Golden State glides into East Coast
Sure, DeMar DeRozan’s scoring exploits are grabbing most of the Eastern Conference headlines right now. Yet Toronto’s star guard would do well to keep a close eye on Isaiah Thomas.
The 5-foot-9 whirling dervish and his Celtics host Golden State tonight, with an 8 p.m. ET tip at TD Garden. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the Warriors odds of -325 to handle their business on the road. Brad Stevens’ group, on the other hand, represents a +260 underdog.
In the Great White North, DeRozan continues to get buckets at an astounding rate. Thomas suddenly looms in the rear-view mirror, though, having reeled off at least 23 points in each of Boston’s first 11 tilts. On Wednesday, the Washington product knocked down 13 of 16 free throws to lift the C’s to a 90-83 victory over Dallas. Backcourt mate Avery Bradley added a career-high 13 rebounds.
Not surprisingly, Steve Kerr’s All-Star-laden roster is also beginning to hit its stride. The Warriors carry a five-game winning streak into this evening’s affair. Most recently, they held off DeRozan and the Raptors, 127-121. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant combined for 65 points and 13 assists on that occasion.
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The ultra-dangerous duo will likely take Beantown by storm, too, but should Kerr start to worry about Klay Thompson? Golden State’s third offensive option can’t quite find his rhythm, as evidenced by that uncharacteristically poor shooting (44.1 percent) through 11 contests. Nonetheless, we expect the visiting squad to band together in the end, paving the way for triumph No. 10 on the campaign.
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