NBA Finals: Celtics-Warriors by the numbers
BOSTON -- Heading into the Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals, the series has all the makings to be a classic. The Warriors bring plenty of experience to the table, while the up-and-coming Celtics have displayed an incredible level of resilience this postseason.
It's a Finals showdown that NBA fans have been waiting to see for years, and has finally come to fruition. The oddsmakers in Vegas have the Warriors as slight favorites to win their fourth Larry O'Brien Trophy, while 538 is giving the Celtics a whopping 80 percent chance at winning it all.
Celtics fans will love that number, though it may not mean much when the series tips off Thursday night in San Francisco. Here are some other numbers heading into the series, that also may not mean much when the Celtics and the Warriors start to play games.
9-5: The Celtics' record against the Warriors over the last seven seasons, which is the best in the NBA over that span.
114.5: The number of points Golden State has averaged this postseason, which leads all teams. The Warriors are shooting 49.3 percent for the playoffs (third overall) and 37.9 percent of their threes (fourth).
116.1: The Warriors also own the NBA's best offensive rating this postseason.
28.3: The number of assists Golden State has averaged in the playoffs, which also leads the NBA.
105.1: Boston's defensive rating in the playoffs, which is second-best to Milwaukee's 102.7. The Warriors rank sixth at 111.0.
6.7: The Celtics' top-ranked net rating for the postseason. The Warriors are second at 5.1.
6.1: Boston's top-ranked point differential in the playoffs.
6.7: Boston's top-ranked point differential on the road this postseason.
27.0: Jayson Tatum's points per game for the postseason, which leads all scorers involved in the NBA Finals. Steph Curry is next on that list at 25.9 points per game, while Jaylen Brown is third at 22.9.
9-0: The Warriors' record on their home floor this postseason. The Heat were also unbeaten at home prior to the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, before the Celtics won three games in Miami.
7-2: Boston's road record this postseason. The Warriors are 3-5 on the road.
8-0: Golden State's record this postseason when leading after three quarters.
Minus-21: The Warriors have been outscored by 21 points during the first quarter this postseason.
Plus-94: The Warriors are crushing opponents in the fourth quarter though, outscoring them by 94 points in the final frame. The Celtics are a plus-30 in the fourth quarter.
Minus-2: The only quarter the Celtics are a negative in this postseason is the third quarter.
7: The number of times Curry has scored at least 30 points in a game this postseason.
7: The number of times Tatum has scored at least 30 points in a game this postseason.
3: The number of technical fouls Draymond Green has been given this postseason, which is fairly low by his standards. The fiery Golden State defender has been ejected once during the playoffs, and flipped two birds to the Memphis crowd on his way out.
123: The numbers of NBA Finals games that the Warriors roster has played in. The Celtics have zero experience in the NBA Finals.
121: The number of threes that Curry has made in his 28 NBA Finals games.
141: The number of postseason games that Al Horford played in before making it to the NBA Finals.
5: The number of times each team has gone up by 20-plus points this postseason. Golden State has trailed by 20 points twice, while the Celtics have been behind by 20-plus only once.
5: This will be the fifth time that the Celtics play the Warriors in the postseason, but just the second time since the Warriors moved out to the Bay Area. The first three occurred while the Warriors were in Philadelphia, while Boston matched up with the San Francisco Warriors in 1964. The Celtics won all four series, with a 16-7 head-to-head record against the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
