Warriors can't stop beating Boston Celtics in primetime games
Warriors can't stop beating Boston Celtics in primetime games
Wait, the Dubs didn't even need Andrew Wiggins for this smooth victory? YIKES
Well well well. Whether it’s June or December, the Golden State Warriors seem to keep laying the smackdown on the Boston Celtics.
The latest evidence that the defending, reigning, undisputed heavyweight champions of the NBA world are gonna be alright despite their 14-13 record to start their season came last night when they defeated the Celtics 123-107 in Chase Center. This was about as important as a December regular season can get considering it was an NBA Finals rematch, and Boston came into the game with a league best record of 21-5.
This takes me back to Duby Dub Dubs’ excellent preview for this game, where he predicted a GSW win while giving Boston their props for their hot start:
The Boston Celtics didn’t win the Finals last year, but they’ve come back with a slightly revamped system this year and have only lost five games so far this season. With the most efficient offense and best Net Rating, this Celtics team is for real.
The Golden State Warriors are real too, but not right now. After some stabilization, the Warriors are back down at .500. Partially due to injuries, and partially because their plan hasn’t come together as quickly as they would have liked, the Warriors are yet again hoping to turn the page and set a new tone… starting tonight.
I think this is going to be an intense game. I’m less concerned about a win tonight, but let’s go out on a limb here and predict that Golden State finally comes out on the good side of a random ending.
Check out this response in the comments:
“This is the most unapologetically rose-colored glasses homer take I've come across in a while. It's expected for a writer covering a team to offer points of optimism and silver linings... but to be this bullish with a team that's woefully underperformed to this point is straight comical and puts a flag on your objectivity.”
Wow! The audacity to question the journalistic integrity of an award winning publication! Immediately I figured this was probably an undercover Boston Celtic fan who had infiltrated the friendly but firm borders of the sprawling lands that DNHQ rests on, with territory stretching from Wiggins Island to Mount Wiseman. I read on:
“It pains me to utter any praise on the Celtics. I detest them. But if you're going to be honest about it, Boston has just been on another level. I wonder if you saw what they just did the then WEST-leading Suns last game in their house, but yeah. There was a look Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton gave to each other in the 3rd quarter - "shell shocked."
We really need to stop with the propaganda that beating the Phoenix Suns (a team that knows nothing about championships) means anything when it comes to matching up with the Warriors dynasty.
“Now look, of course anything can happen. All the clichés, as annoying as they are, have merit for a reason ("this is the defending champion," "they're all nba players," "games are not won on paper," blah blah blah). But if you're going to analyze the game as, apparently, a journalist, a shred of genuine neutrality is a requisite.”
Hahaha okay wellp hey Warriors fans, apparently we can’t have belief in a team that just won the championship in June and retained the core. Not only that, we’re supposed to be terrified of the Celtics because they have the best record two weeks before Christmas.
Being that I’m a completely unbiased reporter myself aka the Gold Blooded King, I have to admit that this fear of Boston in DNHQ predates that spirited response to Duby’s prophetic prediction. Our very own DNHQ member Asher B. led us on a thought exercise praising Boston’s power in the comment sections days before:
Hi, my name is Boston. I am a forceful young team, yet already have Finals experience. I play defense as well as anyone and now offense, too. I feature arguably the most dynamic and intimidating backcourt in basketball, and a deep bench. My one clear flaw was lack of a point guard who could handle, distribute, shoot, so the acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon has really bolstered me. Even without Timelord I have been winning more than anyone.
Can someone please explain, without homerism, why I would not be expected to win the championship this coming year, and pour a bunch of green shit in the Charles River?
Hi Boston, you’re not winning a damn thing because it’s been scientifically proven that Y’ALL ARE A BUNCH OF TUXEDO PLAYERS! Y’ALL AIN’T GOT THAT DOG IN YOU! You don’t have a single player on your roster who can take a contested jumper from 30 feet and jog away while the ball’s still in the freakin’ air:
Oops, perhaps that was a flare up of the homerism that pumps through my veins being born and raised to support my local NBA team. Maybe that’s why so many years ago when I started my writing career covering the Warriors for Golden State of Mind, I made my avatar a laughing Homer covered in gold.
Speaking of GSOM, check out this pregame comment under a preview I whipped up:
As a Celtics fan, I generally agree with the analysis of the finals lookback, as well as this game. And I know I'm gonna sound like a homer here, but if anything, this preview underplays just how well the Celtics are playing through the first third of the season, especially on offense.
This isn't just the best offense in the league, but they're on pace to be the best, most efficient offense of all time (which I'm sure would be a sensitive topic to Warriors fans). They have 4 of the top 7 3pt shooters in the league, none of which are named Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. This team is insanely deep and their defense is slowly starting to come around.
Wow that’s a lotta excitement for a franchise whose greatest accomplishment since 2008 is becoming a trivia footnote as the team Stephen Curry won his first Finals MVP on.
But who am I to squash any homerism? Go ahead and believe in your team Celtics fans! I just hope Dub Nation can believe in ours.
We created the We Believe movement that fueled arguably the greatest upset in modern NBA history in support of BARON DAVIS and ANDRIS BIEDRINS. If we could believe in those guys, surely we can have some faith in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, winners of four championships in the last eight years.
I only mentioned those three names because judging from last night apparently the Warriors don’t even need Andrew Wiggins to smack Boston around bahahah.
Okay now that we’ve exorcised this rabid terror of Boston out of our hearts, a team whose soul we have locked inside a glass aquarium in Canon Curry’s room, let’s revisit some cool things about last night’s emphatic W.
Kuminga Kaos diversifies GSW offense and anchors defense
Everyone bailing on Golden State’s development of their recent first round draft picks two months into the season needs to pay attention to what sophomore Jonathan Kuminga is bringing to the table. Last night he scored 14 points in 21 minutes off of the bench, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
This dude’s combo of size at 6-foot-7 and trampoline springboard athleticism is already extremely problematic when he gets downhill in a one-on-one matchup. He can just bully his way wings and guards, jumping over, around, or directly through them. Just ask elite defender Jayson Tatum!
Those physical gifts are also being unleashed on the defensive end, where Kuminga filled in admirably as a lockdown defender to replace Tatum’s normal warden Andrew Wiggins. Kuminga limited Tatum to 1-of-4 shooting as a primary defender, which is almost as good as Kevon Looney holding Boston’s best player to 1-of-5 shooting when matched up. Loon Dawg also added 15 rebounds!
The Warriors limited Boston to 43% shooting for the game, 30% from 3PT range. Tatum shot a ghastly 6-of-21 from the field, which is pretty notable considering he normally averages 30 points per game. Then again, the Warriors just won a championship by neutralizing Tatum in the NBA Finals.
The Splash Bros are unguardable
How in the heck do Curry and Thompson keep lighting Boston up despite the men in green allegedly having elite perimeter defense? Killa Klay led the way with 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting, while his elder Splash Bro Curry added 32 points of his own on 12-of-21 shooting. They combined to hit 10 threes, lighting Boston up from deep. Here’s the shot chart for these two legends from last night, check out how they scored at the rim, from the mid-range, and beyond the arc:
Moving On
This is going to be a long season folks, full of ups and downs and new opponents to deal with. But remember, those teams gotta deal with the Warriors TOO, and that’s no walk in the damn park. GOODNIGHT BOSTON!
Hey!! I can still post here. Locked out of Duby's article today.
Steph is five points away from tying the great David Robinson for 42nd on the NBA career regular season scoring list.