BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors are the hottest teams in their respective conferences right now, something that shouldn’t be all that surprising when you consider Saturday night’s game was supposed to be an NBA Finals preview.
But these two teams, while playing good basketball, are on two very different planes of play.
The Celtics (30-18) have had a rocky start to the season with uneven play and with that, a record that has them fifth in the East.
Meanwhile, the Warriors (34-14) are playing with the kind of precision at both ends of the floor you expect to see in the middle of May, not January after a lackluster start to the season.
“Every team goes through their ups and downs of a season,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “But they’re … they look like they’re playing at an elite level right now. It just looks like everybody has a little more bounce in their step. So, they’re tough. I don’t know if I’ve seen them play better during any regular season stretch since maybe the year they won 73.”
And that only adds an extra layer of difficulty to what will surely be Boston’s stiffest challenge this season.
“They’re the standard for the whole NBA,” Stevens said. “It’s not about style of play. They’ve put together a great group that fits each other well, that plays great, has played great defense and great offense. You can’t emulate them because their guys are unique in what they do. You have to play to your strengths as a group.”
And when facing the Warriors in recent years, that’s exactly what the Celtics have done.
Boston has split the head-to-head series with Golden State the last three seasons which puts them in Uber-elite company.
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As in, company of one.
Boston is the only team in the NBA over the last three seasons that does not have a losing record against the Warriors.
It is that track record that on many levels, gives the Celtics a level of confidence that few teams that line up against the stacked Warriors roster can not only speak about but back it up with their play.
However, that confidence has to be balanced with the reality that unlike the Warriors, the Celtics are still very much a team that’s looking to find their stride this season.
After beginning the season with lofty expectations of being the toast of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics opened with a sluggish 10-10 start which included a couple of bad losses to the likes of Orlando and New York.
They made a lineup change, moving Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown to the bench and replacing them with the two Marcus's - Morris and Smart.
There were signs of better play, but inconsistency remained the team’s identity.
The breaking point seemed to be following a home loss to Milwaukee, a game that led to a team meeting immediately after the game.
That alone tells you a little something about how much of a struggle it has been for this team to play up to the expectations that many - including themselves - had for this season.
Oh, there was more.
Kyrie Irving’s repeated references to the need for the young players to be more consistent irked some the wrong way, which kept the Celtics in the news for all the wrong reasons.
And then there was Marcus Morris shoving Jaylen Brown during a time-out at Miami, soon followed by Irving clearly disappointed with a late-game decision made by Gordon Hayward and … it has been that kind of season for the Celtics.
But the last few games, their defense has been solid, contributions have come from many, and they have found ways to be successful both with Irving and without him.
They are playing more and more like the team many expected to see from the outset, showing more consistent signs of turning the corner to indeed be an elite, championship-caliber contender.
And while the success of late has been welcomed, Boston could use even more of a boost to its title-chasing dreams, the kind of boost that comes with knocking off the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
“Just seeing our competitive nature, everybody on this team wants to win,” Marcus Smart told NBC Sports Boston. “So, when you play a good team of the caliber of a Golden State team, everybody is locked in and more focused than they usually be.”
And as much as the Celtics would love to cruise towards a cushy win, they know this game will challenge them to stay the course in ways no other opponent will this season.
So what’s the mindset?
“Keep playing,” Smart said. “This is one game where you have to keep playing. They’re gonna make tough shots; they’re gonna get calls that we probably won’t agree with, some calls they won’t agree with. We have to keep going and not let that stuff carry on to the next play.”
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