SAN FRANCISCO – It's one challenge for the Warriors to snap a five-game losing streak, quite another to come out of such a tailspin against a team with an NBA-best nine-game win streak.
Those are the circumstances when they meet the Celtics Friday night. Pregame coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6:30 p.m. PT, with tip-off from Chase Center scheduled for 7:40 p.m.
[RELATED: How to watch Warriors-Celtics on MyTeams]
Greatly diminished by a rash of injuries, the Warriors (2-10) are off to a start that equals their worst since 1999, when they opened the season by winning only two of the first 18 games.
Following the league of free-agent signee Kemba Walker, Boston (9-1) is off to its best start since the 2007-08 season, when they punctuated a 66-16 season by winning the NBA Finals.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Celtics
Sports
F – Jaylen Brown
F – Jayson Tatum
C – Enes Kanter
G – Marcus Smart
G – Kemba Walker
Warriors
F – Glenn Robinson III
F – Draymond Green
C – Willie Cauley-Stein
G – Jordan Poole
G – D'Angelo Russell
INJURY REPORT
Celtics: F/C Daniel Theis (right small finger sprain) and C/F Robert Williams (right ankle soreness) are listed as probable. F Gordon Hayward (left hand fracture) is listed as out.
Warriors G Stephen Curry (left hand fracture), G Jacob Evans III (left adductor strain), G Damion Lee (right hand non-displaced fracture), F Kevon Looney (neuropathy), F Alen Smailagic and G Klay Thompson (right ACL rehab) are listed as out.
ROTATION OUTLOOK
Celtics: Walker (25.0 ppg, 44.4 pct 3p) has been everything they could have hoped when signing him in July. He's also playing best defense at the most effective level of his career ... Brown (20.1 ppg, 52.0 pct. FG) and Tatum (19.8 ppg, 3 pct. 3p) are bouncing back from disappointing seasons. Brown moved from shooting guard to small forward after the injury to Hayward, who also was having a terrific season ... Smart is the defensive rock and the grit of this team, essentially a smaller version of Draymond Green, and is playing the best offense of his career, shooting 38.8 pct from deep ... Rookie PG Carsen Edwards, who shot his way into the NBA with a superb NCAA Tournament last March, is averaging 11.9 mpg off the bench.
[RELATED: Robinson laughs at notion of tanking]
Warriors: For the first time this season, the Warriors are expected to have the same starting lineup for three consecutive games. They have utilized eight different starting lineups this season. Only Robinson has thus far started every game ... Russell is averaging 36.3 ppg over four games since returning to the lineup after recovering from a right ankle sprain ... Defensive woes continue to plague the team, but it has risen out of last place in the team defensive ratings. The Warriors are 29th in defensive rating (121.1), which is dreadful but superior to the last-place Pelicans (122.8) ... Since introducing himself to the NBA at large with a 34/13 game on Nov. 4, rookie power forward Eric Paschall is shooting 40 pct. (20-of-50) from the field, including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from deep.
Officials: David Guthrie (crew chief), Michael Smith, JT Orr.
