Boston Celtics look to sustain success against Golden State Warriors

http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/01/26/boston-celtics-sustain-success-against-golden-state-warriors/




Boston Celtics look to sustain success against Golden State Warriors


















By: Greg Cassoli | 28 minutes ago






The Boston Celtics face  Golden State  Saturday as the only team in the NBA with a winning record against the Warriors in the past three years.


The Golden State Warriors are one of the most dominant teams in the history of the NBA. Their record across the past three years stands at a ludicrous 179-34, an astonishing mark accompanied by equally impressive fundamentals.


The Warriors have finished first in offensive efficiency in each of the last two seasons and are on pace to do so again. Defensively they’ve rated out as fifth and second overall in their previous campaigns and are currently ranked eighth in the league.


To say that Golden State is a favorite to win a second consecutive championship would be an understatement. The Warriors juggernaut is an unstoppable force, all the more difficult to deal with across a seven-game series.


In the regular season the Warriors are slightly less formidable. They’re still incredibly dangerous, but on some nights opponents can make them look human. None have done so more effectively than the Celtics, who’ve amassed a 3-2 record against the Warriors across the past three years.



That may not seem like much, but Boston’s three victories actually represent 8.8% of Golden State’s total regular season losses since the start of the 2015-16 season. In fact, the Celtics are the only team in the NBA with a winning record against the Warriors in that same time frame. Almost a third of the league doesn’t have a single win.


It’s only a five-game sample size, but their success remains noteworthy. Traditionally, the Celtics have relied on a variety of pesky perimeter defenders (e.g. Avery Bradley) to hound Golden State’s shooters all over the court. That’s changed a bit this year.


Boston went through a roster makeover this summer, evolving its defensive scheme to be less reliant on optimal defensive matchups and more geared toward versatile switching lineups. The resulting roster is one of the few in the NBA with enough players with the requisite length and craft to credibly match up with the Warriors’ smaller lineups.


There is no denying the fact that Golden State has greater top-end talent on its roster. Any team sporting four All-Stars and two of the game’s five best players is always going to be tough to beat in that regard. But Boston has just enough versatility, discipline and defensive tenacity to remain competitive on most nights.


Often times just giving yourself a chance in the game’s final seconds is the best you can do against the Warriors. It worked out for the Celtics the last time the two teams squared off. They’ll hope to repeat their success at Oracle Arena on Saturday night.




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