BOSTON -- How can anyone overlook the Golden State Warriors?
They've won the last two NBA titles. They're powered by a ridiculously talented roster that scores in bunches and defends extremely well. So, what are fans not seeing in the 2018-19 Warriors?
- MORE CELTICS: Kevin Durant offers high praise for C's skill level
Brad Stevens has an idea.
"There’s a lot of things that are overlooked about them, which sounds crazy because of how much they’re covered,” the Boston Celtics head coach said Saturday before the teams' showdown at TD Garden. “The No. 1 thing that’s overlooked is how hard they play. Everyone gets mesmerized by their shooting, the offense, the five clips a game of the ball just popping around. These guys play really hard. Everyone that comes in the game does.
"They’re so active defensively. They have a lot of versatility, but versatility only goes so far if you don’t play the right way, and they play the right way. There’s a reason they’ve been the standard.”
Stevens makes a good point. The Warriors highlights most fans see are Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson raining 3-pointers or Kevin Durant scoring from, well, anywhere.
Boston Celtics
Find the latest Boston Celtics news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
But Golden State plays with an edge -- set mostly by energetic forward Draymond Green -- that's impressive given the team's frantic offensive pace.
"They have a lot of highly-skilled, highly intelligent basketball players that you can tell if you take your foot off the gas for one second, you’re dead," Stevens added.
The C's certainly will have to be at full-throttle Saturday night if they want to snap the Warriors' nine-game win streak.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.