Boston Celtics can learn from these proven keys to beating Golden State Warriors

BOSTON -- The look on Brad Stevens’ face when I asked him whether this was an ideal time to play the Golden State Warriors was priceless.

It was the kind of look you would expect if you asked someone about whether getting a root canal in a couple days was a good time to do so.

“Have you seen them play recently?” Stevens responded. “I don’t know if anybody in the league should say it’s an ideal time.”

There’s no question the Warriors (34-14) are rolling along these days, playing high-level basketball at both ends of the floor on the road as well as at home.

And with the addition of a healthy DeMarcus Cousins to the mix, they appear to be even more unbeatable; that is, unless you’re one of the top teams in the East.

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Because if you had to point to a potential kink in the armor of this out-of-this-world roster this season, it would have to be their struggles against the top teams in the East.

They have yet to play Boston, Philadelphia or Indiana yet.

But when they’ve faced off against the top two teams in the East - Toronto and Milwaukee - the results have not been good.

They played those teams a total of four times this season, and came up losers in all but one of the games.

Here we take a look at five factors that played a prominent role in each of those defeats which may offer up some clues as to what it would take for the Celtics to beat the two-time defending NBA champs on Saturday night.

DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT

We know how devastatingly potent the Golden State offense can be, with a roster whose starting five may be better than the starting fives for the East and West All-Stars this year.

But in the three combined losses to Toronto and Milwaukee this season, those teams collectively shot 50.7 percent (143-for-282) from the field.

We can sit up here and talk defense, defense, defense all day long, but you are going to have to score and do so efficiently if you are to have a legit shot at knocking off the Warriors.

WINNING THE QUARTERS GAME

Of the 13 periods of play (that includes an overtime loss to Toronto), the Warriors were on the short end of the scoring stick eight times. More telling is how those teams limited the Warriors to just four quarters in which they scored 30 or more points.

And it is that quarter-by-quarter play defensively that the Celtics have reason to feel good about.

The Celtics have split the head-to-head series with Golden State each of the last three years. In Boston’s three wins, they have outscored the Warriors in seven of the 12 quarters of play.

CONTAIN (AT LEAST) CURRY

There is no getting around the fact that Stephen Curry is one of the most dynamic scorers this league has seen, a guy who shoots deep range 3-pointers the way most people shoot layups. He’s that good; most of the time at least.

In Golden State’s three combined losses to Toronto and Milwaukee, Curry has been the one Warriors player whose final stat line was radically out of whack compared to what he normally does.

Curry did not play in Golden State’s 131-128 overtime loss at Toronto on Nov. 29, but in the previous game against the Raptors and the Milwaukee game on Nov. 8, he averaged just 10 points per game while shooting 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) from the field and just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) on 3-pointers.

And when you look back at Boston’s wins over the Warriors in each of the last three seasons, Curry shot a lower percentage from the floor (40.8 percent) and from 3-point range (37.5 percent) than he normally does.

He’s one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, but every now and then he reminds us that he too can struggle knocking down shots from time to time.

TIMING

Whether it’s facing them without a key player, or catching them at the end or near the end of a long stretch of games, timing really does matter when it comes to beating the Golden State Warriors.

When Milwaukee beat them in November, the Warriors came into that game having won eight straight, which provided added motivation and incentive for the Bucks to snap their winning streak.

The Celtics faced them last season with a similar chip on their shoulder and came away with a 92-88 win, which snapped the Warriors seven-game winning streak.

SUPPORTING CAST SUPERSTARS

Beating the Warriors is a team effort, which means there’s usually someone who delivers in a way that is much greater than what they normally do.

When the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Warriors in November, no one was surprised that Giannis Antetokounmpo (24 points, nine rebounds, four assists in 26 minutes) had a big game. But the big surprise of the night was the play of Eric Bledsoe, who dropped 26 points in just 26 minutes of court time.

When Toronto needed overtime to knock off Golden State on Nov. 29, Pascal Siakam had 26 points on an extremely efficient 8-for-10 shooting.

Last year, Al Horford had an 18-point, 11-rebound night when Boston beat the Warriors. And the year prior to that, it was Kelly Olynyk giving the Celtics a huge lift with 17 points off the bench.

Who will be the X-factor for Boston tomorrow?

Terry Rozier? Marcus Morris? Gordon Hayward?

Stay tuned …

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