home advantage in this one and with the momentum definitely in their favor, they will be keen to cement their position as favorites for this year’s title.

Many stars throughout the Celtics ranks have had a long and varied history when coming up against the Warriors in recent years.

Losing last year’s final will still be playing on their minds but based on their performances this season, they have used it as a catalyst to become a more intelligent and aggressive unit. 

They head into this game as clear favorites and they’ll be confident of sending a message to other teams in the league. However – despite the Warriors being the defending champions, they have yet to look like a team near that same level during this campaign.

They have had their share of injuries, which hasn’t helped matters, but to find themselves so far behind the chasing pack at this stage of the season will be a difficult pill to swallow for a team that contains so many serial winners. 

Jayson Tatum is one of the shining lights for the Celtics and he will be looking to right the wrongs of last year’s playoff final. With 15 titles to their name, they will be eager to add a 16th to their trophy cabinet.

Playing with the same intensity they have displayed for most of the season will be a crucial factor in this game against the Warriors.

How will the Warriors shape up?

It’s fair to say that the Warriors are not performing to their full potential. As we touched on in the opening section, they have suffered key injuries to their big stars and this has caused them to slip away from the leaders in the Western Conference. 

Steph Curry is widely regarded as one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history, and alongside other world-class stars in his team, such as NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, they are still a major challenge to any team. 

With Steph Curry and Klay Thompson looking to return to full fitness, they will want to try and rally the Warriors to a point where they can defend their title. It’s a tough ask, though, and many analysts believe the Celtics will be the ones who lift the title this year.

Since 2015, the legacy of the Golden State Warriors has been astonishing. They have surpassed some of the greatest NBA franchises of all time.

Players such as Steph Curry have earned multiple personal accolades and many of their team’s leading players have featured in numerous All-Star games.

The Warriors’ form this season

Although Curry has been injured, he is also heading toward the latter stages of his career. For a player of his quality, it wouldn’t be entirely out of the question for him to add a few more finals MVP performances to his locker.

However, all empires end, and so do legendary careers, unfortunately. If this occurs, the rest of the team will have to seriously increase their output to even stand a chance of reaching the same levels they did last year.

They have young players coming through the ranks, with shooting guard Jordan Poole already obtaining a championship to his name at the age of 23. He could spearhead a campaign to keep the Warriors ahead of the rest. 

Another young player who is starting to make waves for the Warriors is Anthony Lamb. The 24-year-old is coming off a career-best number of points from when he scored 26 vs Orlando Magic just a few weeks ago. 

Many analysts believe the team is transitioning and experimenting with a blend of old and new. Steve Kerr has been dealing with the problem of having players of such high quality in the Warriors ranks and getting to gel them with fresher faces in a way that suits them.

Expect to see Warriors players in the All-Star game, regardless of how their season ends. Over the last seven years, the Warriors have been one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NBA. However, that doesn’t mean that they should rest on their laurels.

Conclusion

If we’re to analyze their form, the Warriors may fall short on this occasion. However – we can’t underplay how much of a different team they are when their main three are firing on all cylinders.

Luckily for the Warriors, form isn’t the only factor. There are many other variables to consider.

Every team in the league would struggle without their three key players. However – when they’re three of the best players in the league, and some are the greatest players of all time, it paints a very different picture. 

Warriors fans will be hopeful that the return of these players means that their team will put on an entirely different show compared to the meager performances they have provided fans with over the last few months. 

As the team seeks to become a more balanced unit, however, there are bound to be some teething issues.

A team with this sort of quality, seeking to transition from being great to maintaining a legacy, will almost certainly face its challenges. You only need to examine some of the great teams of yesteryear to see that the good times don’t last forever. 

A driven and focused Celtics should be too much for the Warriors on this occasion. We envisage that as the Warriors’ key men aim to get back to firing on all cylinders, they will come up short against a driven, compact and competent franchise like the Celtics. 

It would take quite a spectacular fall from grace for the Celtics to fall out of favor with the analysts this year, and their vocal home support should be able to push them over the line in this matchup.