Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes Boston Celtics may have benefitted from being pushed all the way twice in the NBA playoffs.
The Warriors face Boston in Game 1 of the NBA Finals series on Thursday at the Chase Center in San Francisco and they are 5/8 to win in the Money Line, while the Celtics can be backed at 7/5.
Being battle-ready is a plus - Kerr
Kerr's team were last in action on Thursday as they completed a 4-1 series win over Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors needed five games to beat Denver Nuggets in the first round and then six games to see off Memphis Grizzlies.
In contrast, Boston were taken to seven games by Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals and they won that decider on Sunday, while they also needed seven games to overcome last year's champions Milwaukee Bucks in the previous round.
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The Celtics have played two more postseason games than Golden State ahead of the Finals series, despite sweeping Brooklyn Nets in their first assignment, but Kerr doesn't think this necessarily works in his team's favour as he believes Boston may have been galvanised by their tough run.
"Sometimes you get through the gauntlet like that and you come out on the other side, you're stronger for it," said Kerr, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
"So once you get to this point and you get a fresh start, nothing else really matters. You're here and you lay it on the line."
