The Celtics’ Gain the Advantage Over GSW
Entering the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors were the more rested team, while the Boston Celtics had just finished a seven-game slugfest against the Miami Heat. While Golden State looks like a team ready to vie for another championship, there was still plenty of money coming in on the Celtics to win the 2022 NBA championship prior to tip off.
Come Thursday’s Game One in San Francisco, the inexperience of the Celtics didn’t matter as Boston claimed a 120-108 victory to move to within 3 wins from raising banner number 18.
Should Boston Have Been Favoured?
On one side, you have a team playing in its sixth NBA Finals in eight seasons. The Warriors have two of the greatest three-point shooters in the game, and are loaded with championship experience. On the other side, you have a team whose players have no Finals experience prior to this year, and also feature a first-year head coach.
On paper the odds are against the Celtics. And yet, many believe they’re still the favourites to win it all this season owing to their team first philosophies and historically good defense.
Bettors know Steph Curry can explode at a moment’s notice. Klay Thompson is now showing glimpses of his old self after sitting out the past two seasons due to injury. During Thursday’s series opener, Curry and Thompson combined for 49 points on 10 for 21 shooting from the three-point line. And yet, Boston still won the game. How?
By beating the Warriors in their own game: three-point shooting.
The Celtics shot 51% from beyond the three-point line. Boston nailed nine of their 12 attempts from downtown in the fourth quarter when they outscored the Warriors 40-16.
Game One is also proof that Boston didn’t need to rely solely on Jayson Tatum for offense. The East Finals MVP only scored 12 points in his first trip to the NBA Finals but he managed to dish out 13 assists on the night to get his teammates involved.
Leading the Celtics in scoring was 36-year-old Al Horford. In 33 minutes, Horford finished with 26 points, including six for eight shooting from beyond the arc. He also hit two long threes in the final quarter that ignited Boston’s run.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, had 18 points. Derrick White also provided a spark off the bench with 21 points.
Young and Energetic
The Warriors may be the favourites owing to their vast championship experience and the fact that they have Steph Curry. However, Game One proved that experience and Curry will only take you so far.
Yes, the Celtics showed their inexperience when they went down by 15 points in the third quarter. But, they also showed their youthful energy and never say die attitude when they came back to erase that deficit to unleash a 40-point fourth quarter. And when they got their first taste of the lead via an Al Horford long bomb, Boston became unstoppable.
Even Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr admitted as much saying “Boston played a brilliant quarter. They came in and earned the win,”
The Warriors didn’t just blow a big lead. They also failed to match the energy of the Celtics. From the 5:10 mark of the fourth quarter, Golden State only scored five points, and those points came when the game was already out of hand.
The Warriors have been in this situation before and are expected to bounce back as Game 1 is likely just the first entry in what could be a lengthy series. However, by drawing first blood, the Celtics have proven in the opener that they can compete with Golden State, and that the moment wasn’t too big for their youthful roster.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.