The Warriors beat the Celtics on Saturday night 109-105 at Oracle Arena. Stephen Curry led all players in scoring with a ridiculous 49 points on 16-of-24 shooting including 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. The Celtics' Kyrie Irving was also blistering from the field, matching Curry shot for shot as he poured in 37 points on 13-of-18 shooting including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. It was an instant classic point guard duel. Saturday's game should've been an indication that the basketball gods need to pit these two teams against each other in the NBA Finals this year.

In two meetings with the Celtics this season, the Warriors have scored 88 points and 109 points, respectively. The Celtics defense is the stingiest defense in the league at a 100.0 defensive rating, which is tops in the association. The Warriors rank sixth in that department at a 103.3 defensive rating. Boston has all of the personnel it takes to stop the Warriors: a newly engaged defender at the point guard spot in Irving, versatile and athletic wings who can switch everything, stout defenders at the center position and one of the game's best strategists in coach Brad Stevens.

Despite Golden State only averaging 98.5 points per game in the two games against the Celtics this season, the Warriors will figure out a way to break down the best defensive team in the league over a seven-game series. With the offensive armageddon of talent the Warriors have in Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green, head coach Steve Kerr will figure out a way to attack Boston's defense. That could mean cutting even more off the ball. 

Here David West receives a great pass from Shaun Livingston after cutting to the basket. The Warriors will have to do more of this if they hope to spray a leakage in the Celtics defense. On Saturday night, Golden State only managed 19 assists in the game, which is 11 assists less than their league-leading 30 assists per game. 

Per Anthony Slater of The Athletic: "It was much more of an isolation-style game than we would like, but that's what they do," Kerr stated. "That's why they are the best defensive team in the league."

Offensively, the Warriors can overpower the Celtics with their plethora of shooters and off-ball man movement. Despite the Celtics being 18th in offensive rating at 104.4, the offensive system that Stevens implemented is quite similar to the Warriors. There is man movement and ball movement with some possessions ending in an Irving razzle-dazzle display of ball-handling wizardry to create a jumper for himself or getting to the rim. The same could be said for the Warriors with some possessions ending in a Curry or Durant bailout bucket.

Let's take a look how both teams' best players and their +/-.

For the Celtics, Irving has a  5.7 +/- during the regular season so far.

Compare that to Curry's +/- so far and it's almost double at 10.8 +/-.

Curry's +/- trumps Irving's, but it is because the opposing defense is keying on Irving more than Curry, who has three other all-stars to pass to. However, it doesn't dismiss the fact how much of an impact Irving can have on the Boston offense with his ability to penetrate into the lane and find open teammates.

The Curry-Irving matchup in a possible Warriors-Celtics Finals would be intriguing within itself. They would have met in the Finals four straight times with Irving being brilliant in the past two matchups and Curry stepping up his game on the big stage last year. Both of these two floor generals are a couple of the most dynamic and electrifying players in the league. It would be a possible seven-game duel for the ages. This possible matchup has instant classic written all over it.

In Cleveland's 2016 championship run in the Finals, Irving averaged 27.1 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting with 3.9 assists per game. In the last three games of the Finals, he had 41 points, 23 points and 26 points in the deciding game 7. Last year in the Finals, Irving averaged 29.4 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting with 4.4 assists per game. He was even better last year than he was in the Cavaliers championship run. He has the experience and shines brightest when the big stage lights turn on.

Now, let's compare Irving's numbers to Curry's play in the Finals last season. Curry averaged 26.8 points per game on 44 percent shooting with 9.4 assists per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Irving had an advantage in the scoring column, but Curry was able to create more for his teammates last year. However, don't discount Irving creating scoring opportunities for others this season because of the heavy ball movement filled offensive system that he's now in.

If it happens to be a Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals, expect fireworks between these two maestros.

The relationship between the two coaches would be another interesting aspect of a possible NBA Finals matchup.

Brad Stevens met Steve Kerr while he was still a tv analyst for TNT and when Stevens was still the coach for Butler.

In Connor Letourneau's article, "Warriors' biggest championship threat might be Boston's Brad Stevens," he explains how Stevens and Kerr became friends over talking about the NBA over lunch and dinner.

"It was the start of a friendship built on mutual respect. During the Las Vegas Summer League each July, Kerr and Stevens got lunch together. It has become relatively common for Stevens, who, like Kerr, is an avid reader of Malcolm Gladwell books to text Kerr about matters greater than basketball," Letourneau writes.

The friendship between Kerr and Stevens is an interesting storyline for a possible Finals matchup and with both coaches trying to 'out-strategize' one another, it would be compelling to see in June.

If the Celtics and Warriors do meet in the NBA Finals this year, it will be one of the most competitive and fun Finals with two dynamite point guards, similar playing styles and the friendship of opposing coaches, which should have basketball fans wishing this is the matchup in June.

All stats are from basketball-reference.com and stats.nba.com, unless otherwise noted.