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The Golden State Warriors have been rolling ahead of Wednesday night's matchup with the Boston Celtics. The last time Golden State visited Boston, they found themselves down by 40 at halftime, but there is hope that this team will be able to stay a bit more competitive with the team they defeated in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Adding a bit of juice to this matchup is the fact that Warriors coach Steve Kerr was the head coach for Team USA in Paris this summer, and made the controversial decision to bench Celtics star Jayson Tatum on multiple occasions during the Olympics.
Ahead of Wednesday's matchup, ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith lashed out at Kerr over his treatment of the star on First Take.
“To do what he did to Jayson Tatum, I hope Jayson Tatum embarrassed him, I hope they destroy, I’m not rooting against the Warriors, I’m just talking about Jayson Tatum going on there and putting on a show,” said Smith. “Because remember last point, Steph Curry was awful until the semifinals of the Olympics, he couldn't buy a shot, but you stuck with him. Why? Because dammit that’s Steph Curry, we know what he’s going to do eventually, we know how phenomenal and great he is and you know it because you coach it all the time. So eventually he’s going to find his groove, you stuck it out. Jayson Tatum can play 4 positions man, you couldn’t find minutes for him in a game?”
While Tatum's jump shot did appear broken around the time of the Olympics, which was a continuation of a trend that started in the Celtics' playoff run, Team USA still could have used his size and versatility more than Kerr allowed them to at times.
Can the Warriors compete with the Celtics?
The Celtics and Warriors have been on opposite trajectories since Golden State defeated Boston in the 2022 NBA Finals. The Warriors have won just one playoff series since that point, while the Celtics recently cruised to the NBA championship, thanks in no small part to Tatum's brilliance.
Still, the Warriors have started out this year on a hot streak, currently sitting at 6-1 and with Stephen Curry recently returned to the lineup following an injury.
Boston may very well be the toughest place to play in the NBA, but if the Warriors are able to come out with a win, it could cement them as legitimate contenders in a year that many people overlooked them.
