Golden State @ Boston preview
TD Garden
Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2024 ) Golden State 88, Boston 140
It's unclear if Boston forward Jaylen Brown will be in the lineup when the Celtics face the visiting Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Brown has not played in Boston's last two games because of a hip flexor strain. Following Monday's 123-93 victory over Atlanta, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla described Brown as "day to day."
Brown is averaging 25.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. He has missed 14 games since the start of the 2023-24 season, and Boston won all 14.
Jayson Tatum carried the Boston offense against the Hawks by scoring 28 points, 26 of which came in the first half. Tatum has been the leading scorer in six of Boston's eight games.
"He found advantages because he was creating space," Mazzulla said. "He got a couple in transition. He drove. He had a good balance of shooting threes and driving in the first half, and then they started to hit, and then he was just making plays. He had five assists in the third quarter. Just a well-rounded game by him."
Stephen Curry returned to the Golden State lineup for Monday's 125-112 victory over Washington after missing three games with an ankle injury. He scored 24 points and had six assists in the win, which extended Golden State's winning streak to four games.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Curry was on a 24-minute limit against the Wizards.
"He looked like he was moving really well," Kerr said. "He looked strong. Came out and played a great game in his 24 minutes. Assuming he feels good (Tuesday) I don't anticipate a big minutes restriction or anything like that for Boston."
The Warriors have won six of their seven games, which is the team's best start to a season since they won 11 of their first 12 games in 2021-22. Monday's victory over Washington improved Golden State's road record to 4-0.
"We love the start," Kerr said. "To go 6-1, I think that exceeds our expectations, but we also know that our schedule has been kind to us. We've played some teams that have been injured, we've played some young teams. It's about to get a lot harder. We play basically the three best teams in the league the rest of this week (Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City). I like our progress, but we have a lot of work ahead.
"We have to tighten up our offensive execution. We took care of the ball (against the Wizards), but it didn't feel like a clean game for us execution-wise, so we have to get better in that area and the last couple games we haven't forced many turnovers. I don't think we've been as disruptive as we were the first five games, so hopefully a little bit of improvement at both ends."
Wednesday's game will reunite Tatum and Kerr, who benched Tatum for multiple games during the Paris Olympics.
"We're playing against Steph Curry, somebody that I'm close with," Tatum said. "And obviously, I'm close with Draymond Green. I know this is a Finals matchup from a few years ago. From that standpoint, getting to play against those guys, we've had a lot of battles over the last couple years. So, sure, it'll be fun."
--Field Level Media