2024 Celtics vs 2016 Warriors

[rand]

Who wins a best of 7? Everyone is healthy.

Warriors get a little bit of training time to adjust from the 2016 environment to the 2024.

2024 Celtics
Jrue Holiday / Payton Pritchard
Derrick White / Svi Mykhailiuk
Jaylen Brown / Sam Hauser
Jayson Tatum / Xavier Tillman
Kristaps Porzingis / Al Horford

2016 Warriors
Steph Curry / Shaun Livingston
Klay Thompson / Leandro Barbosa
Harrison Barnes / Andre Iguodala
Draymond Green / Marresse Speights
Andrew Bogut / Festus Ezeli

[brackdan70]

Svi isn’t in the top 10 rotation for the Cs. Oshae Brisset, Luke Kornet both over him. I know you are trying to make positions match up but he never played a meaningful minute.

[brackdan70]

On paper it sure looks like the Celtics team was better but that GS team did win 73 games.
IDK. Would be a tight series either way.

[brackdan70]

I’d pick the Celtics if Porzingis is healthy, dude is total cheat code.

[Dr Positivity]

Celtics - Bad matchup for Warriors due to the guard defense.

[TheGOATRises007]

I'd pick the Celtics, but it'd be very close.

[SpreeS]

Peak Green could be second best player on the floor after Curry + GSW bench way better. I dont see any real fight here. We saw what did Curry to White/Smart and prime Klay/Iggy/Green would eat a live Tatum and Brown on defence.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Who wins a best of 7? Everyone is healthy.

Warriors get a little bit of training time to adjust from the 2016 environment to the 2024.

2024 Celtics
Jrue Holiday / Payton Pritchard
Derrick White / Svi Mykhailiuk
Jaylen Brown / Sam Hauser
Jayson Tatum / Xavier Tillman
Kristaps Porzingis / Al Horford

2016 Warriors
Steph Curry / Shaun Livingston
Klay Thompson / Leandro Barbosa
Harrison Barnes / Andre Iguodala
Draymond Green / Marresse Speights
Andrew Bogut / Festus Ezeli

The only team that could hang with the healthy 2016 Warriors as they were in February 2016 was the 2017 Warriors but February 2016 Warriors would also beat 2017 Durant Warriors.

2016 finals Warriors were an injured team and 2016 finals Curry was playing injured.

February 2016 Warriors would beat 2024 finals Celtics 4 games to 1. 2016 finals injured Warriors and Cavs would beat 2024 finals Celtics 4 games to 3.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Celtics - Bad matchup for Warriors due to the guard defense.

Klay was a good defender in 2016. Curry was a smart defender but missing speed. The missing speed was OK until Curry got injured in the playoffs at which point the injury plus not being fast in the 1st place became a problem.

Livingston was a decent defender and Barbosa was not getting beat that often.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Who wins a best of 7? Everyone is healthy.

Warriors get a little bit of training time to adjust from the 2016 environment to the 2024.

2024 Celtics
Jrue Holiday / Payton Pritchard
Derrick White / Svi Mykhailiuk
Jaylen Brown / Sam Hauser
Jayson Tatum / Xavier Tillman
Kristaps Porzingis / Al Horford

2016 Warriors
Steph Curry / Shaun Livingston
Klay Thompson / Leandro Barbosa
Harrison Barnes / Andre Iguodala
Draymond Green / Marresse Speights
Andrew Bogut / Festus Ezeli

Speights was 3rd string center and Ezeli 4th string center and Verajao 5th string center. Bogut and Ezeli were not healthy for the finals. Draymond was the 2nd string center who played with the closing “death unit” as well as being the starting power forward. Harrison Barnes the starting small forward becomes the power forward on the game closing death unit with Iguodala playing small forward.

McAdoo, Hall of famer’s nephew played a few minutes per game of power forward. Speights played no power forward or almost no power forward because he was a bit slow for power forward but a little faster than the average center.

Brandon Rush a good shooter and smart defender was not that quick because of major injury that almost ended his career but he was a good 3rd string small forward. I loved it when Brandon Rush pulled the chair on battering ram LeBron and LeBron fell.

When 6’ 7” Livingston and 6’ 3” aging “Brazilian Blur” Barbosa took the floor together Livingston would normally take the off guard while Barbosa would normally take the point guard. Barbosa had lost some speed but was still fast.

No offense Ian but you do not need to be mentioned.

[Triple M]

I was just saw a post that these 2 teams are top 5 relative offensive rating. The Celtics defense is probably better but GSW could defend at a high rate. I think on paper the Celtics could win enough match ups but obviously it is hard to bet against Curry.

[OhayoKD]

Celtics cook lol

[JimmyFromNz]

When the talent is an embarrassment wherever you look for both teams, and the offensive/defensive #s are at that the point where there aren't (honest) meaningful differences that can be asserted, I tend to focus on cohesiveness as a determining factor.

I genuinely don't think there's been a more cohesive group of players than those Golden State Warriors.

[xb3at band1tx]

I lean warriors because that bench was a legit nightmare and you have PRIME splash brothers

[Outside]

Key part of this comparison is "everybody healthy." That makes this in the Warriors' favor.

The 2016 Warriors, healthy, were one of the best teams of all time, offense and defense. Curry was an unstoppable force, Draymond was awesome on both sides of the ball, Klay was an excellent complementary piece. The 2017 Warriors were better, the best team of all time by some measures, but the 2016 team was deeper (the Warriors sacrificed depth to get Durant). The 2016 team also had the benefit of being champions, with the confidence that comes with that.

The 2024 Celtics are a very good team, but Tatum and Brown, their offensive stars, were prone to disappearing for stretches. They had really good defense, especially on the wings, but good offense trumps good defense, and the 2016 Warriors at their best, especially with Curry, would have the advantage.

The 2024 Celtics had a relatively easy road to the finals -- round 1 vs Miami with no Jimmy Butler, round 2 vs Cleveland with no Donovan Mitchell after game 3, conference finals vs Indiana with no Tyrese Halliburton after game 2. That's not Boston's fault, but they weren’t tested or pushed in any of those rounds. Then they faced Dallas in the finals, a limited team that had outperformed expectations to that point but were highly reliant on Luka, who was clearly hobbled, and Kyrie, who shat the bed after being very good in earlier rounds.

Boston was the clear champion. They had the best regular season, and they beat everyone they faced in the playoffs handily. But they were not tested by any of their opponents in a way that makes a case for them being able to beat one of the best teams of all time.

[SK21209]

Warriors, I think they're able to guard the Celtics better than the Celtics are able to guard them.