Warriors Look for Their Second Road Win on This Road Trip Against the Celtics

While the Golden State Warriors (27-33) did manage to have a 20-point lead disappear during their previous game against the Wizards, the Warriors did accomplish some things that they must continue to emphasize tonight against a tough Boston Celtics (44-15) opponent.

The Warriors' offensively aggressive, yet physically small backcourt of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry must continue to not only make big offensive contributions themselves, but also must make an effort to get others involved in the offense as well. Ellis and Curry combined for 50 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists against the Wizards on Wednesday night. In addition to that, Ellis hit a clutch mid-range jump-shot with less than a minute to go to put the Warriors ahead. Curry then made three free-throws to seal the victory in Washington D.C.

Tonight, these two will have their hands full on both sides of the court. Not only must they continue to score as they did against the Warriors, but they must make a strong effort to slow down the Celtics backcourt consisting of Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. Curry must stay out of foul trouble, as Rondo loves to penetrate and get the other Celtics involved in the scoring, while picking and choosing his own opportunities to score.

Also, Monta Ellis' minutes must be managed responsibly. This is for two reasons. First, the Warriors will need Ellis to score often in order to keep up with Boston's "big three" of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. Second, Ellis will have to make sure that he has the energy to keep up with Ray Allen. Allen loves to work off of screens in order to set up jump shots and corner-three-pointers. If Ellis does not have the energy to fight through those screens that the Celtics will set in order to get open shots for Allen, expect a big, productive shooting night for Ray Allen.

What many Warriors fans may have noticed the last game against the Wizards was the insertion of Ekpe Udoh into the starting lineup. Udoh replaced usual starter Andris Biedrins. Until Biedrins figures out how to avoid staying out of foul trouble and until he discovers what he can do to contribute more offensively, starting Udoh may be a better option for the Warriors. Udoh has made an effort to emphasize defense and fans will certainly notice more of a defensive presence from Udoh than Biedrins.

While Udoh only finished with six points on Wednesday night, he also had three blocked shots. He also contested a lot of shots which made scoring very difficult for the Wizards during certain stretches of Wednesday's game.

Udoh will certainly have to increase that intensity in order to stop Kevin Garnett. Garnett scored 24 points against the Warriors in Oakland at Oracle Arena exactly one week ago.

Another important thing to know for tonight's game is that newly-acquired small forward Al Thornton will suit-up for his first game as a Golden State Warrior tonight.  How he is implemented is yet to be determined, but some argue that he will be taking some minutes from either Vladimir Radmanovic or Reggie Williams.

Tonight's Warriors and Celtics match up begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time/4:30 p.m. Pacific time.