The Matchup

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Warriors podcast I’m listening to has them winning in 6.

Citing GSW depth and being more fresh than BOS.

Not bad points but I think they’re overestimating the Warriors prowess on both sides of the ball.

We are getting 96 hours before game 1 and then most of the games have 72 hours and only a couple with 48 hrs turn around.  The travel is going to wear down both team equally, once they get into it.  I am not that worried about the freshness thing with this schedule.  The Celtics will have plenty of rest or bounce back time.  Boston has an extra travel day at the start, traveling from Miami to Boston and then Boston to SFO, but I think that can be managed.  They will ready for Game 1.  They will be as fresh as they have been in weeks, even with the extra travel.  It is fine with me if GSW wants to think they have a "freshness" advantage.

agreed. all this rest will have us fresh and ready to go after two straight 7 game physical series. Then we can get back to pounding GS all series and wear them out down low on offense and on defense. We played every other day against Miami. We will be fine this series. legs rested.

[Who]

BOS is Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Tougher.

[mobilija]

BOS is Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Tougher.

The Bionic Celtics!

[Goldstar88]

I think we might rest Rob in game 1 and try to steal it. If we steal, rest him game 2. Game 3 is June 8.

Feel like they should consider resting Smart game 1 as well. He has not looked good since spraining his ankle a few games ago. White has been better than Marcus of late on both ends of the court.

[moiso]

Not sure why you would rest anyone who can go in the finals. 

[seancally]

I think we might rest Rob in game 1 and try to steal it. If we steal, rest him game 2. Game 3 is June 8.

nah. if he can go, he will go, if he can't then he won't. we cannot afford to concede any games.
That is almost similar to saying well let's do a bullpen game so this other starter can get extra rest. if he needs rest he will rest, if he has had enough he will pitch. last thing we can afford is to get greedy and roll dice. if rob plays and we win game 1 i expect him to play again (IF he can go) and we look to steal two out there. if we win game one you MUST go for the knockout. YOu do not win game 1 and then go weak game 2 intentionally. you go for the killshot (if possible). If we win without him game 1 like you sau then i for sure play him game 2 to yet again get a sweep out there.  There are no guarantees just because you get him some extra rest he will be any better or that we win at home.

but if we steal 2 at GS. You absolutely go all out to end the series in Boston. This all a hypothetical but anything is possible especially with a ROAD DOG/ROAD WARRIOR team in these celtics.

If Robs looks how he looked in Game 7 I’d prefer he rest.

[liam]

The Warriors don't rely on getting to the line as much as the other teams we've played so I think the games will be more enjoyable.

[Vermont Green]

I think we might rest Rob in game 1 and try to steal it. If we steal, rest him game 2. Game 3 is June 8.

nah. if he can go, he will go, if he can't then he won't. we cannot afford to concede any games.
That is almost similar to saying well let's do a bullpen game so this other starter can get extra rest. if he needs rest he will rest, if he has had enough he will pitch. last thing we can afford is to get greedy and roll dice. if rob plays and we win game 1 i expect him to play again (IF he can go) and we look to steal two out there. if we win game one you MUST go for the knockout. YOu do not win game 1 and then go weak game 2 intentionally. you go for the killshot (if possible). If we win without him game 1 like you sau then i for sure play him game 2 to yet again get a sweep out there.  There are no guarantees just because you get him some extra rest he will be any better or that we win at home.

but if we steal 2 at GS. You absolutely go all out to end the series in Boston. This all a hypothetical but anything is possible especially with a ROAD DOG/ROAD WARRIOR team in these celtics.

If Robs looks how he looked in Game 7 I’d prefer he rest.

 Rob Williams only played 15 minutes in Game 7.  Funny that PJ Tucker only played 17 minutes.  But any decision about rather to play Rob Williams or not should be purely based on his health.  It appeared that he was affected by his knee in Game 7.  Him playing 15 minutes didn't really hurt or help us all that much but that is 15 minutes that Grant or Al got to rest.  Maybe having Theis play those 15 minutes would have been better, hard to know. 

The question is whether or not that set him back, if his knee is worse off for those 15 minutes.  If all we can get from him in Game 1 of the finals (still seems surreal to say that) is 15 minutes of unimpactful play, you are right, there is no reason to play him.  But I am not sure if the situation is going to be any different after 2 days or 5 days or 10 days of rest.  It is tough to manage an injury like this.  I suspect that they start him Game 1, that he will play better than in Game 7, but after that, who knows.

And if he plays Game 1 and we win Game 1 or not, you apply the same rationale to Game 2.  You play him if he is ready to play.  If his knee has swelled up, you don't play him.  I can't imagine they would rest him just because they won Game 1 and only really need to win 1 of 2.

[Goldstar88]

Not sure why you would rest anyone who can go in the finals.

Guys aren’t close to 100%, Rob even more so than Marcus. If they have more days off to recover and get back to maybe 75% of what they normally are, it could pay dividends for the rest of the series.

[colincb]

Curry's better than Smart, but so what? It's how Curry plays versus Smart. There are reasons why the Cs play well against GSW.

ESPN: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Warriors have their second-worst offensive efficiency when Smart guards Curry.

[hpantazo]

Curry's better than Smart, but so what? It's how Curry plays versus Smart. There are reasons why the Cs play well against GSW.

ESPN: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Warriors have their second-worst offensive efficiency when Smart guards Curry.

Exactly. And Smart plus White is even tougher for GS and Curry.

[colincb]

Curry's better than Smart, but so what? It's how Curry plays versus Smart. There are reasons why the Cs play well against GSW.

ESPN: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Warriors have their second-worst offensive efficiency when Smart guards Curry.

Exactly. And Smart plus White is even tougher for GS and Curry.

Seeing White in these playoffs gave me a lot more insight into why his advanced defensive stats are so good. 

The other thing is that Curry, Klay, and Iggy are not on the same level as before. Green had a good year, and Wiggins improved, but this is not the superteam it used to be, and we've played them well even before Klay got injured.

Give us a healthy Timelord, and the Cs would be a clear favorite in my estimation. As it is, we're 7-2 on the road against three teams more challenging than what the Warriors faced.

[Birdman]

What about Warriors defense? Don’t think they that good at it

[hpantazo]

What about Warriors defense? Don’t think they that good at it

Other than Draymond Green, Wiggins, and Payton, they don't have much on defense. Draymond is also undersized if they are counting on him to stop our bigs, and Wiggins is good but we've faced much better wing defenders thus far in these playoffs. Curry, Thompson, and Poole are poor defenders. Loney is average as a big man. I think they are going to seriously struggle to stop the Celtics. Only the Celtics can stop themselves on offense in this series.

On the other side, sure the Warriors offense is great, but our defense can definitely slow them down some.

[colincb]

What about Warriors defense? Don’t think they that good at it

Overall, they're good, but they have some weak links in Klay, Poole, and Kuminga. Curry's not as good as 5 years ago, but passable, and Payton, Porter, and Iggy are all coming off injuries.