TNT’s Primetime broadcast cameras flash on to the TD Garden for another time tonight as the Boston Celtics do battle with the Golden State Warriors for the second and final time this season, and tip-off will occur at 8 p.m.
Celtics fans better get used to enjoying this feeling of not having to worry about facing a stacked Western powerhouse for a full year in GSW’s momentary hiatus from league-wide domination, as this year’s iteration of a Warriors squad displays all but a mere fraction of the franchise previous lineups composed of all things intimidating. As a Boston Celtic, it must be nice to know that there’s no need to gameplan for the backcourt onslaught of the Splash Brothers for a whole year, even if you only face them twice (barring any potential NBA Finals meetups in June, of course).
As for tonight, they face a Warriors team that’s already looking ahead to the Draft Lottery in June and the offseason where they’re sure to stock up on some additional firepower to supply with Curry and Thompson’s return to the hardwood. And the last time they were on the Parquet, they skated by in a 115-111 win over the Celtics, where Steph and Klay combined for 45 and Kevin Durant eviscerated the Celtics front line in a 33-point performance that kept the Warriors afloat in the Western top-two team race last year.
Things changed drastically since the last time they visited Beantown, as you know already. The Celtics were pushed to their limits the last time they faced these tenacious Warriors back on November 15, and they needed a high-powered offensive showing from Kemba Walker to grab their first-ever win in the newly-erected Chase Arena. For their last contest, Golden State fought hard for three quarters but lost gas at the end in a 115-104 loss on the road in Philadelphia.
Boston in the meantime has been rolling, with exception to the loss to the Pelicans, becoming one of the only three teams this season to hand an L to the Miami Heat inside the American Airlines Arena. They’ve won four of their last five games and with Jayson Tatum being announced as an All-Star for the first time in his three-year career, there’s a little extra motivation for the former third overall pick to go off against a team that’s struggled on the defensive end, now ranking 23rd in the league in team defensive rating. Tatum returns from a thigh ailment and should expect to see a minutes restriction to get accumulated to NBA pace again.
The first game of the night will tip-off at 8 p.m. ET, on TNT
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