The Golden State Warriors haven’t lost a regular season game at Oracle Arena in over 15 months and they continue their quest to become the first team in NBA history to finish a season undefeated at home. The Celtics gave the Dubs a scare when they met in the Garden back in December, before falling in double overtime.
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SCHEDULING
Boston’s trip out west comes at an inopportune time as the Celtics fight for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. The good news is the lengthy five-game trip is nearly over. The bad news is the C’s have to contend with the Warriors. The worse news is they have to do it on the second game of a back-to-back. Boston has done well in the back end of consecutive games with an 11-6 SU and 10-7 ATS record, so there is hope. They also finish the trip Sunday against the Lakers and that’s even better news.
Golden State has done a marvelous job of balancing team chemistry with its quest to set a NBA record for wins in a season. The Warriors are not jeopardizing their chance of a repeat by chasing league history, but here they are, ahead of the pace set by the 1995-96 Bulls. The Warriors won their fifth straight since losing in San Antonio on Mar. 19, dropping the Wizards 102-94 on Tuesday, but they are just 1-4 ATS in that stretch facing double-digit lines in each game.
INJURIES
The Celtics are hopeful they’ll have forward Jae Crowder back in the lineup at some point during this five-game road trip. Crowder last played on Mar. 11, leaving that game with a high ankle sprain.
Andre Iguodala and Festus Ezeli remain out of the Warriors lineup, but their absence hasn’t affected the team too much.
KEY MATCHUP
The Celtics aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, lacking the versatile scorers and perimeter shooters that generally litter the top offensive teams in the league. Still, Boston has managed to put together a top-11 offense, thanks in large part to Isaiah Thomas. Boston is exceedingly dependent on Thomas to put points on the board, and for the most part, he’s followed through this season. The diminutive guard is averaging 22.2 points on 42.2 percent shooting, but thanks to his ability to get to the charity stripe and knock down free throws, he has compiled a true-shooting percentage of 56.3 percent to offset his poor field goal percentage. At 5-foot-9, Thomas is a spectacular finisher around the rim. He’s fearless attacking the hoop, can score the basketball down low, and gets his share of trips to the line, where he knocks down freebies at an 88.5 percent clip.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Boston’s athletic lineup is a matchup problem for the Warriors and the Celtics showed just how much when the clubs met in December. The C’s took Golden State to two overtimes before succumbing in a game Boston felt it could have won. Beating the Dubs this time at Oracle presents more of a challenge, especially if Crowder, the Celtics’ top defender, remains out of the lineup. But they also need someone other than Thomas to start knocking down shots consistently. It won’t matter how well the Celtics play defense if they can’t score and becoming one-dimensional on the offensive end isn’t going to get it done.
Golden State 111, Boston 104
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