Dynasty Continues: Golden State Wins Its Fourth Title In Eight Years, Beating Boston In Six Games

    Well there can be no debate about whether the better team won the 2022 NBA Finals. Tonight in Game 6 at TD Garden, Golden State rolled to their fourth double-digit victory of the series 103-90 to take it 4-2 and capture their fourth NBA title in eight seasons. Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry (game-high 34 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals) further cemented his place in NBA history with his richly deserved first Finals MVP award. Boston started the game on a 14-2 run and it was basically all downhill from there as Golden State punched back with a 21-0 run (the biggest in 50 years in Finals history) and pretty much cruised the rest of the way. 

    Golden State's starters were better than Boston's and once again, their bench was as well. Small forward Andrew Wiggins added 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks while power forward Draymond Green saved his best performance of the series for the last game as he had 12 points (including his first two 3-pointers vs. Boston), 12 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and two steals. Shooting guard Klay Thompson (12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) was mostly a non-factor but who cares, since along with Curry and Green, they each won their fourth NBA title together. Backup shooting guard Jordan Poole notched 15 points off the bench as Golden State's substitutes outscored Boston's 21-5. 

    Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum (13 points, 7 assists, 3 steals) made his inaugural All-NBA First-Team this season but he looked anything like that against the Warriors. He closed out a rough series with one more stinker: he was 6-for-18 from the field with five turnovers. Conversely, shooting guard Jaylen Brown (34 points, 7 rebounds) did not shy away from the moment and did everything he could to keep his team in it. Power forward Al Horford (19 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals) was superb and playing on a gimpy knee, center Robert Williams (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks) put forth an admirable showing given how banged up he seems to be. Celts point guard Marcus Smart registered nine points and nine assists which doesn't sound too bad except that he shot 4-for-12 from the floor. 

    Golden State led 27-22 after the first quarter and by 15 points at halftime (54-39). Boston turned it around a little bit in the third quarter (27-22) but the Warriors had no interest in playing Game 7 on Sunday so they shut it down in the fourth quarter (27-24) and got ready to party at Encore Boston. Despite being so much smaller and less athletic, the Warriors grabbed three more rebounds (44-41) than the Celtics including four more offensive boards (15-11). The real story of the game though (just like it was all postseason for Boston in their losses) was their alarming amount of turnovers: the C's had seven more turnovers (22-15) and the Warriors made five more steals (13-8) than them. Golden State also scored eight more second chance points (21-13). The bottom line was that one team looked comfortable being here and the other was completely over their heads after going up 2-1 in the series and then they dropped the last three games in a row (after they hadn't lost consecutive contests since January). 

    It will take awhile to get over this but once the dust settles, I think realistic Celtics fans should appreciate that this was still an extremely successful season. As long as they have Tatum and Brown, they will be a major contender in the East. However, this was far from a vintage Warriors team like the previous championship versions. Curry was ridiculous but getting outplayed by Wiggins should not happen when you are Brown or especially Tatum. Let's just hope that Boston is not one of those teams that gets close once and then is never heard from again at that level (like Oklahoma City). It is going to be a long summer for the Celtics players, coaches and front office, wondering what could have been if they had just tightened things up a bit and stayed more focused throughout the six games.  

The Warriors Destroyed The Celtics 107-88 In Game 2 Of The NBA Finals To Even The Series 1-1

 

    If you honestly thought that the Celtics were going to sweep the 2022 NBA Finals against the Warriors, then you are obviously a green teamer honk that lost touch with reality long ago. Back here on Earth, Golden State-you know that team that has won three recent NBA titles-recovered nicely from an unexpected loss in Game 1 by absolutely curb-stomping Boston 107-88 tonight at the Chase Center. The series is even now at 1-1 as it shifts to Boston for Game 3 on Wednesday (9, ABC). Future Hall of Famer and Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (game-high 29 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) played well again and this time he wasn't shut down in the second half plus he got more help from his teammates.  

    If the game didn't include the third quarter, it would have been close but unfortunately for the C's, their troubling trend of god awful third quarters continued. They only trailed by one after one quarter (31-30) and by two at halftime (52-50) but as usual, they went off a cliff in the third quarter to the tune of 35-14. For the home team, +21 is the largest margin in a quarter in their playoff history. Boston had way too many turnovers (18) which led to 33 points off turnovers for Golden State. Warriors shooting guard Jordan Poole scored 17 points off the bench including basically swishing a half-court shot at the buzzer to conclude that wretched third quarter. Warriors center Kevon Looney (12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) was the best big man in the contest and that should never happen with Celtics power forward Al Horford (2 points, 8 rebounds) and hobbled center Robert Williams (2 points, 2 blocks) both available. 

    Boston got a misleading performance by star small forward Jayson Tatum: he scored a team-high 28 points and grabbed six rebounds but he also finished minus-36 (the worst mark of his career). Shooting guard Jaylen Brown started out hot with 12 points in the first quarter but early foul trouble affected his rhythm and he settled for 17 points and six rebounds. Just like Horford and Robert Williams, point guard Marcus Smart (2 points, 5 assists) was terrible so three of the Celtics' starters combined for six points in 67 minutes of action between them. Is that bad? Backup point guard Derrick White (12 points, 2 blocks) was decent but his shooting went astray (4-for-13) which I guess should be a given after he's been playing out of his mind lately.

    Warriors power forward and expert loudmouth Draymond Green (9 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) was doing his thing: getting in guys' faces, rolling around with them on the court and constantly yelling at the refs. Needless to say, it was ugly but quite effective. About the only negative for Golden State is that shooting guard Klay Thompson is ice cold. He had 11 points and two steals but went 4-of-19 from the field including 1-of-8 on three-pointers. If they are going to win the series, they will need much more from him because who else can be a number two scoring option behind Curry? Small forward Andrew Wiggins had a pedestrian 11 points and six rebounds.

    The Warriors shot nearly eight percent better from the floor than the Celtics (45.3%-37.5%) and they had 10 more steals (15-5) as you would expect with so many turnovers by the C's. Golden State also muscled their way to 16 more points in the paint (40-24) which is hard to explain. The Warriors led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter as Game 2 became a complete joke. The good news for the Celts is that they are unbeaten (6-0) this postseason following a loss but then again they are only 5-4 at TD Garden in the playoffs which is baffling. Still, it has morphed into a best-of-five series and Boston snatched the home court advantage by winning Game 1. In many ways, Game 2 could be seen as a schedule loss since Golden State could not afford to go down 2-0 after dropping both of its first two home games. Horford and Smart cannot possibly be worse but you could say the same thing about Thompson so Game 3 should be interesting. Everyone knows in the NBA that role players typically play better at home so expect Boston's depth guys to be much bigger factors in Games 3 and 4. 

Celts Catch Fire In The Fourth Quarter & Win Game 1 Of The NBA Finals, 120-108 Vs. Warriors

 

    It's hard to imagine a much better fourth quarter than what the Celtics conjured up this evening at the Chase Center in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals vs. the Warriors. Boston trailed by 12 points (92-80) going into the final frame before they went absolutely bananas and outscored shell-shocked Golden State 40-16. The C's took Game 1 by a score of 120-108, proving that their lack of rest after the Eastern Conference Finals compared to the Warriors (who had a few more days off after beating Dallas in the Western Conference Finals) did not matter at all. Boston improved to 8-2 on the road this postseason while they also handed Golden State their first loss (9-1) on their shiny home court in the 2022 playoffs. Game 2 is Sunday night (8, ABC) back in San Francisco. FYI, only two teams in NBA Finals history have ever lost Games 1 & 2 at home and as you would assume, neither went on to win the series.

    There were many standouts for the Celts but none was better than their ageless power forward Al Horford (team-high 26 points, 6 rebounds) who hit a career-high six three-pointers. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown heated up in the second half and finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Point guard Marcus Smart added 18 points, five rebounds and two steals while small forward Jayson Tatum was ice cold in terms of shooting (3-of-17) so he was held to 12 points but he notched a career-high 13 assists and added five rebounds. Backup point guard Derrick White had another brilliant performance off the bench as he was a game-high plus-25 with 21 points (5 3-pointers!) in 32 impressive minutes. 

    In the first quarter, Golden State's future Hall of Famer and the best shooter in NBA history point guard Stephen Curry (game-high 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) was unreal with 21 points including an NBA record six three-pointers. Once Boston figured out that maybe they should cover him and not allow so many wide open looks, he went scoreless in the second quarter and was held to 13 points in the second half. Once Curry cooled off, there wasn't really another Warrior capable of stepping up offensively. Small forward Andrew Wiggins (20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks) has definitely improved, shooting guard Klay Thompson (15 points) is understandably working his way back from two ACL tears in consecutive years while power forward Draymond Green (11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) still can't shoot whatsoever (2-of-12 from the floor including 0-for-4 on 3s and 0-for-3 on FTs). The ghost of small forward Otto Porter Jr. put up 12 points off the bench for Golden State. 

    Golden State led 32-28 after the first quarter but Boston picked it up in the second quarter (28-22) to lead at halftime by two points (56-54). Things started to look bleak in the third quarter when the Warriors led by as much as 15 points and they outscored Boston 38-24. Just when you thought that it was beginning to get out of hand, the C's kept chipping away and hitting three-pointers to stay within shouting distance. Still, nobody could have expected that stunning turnaround in the fourth quarter. Boston shot six percent better from the field (50%-44%), they hit two more three-pointers (21-19) and two more free throws (13-11) and dished out nine more assists (33-24) than Golden State. The C's scored eight more points in the paint (34-26) than the Warriors and 11 more points off turnovers (21-10). It'll take more than one loss to rattle Golden State though since Curry, Thompson and Green were all part of three championship squads in recent seasons with the Warriors. Boston will have to play even better to steal Game 2 and come home with a dream 2-0 lead in the series. You can count on the Warriors playing a much better and more complete game than this on Sunday night.