What Killed the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals?
When the Boston Celtics took Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals, it may have increased the chances for the Celtics against a stacked Golden State Warriors team. However, that win by the Celtics didn’t change most people’s predictions: The Warriors would win it all.
Even when the Celtics went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, as Boston trimmed down multiple deficits, the Warriors didn’t falter. They leaned on their veteran heavy squad and in the end, the championship was coming home to San Francisco.
After falling behind by 12 points in the first quarter of Game Six, the Golden State Warriors came back roaring the rest of the way and led by as many as 22 points at one point.
The result? A 103-90 victory and another championship for the Golden State Warriors.
While the Celtics had an opportunity to go up 3-1 in Game Four and even extend the series to a winner-take-all Game Seven, the Warriors were too much for the inexperienced Celtics to handle.
The Steph Curry Effect
In the decisive Game Five victory, the Celtics limited Steph Curry to 16 points on 0 for nine three-point shooting. Still, the Warriors came out victorious.
In the title-clinching Game Six victory, Steph Curry finished with 34 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block in 40 minutes of action. He shot six for 11 from the three-point line.
He erupted for 43 points in Game Four in Boston to prevent the Warriors from going down 3-1. For the series, Curry finished with an average of 31.2 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He also shot 41% from three.
Worthy indeed of his first Finals MVP award.
The Warriors’ Massive Weaponry
One of the many reasons the Warriors won their seventh NBA championship in franchise history was their wide assortment of weapons at Steve Kerr’s disposal.
When the Celtics shut down Steph Curry in Game Five, the Warriors showed they have more than just Curry offensively. Andrew Wiggins led the way with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Klay Thompson added 21 points. Bench sparkplugs Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole added 15 and 14 points respectively.
That depth was on full display in the final game of the season. Wiggins finished with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks. Draymond Green played his best game of the series to finish with 12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and two blocks. Klay Thompson scored 12 points, and Poole added 12 of his own.
By contrast, Jaylen Brown scored 34 points in Game Six, and that was it. Al Horford had a vintage performance scoring 19 points, while the struggles continued for Jayson Tatum, who laboured to put up 13 pts in the loss.
The Celtics’ Inconsistency
If there’s one thing that doomed the Celtics throughout the series, it’s their inconsistency. And it’s not just about scoring.
Of all the things that could kill you when playing against Golden State, turnovers were the primary issues for the Celtics night in, night out. In Game Six alone, Tatum and Brown combined for 10 of Boston’s 22 turnovers. As a result, the Warriors scored 27 points off those miscues.
Tatum’s struggles also contributed to the downfall of the Celtics. Even in the opener that Boston won, Tatum’s offense was nowhere to be found as he shot three for 17 from the field. He finished with averages of 21.5 points, seven assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.8 turnovers per game.
Derrick White was another player who struggled to put it all together for Boston. After scoring 21 points in Game One, things went downhill for White, scoring only three points in the last two games of the series.
The Celtics also failed to hold on to big leads and continue their rallies when they were down big. That being said, Boston fans would do well to remember that not all young teams win the chip on their first trip to the NBA Finals.
As disappointing as the result was for the Boston faithful, there’s every reason to believe that this young Celtics team, coupled with rookie head coach Ime Udoka are merely at the early stages of their window to compete as a team.
With a few offseason tweaks, Boston could very well be a force to reckon with in the Easy for years to come. For now however, it’s parade time for the Warriors, as they capture the most unlikely of their 4 titles to date.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Eric Kilby. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.