The 2022 NBA Finals begin tonight as 2-time league MVP, 3-time NBA Champion Steph Curry, and the experienced Golden State Warriors collide with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the talented Boston Celtics. The Warriors are deep and well-rounded, but the Celtics match up well since they are versatile and well-rounded, just like them. Boston has an elite defense with offensive firepower. Warriors have two of the top three shooters in Curry and Klay Thompson, and a top-three defensive player in Draymond Green. They also have key role players in Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Otto Porter Jr, Jonathon Kuminga, and Gary Payton II. They can all take over the game and make a significant impact. Celtics contain the Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart, who can significantly impact this series. Their depth has veteran Al Horford, Robert Williams III, Grant Williams, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard, who also can take over the entire game. This is the Warriors’ 6th Finals in 8 years, and they’re trying to win their 4th championship in this span. They haven’t made the playoffs the past two seasons due to injuries to their leading players in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Superstar Kevin Durant’s departure. This is the Celtic’s 23rd Finals appearance in which they won 17, most recently in 2008. If they win the championship, the Celtics will win their record-breaking 18th Championship and forever solidify themselves in NBA History. Regardless of which team wins, this would be a historic championship as these two’s climb to the top has been a helluva ride.
The Warriors haven’t lost a home game, while both teams are undefeated after a loss the entire postseason. They defeated a depleted Nuggets, Grizzlies, and talented Dallas Mavericks on their path to the Finals dominating each team as they went. The Celtics had an impressive run to the finals beating the highly talked about Brooklyn Nets, defending NBA Champs in the Milwaukee Bucks, and the top-seeded Miami Heat. Even though both teams had luck in favor of them with their opposing teams facing injuries, the two have made a case that they’re no joke and are serious contenders for the NBA title this season. Both teams haven’t also lost back-to-back games in these playoffs, proving that their coaches, Ime Udoka and Steve Kerr, have great game plans and are great at making adjustments.
The Celtics haven’t faced a team like the Warriors due to the unique and deadly style of offense, even though they faced teams that were depicted as legit title contenders. The Warriors’ constant ball movement and deadly shooters have made opposing defenses tired as you can’t double team one player like Curry and leave the other player open as they can knock down their shots in Thompson, Wiggins, Poole, Porter Jr, and Kuminga as they will make you regret. Their constant ball movements also make teams tiring. They don’t have one player trying to make all the plays, so the Celtic defenders have to be disciplined and stick to their matchups, as any player can instantly go off.
The Celtics need to attack the paint often as they don’t have a big center outside of Looney to beat the Warriors. Both teams move the ball well.
Wiggins needs to play the way he played against Dallas since that gives the Warriors an edge. If he goes off, much pressure will be reduced from Steph and Klay. Wiggins’s play was huge for the Warriors in their WCF win over Dallas.
Key Factors Celtics – Limit the turnovers by making timed decisions and not letting the moment get to them. The Warriors can kill the Celtics on the fast break if turnovers are not limited. Keep the focus on defense by defending man-to-man and not leaving anybody open as Golden State moving the ball can lead to open shots, and when they heat up from shooting, they’re tough to beat since they have all the momentum. Get off to a good start by getting an early lead to put pressure on Golden State and never looking back. Warriors – Limit the Turnovers and hit jump shots as they probably can’t attack the paint due to Robert Williams and Al Horford being threats on the defensive end. Overcome the constant switchable defense of Boston as they can smother the shooters and anybody that cuts to the rim by dropping coverage.
Finals Prediction – Boston Celtics over Golden State Warriors in 7 This has been the Celtics’ time and Celtics year. Everybody has been stepping up for them to get crucial victories the entire playoffs. Ime Udoka has proven to be a great coach as he makes constant adjustments to win the series. We’ve seen this in the past two series versus Miami and Milwaukee. They also shut down the dominant Brooklyn Nets defensively and in that series, they made key plays down the stretch to get victories even though are of them were within 7 points. In January, the Celtics were a .500 team, and they have made a remarkable turnaround since by going from the 11th seed to the 2nd seed within their conference. Their coach and players always believed in themselves and never gave up, which inevitably paid off. Due to their resilience in already playing multiple Game 7s and being one of the best teams in the entire league since January, I believe that the Boston Celtics will upset the Golden State Warriors in 7 games. They will once again make crucial adjustments during critical times. They will slow down the impact of certain players on Golden State due to their switchability on defense. Smart will slow down the impact of Curry and Boston will make key defesensive stops during stretches of games. Tatum and Brown will shine under the bright lights and be solidified as Superstars in the League while their supporting cast will make huge plays in multiple games to lead the Celtics to victory. Boston will trail a couple of times in this series, but their resilience to not give up on themselves has gotten them here, and they will not look back once they get going. They will respond after a loss. I expect close games as these are two dominant defensive teams.
Picture Credit: JxmyHighRoller
This picture above shows that Celtics are the best team by an huge margin when it comes to clutch time situations. We have seen this multiple times during the playoffs in their close game wins over the Nets, Bucks, and Heat. Their key players just step up their game when it matters the most. This will be crucial against the Warriors since they need to squeeze out the close games to even have a chance of winning this series. Boston will show up in the end of games giving them at least three crucial victories.
Finals MVP: Jayson Tatum – He will have an great series and will solidify himself as a superstar which he already is. He will hit clutch shots down the stretches in close games to lead the Celtics to victory.
At the end of the day I’m an basketball fan and I want an close and exciting series. I have seen many blowouts the past 2 rounds and that must change. I don’t really care who wins as long as the games are close and hard fought.
Remember, these are my predictions, and I could be wrong. Lots of things need to go right for Boston for them to win. I will not at all be surprised if Golden State takes home the championship. All I want is a close and competitive series between these teams regardless of who wins, which has been lacking the entirety of these playoffs.