Boston Celtics Know How Hard is it to Beat the Warriors
The Boston Celtics know better than anyone how difficult it is to beat the Warriors
Given that the Boston Celtics are still the most successful regular season team against the Golden State Warriors over the last few years, despite their loss last night, you might get the impression that the Celtics think they are easier to beat than most other teams.
The Celtics are not going up against them and being beat down and demoralized the way most teams are. That being said, having these close games, especially on a career night from Steph Curry, has given the Celtics a much better understanding of what they need to be in order to get a chance.
When you keep getting blown out by the Warriors on a regular basis, it is hard to have any frame of reference for how good you need to be in order to beat them. The Celtics have some sense of how good they need to be, and that might be more intimidating than getting blown out on a regular basis.
If you quickly glance over at the post game quotes from the Warriors, you realize how good their defense really was last night, despite not having arguably their best in Marcus Smart. The key for the Celtics defense is disrupting their opponent, and that is exactly what they did, limiting the Warriors to just 19 assists on their 38 made baskets. 19 might be decent for some teams, but it is far off from the Warriors’ season average of 30.6.
More from Hardwood Houdini
- Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
- Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
- ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
- Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
- Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?
The Celtics defense played as well as you can possibly imagine with Smart sidelined, and it was easy to see that they were able to disrupt what the Warriors wanted to do, and did a phenomenal job of containing one of the highest functioning offenses we have ever seen. Kevin Durant was not able to get going and Klay Thompson disappeared. The Celtics had no one that could stay with Curry, but nobody in the league is able to do that consistently.
The Warriors were not able to use what is normally the best ball movement in the league to get everyone involved, and yet that was not enough. Now, a lot of people might say that the way Curry played was a lot less sustainable than the way the Celtics played, and if he doesn’t have one of his best games of the season, the Celtics win this one.
While that is true, there is no defense in the world that will completely shut down all three stars on the Warriors. Curry may not have another game like that all season long, but if the Warriors do not see how hot he is, then they see if their other MVP can start manufacturing points without ball movement.
The Celtics just got a great understanding of how impossible this Warriors offense is. Even if you play the best defense you can imagine, and throw off their entire offense, you still cannot expect them to be quiet, because one of their MVPs are going to create points no matter what the situation is.
The Celtics played defense as well as you can ask against the Warriors, and that is what gave them a chance. The problem is that the Celtics still needed to have one of their better offensive games in order for the best defense to be enough.
If they did not know it before, the Celtics certainly realize that there is no defense in the world that can beat the Warriors without great offense to back it up. By playing defense the way they did, the Celtics gave Kyrie Irving and the offense an opportunity to win, and they came as close as you can get without taking them down.
The Celtics were balanced, because they knew that Irving alone is not going to score enough points. Irving did more than anyone could possibly expect with his opportunities. He finished with one miss from three, and needed just 18 shots to get his 37 points. No matter what, the Celtics know they need Irving to be out there manufacturing points, and bailing them out when it is needed most.
They also had to combine that with some of their best balance of the season. This was the Irving show, but he finished under his season average in field goal attempts. The team as a whole followed suit by hitting 50 percent of their three point shots, and it really has not been getting better than that for the Celtics this season.
The offense did leave something to be desired, because Jayson Tatum was not able to get going, and they finished with just 17 assists. The Warriors defense deserves some credit, but the Celtics now realize that, in addition to their best defense and a truly dominant night from Irving, they also need to be getting more people involved and creating more easy opportunities. The Celtics got great offense, but not quite their best offense, and that leaves the standard of needing their absolute best on defense, while being almost as good on offense.
When you look at everything the Celtics did in that game, for them to not escape with a victory is the best testament to how impossible it is to beat the Warriors. The flip side of that is that the Celtics can also look at this game and realize they at least know what they need to do to win, no matter how hard getting to that point may be.
Next: Constructing a Trade for Kawhi Leonard
It may be next to impossible standards, but the Celtics have a blueprint of what they need to do in order to give themselves a chance against the Warriors, even on a night when Curry has his season best performance.