The Warriors have had a couple of days to recover from a hectic 48 hours, which were capped off on Tuesday night with the historic event of Stephen Curry becoming the NBA's all-time 3-point leader.
Friday's matchup with the Celtics is the fourth stop on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip for the Warriors. Golden State is 2-1 through three games, with a loss coming in Philadelphia and wins coming in Indianapolis and New York.
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Golden State leads the league in defensive rating (100.2) while ranking near the top of the charts in key offensive categories like points per game (111.8, third), field goal efficiency (47.1 percent, third), 3-pointers made per game (14.9, second), assists per game (28.1, first) and point differential (+11.6, first).
This will be the first contest between the Warriors and Celtics this season, with Boston having won the five previous head-to-heads.
MORE: Why Stephen Curry's all-time 3-point tally will be NBA's next unbreakable record
Both teams will compete without key rotational players due to the recent COVID-19 surge, with the Warriors' Jordan Poole and the Celtics' Al Horford, Grant Williams and Jabari Parker all in the league's health and safety protocols.
Through two weeks of December, Boston has been carried by Jayson Tatum, who leads the league in total points on the month, having scored 29 or more in five of the seven games he's appeared in. That includes a season-high 42 points against the Bucks earlier this week.
Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup against Milwaukee after missing five straight games, which brings the team's rotation back to full health.
The Celtics will be a tough test for the red-hot Warriors.
What channel is Warriors vs. Celtics on?
- Channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Watch ESPN | fuboTV
What time does Warriors vs. Celtics start?
- Date: Friday, Dec. 17
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. PT
Warriors vs. Celtics is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 17. The game will be played at the TD Garden in Boston.
Warriors upcoming schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | National TV |
| Dec. 17 | at Celtics | 7:30 p.m | ESPN |
| Dec. 18 | at Raptors | 7:30 p.m | - |
| Dec. 20 | vs. Kings | 10:00 p.m | - |
| Dec. 23 | vs. Grizzlies | 10:00 p.m | - |
| Dec. 25 | at Suns | 5:00 p.m | ABC |
(All Times Eastern)
Celtics upcoming schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | National TV |
| Dec. 17 | vs. Warriors | 7:30 p.m | ESPN |
| Dec. 18 | vs. Knicks | 7:00 p.m | NBA TV |
| Dec. 20 | vs. 76ers | 7:30 p.m | NBA TV |
| Dec. 22 | vs. Cavaliers | 7:30 p.m | - |
| Dec. 25 | at Bucks | 2:30 p.m | ABC |
(All Times Eastern)
NBA schedule for 2021-22
After a truncated season in 2020-21, the NBA has returned to its standard 82-game format for the 2021-22 campaign, which is the league's 75th anniversary season.
Here are some key dates for the 2021-22 NBA season:
- Trade Deadline: Feb. 10
- NBA All-Star 2022: Feb. 18-20
- Regular season concludes: April 10
- Play-In Tournament: April 12-15
- Playoffs begin: April 16
- NBA Finals begin: June 2
- 2022 NBA Draft: June 23
