The Golden State Warriors will be hoping to continue their impressive start to the 2024-25 NBA season when they travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Both these sides have shot out the starting blocks this season, with the Celts currently in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Warriors are third in the West.
Match preview
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The Boston Celtics will come into this match following a trip to Atlanta on Tuesday morning where they cruised to a 123-93 victory over the Hawks, even without the services of Jaylen Brown.
Continuing his fine run of form in the early season, Jayson Tatum led the champs, racking up 28 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals, while shooting 10 of 21 from the field and 6 of 14 from beyond the arc in just 30 minutes of play.
With that, the Celts' leading MVP candidate is now averaging 30.0 PPG, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 blocks per game, and it is worth noting that no player in the history of the franchise has gone a full season averaging 30/5/5.
After winning the Championship last season, Joe Mazzulla's side look like favourites to challenge for the title again this term, as aside from Tatum, all of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jrue Holiday, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta also got into double digits against the Hawks.
The C's are now 7-1 heading into their home game against the Warriors, who they were 1-1 against last season, including a blowout 140-88 victory at this venue back in March this year.
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Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors look like a side transformed this year and notched up their fourth win on the bounce on Tuesday, beating the Washington Wizards 125-112 to go 6-1 for the season.
The Warriors' first three games of their current win streak came without Stephen Curry, but he returned to the starting lineup against the Hawks and made an instant impact, scoring 24 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
However, aside from the two-time MVP, Buddy Hield put in another excellent showing for his new employers, scoring 20 points and two assists off the bench, while Draymond Green added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Hield, now affectionately dubbed the "Step Splash Brother," is currently averaging above a 50% conversion from beyond the arc this season - the highest in his career to date - and 21.9 PPG, also his best return since entering the NBA.
Notably, Golden State's bench has been on fire this season and outscored Washington's reserves 60-33 in their latest matchup. So far, the Warriors have maintained an impressive 24-point average edge per game in bench points.
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Team News
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Earlier this week, reports indicated that the Celts are taking a cautious approach with Kristaps Porzingis, who underwent surgery in the offseason, but he is believed to be making steady progress in his recovery and could be back before the end of the year.
As mentioned, Jaylen Brown sat out the win over the Hawks on Tuesday due to a hip injury, and he is listed as questionable for this match, though most expect that he should be able to feature off the bench.
For the Warriors, Curry is listed as a doubt, but Steve Kerr gave the 36-year-old just 24 minutes on the court against the Wizards, and he should be fine to start, barring any setbacks in the lead-up to tip-off.
De'Anthony Melton has now missed the Warriors' last four games due to a strained lower back and will be a game-time decision against the Celts, though the expectation is that he will only return next week.
Boston Celtics possible starting five:
Tatum, Horford, Hauser, White, Holiday
Golden State Warriors possible starting five:
Green, Hield, Jackson-Davis, Curry, Wiggins
We say: Boston Celtics to win by 2+ points
Both these sides have been among the most impressive over the early stages of the season and there is an argument to be made for either to come out on top in this matchup.
However, given the home advantage and the form of Jayson Tatum this term, we are just about leaning toward the Celts to edge the Warriors in a high-scoring result.
