C's try to stay above .500 in Golden State

The Warriors haven't been this good since the days of "Run TMC"

These aren't the old Golden State Warriors that we're used to seeing.  This year's squad is 20-10, 9-4 at home, and in second place in the Pacific Division behind LA (that's the Clippers, not the Lakers; what a weird NBA season this is out  in California?).  David Lee and Steph Curry are each averaging exactly 20 points a night for the upstart Warriors, who are 9th in the league in scoring at 101.3 PPG.

On paper this looks like the type of matchup that gives Boston fits, a young athletic high scoring team that also hits the glass (Golden State's rebounding differential of +122 ranks 4th in the league).

Despite all of this, I like the Celtics chances tonight because I think it's important to them not to fall below .500.  While their effort has often come into question at various points in the season, they have performed very well under these circumstances.  Since their 3-3 start, Boston is 4-0 when facing the possibility of a losing record.  Arguably their two most impressive victories of the year have also come in this situation; a 108-100 home win over the Thunder on November 23rd, and the Christmas day blowout in Brooklyn earlier this week.

Follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan