Celtics, Warriors set to kick off NBA Finals

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Preview capsule for the NBA Finals, which start Thursday:

East No. 2 BOSTON CELTICS (51-31, 12-6) vs. West No. 3 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (53-29, 12-4)

You can watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals from San Francisco tonight at 9pm ET/6pm PT across the TSN Network, TSN Direct and the TSN App. 

Season series: Tied, 1-1. Golden State won at Boston 111-107 on Dec. 17. The Celtics rolled on Golden State’s home floor in the rematch on March 16, winning 110-88.

Schedule: Thursday and Sunday at San Francisco, June 8 and 10 at Boston, June 13 at San Francisco if necessary, June 16 at Boston if necessary, June 19 at San Francisco if necessary.

Storyline: A rematch of the 1964 NBA Finals. Golden State is seeking a fourth championship in eight years, while the Celtics are trying to break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers and become the first team with 18 NBA titles. Celtics coach Ime Udoka will seek to become the 10th coach in NBA history to win a title in his first season, something that Golden State’s Steve Kerr did with the Warriors in 2015.

The starters matchup: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney for the Warriors against Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Robert Williams III for the Celtics. Put simply, it’s the great offense of Golden State against the great defense of Boston. The experience edge goes to the Warriors. But Smart, Brown and Tatum have been building for this moment and are now, officially, a Big 3. Smart — the defensive player of the year — will draw the primary assignment on Curry, the most prolific and probably most creative 3-point shooter in the history of the game.

The bench keys: Derrick White had a huge Eastern Conference finals