NBA FINALS PREVIEW
The Boston Celtics have won the most Championships in NBA history with 17. They have not won since 2008 (Big 3 Era). The Warriors were the team of the decade in the 2010s and have made it back to their 6th NBA Finals appearance in the past 8 years. Vegas has the Warriors as the favorite to win the series (-150).
Getting to Know the Golden State Warriors
Head Coach: Steve Kerr - Became famous as one of Michael Jordan’s Bulls teammates. Kerr has had quite an interesting post-playing days NBA career. He was a broadcaster and commentator (you may recall him being a voice on NBA Live and 2K video game series from 2006 to 2015), before becoming the General Manager of the Phoenix Suns in 2007. Kerr would step down from his role with the Suns after the 2010 season, eventually joining the Warriors as their head coach in 2014. Kerr has never lost a Western Conference Series as a head coach with an 89-32 playoff record.
Starters
Point Guard: Steph Curry - Ayesha’s husband is the 3-point king and owns an incredible 21-4 (.840) record in career playoff series. This is better than the likes of Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. Curry is also the favorite to win the NBA Finals MVP (+110), which despite winning 3 championships he has never done. This could be a huge “legacy” cementing series for Curry with Lebron not making the playoffs and KD getting swept by these Celtics in round 1.
Shooting Guard: Klay Thompson - The last time you saw the second Splash Brother in the NBA finals was him knocking down two free throws after tearing his ACL in game 6 of the 2019 finals against the Raptors. After tearing his ACL and going through the full rehab process, Klay then tore his Achilles which is why he missed the entire 2019-20 and 2020-2021 seasons. Although there have been times when Thompson has shown some rust, it is notable that he is coming off a Western Conference finals clinching performance where he hit 8 3-pointers.
Small Forward: Andrew Wiggins - The 2014 #1 overall draft pick rejuvenated his career once he was traded to Golden State. If you remember the pre-Durant Warriors, Wiggins has grown into the role that Harrison Barnes used to play (15 points per game, solid wing defense, and athleticism). His posterization of Luka was NSFW and if he plays with this sort of aggressiveness, Boston will have their hands full.
Power Forward: Draymond Green - The villain of the Golden State Big 3, Draymond is still the bruiser of the bunch. Green is an elite defender who is versatile enough that he allows the Warriors to play “small” (where he can play as an undersized center on defense and thus allows more shooting and spacing on the offensive end). As great as Draymond is on defense, his offense has really regressed over the years. He no longer shoots or drives with confidence and it will be interesting to see if Boston’s game plan is to dare him to do so.
Center: Kevon Looney - One of the glue guy role players who has been with the team since 2015, this was Looney’s first year as a full-time starter. Like most centers, his main job is to rebound and provide rim protection. While he is not a traditional big that you would want to post up, Looney does have good finishing ability around the rim with a soft touch.
Bench
Guard: Jordan Poole - Should have won NBA’s most improved player. Provides excellent depth as a great finisher at the rim and shooter off the bench. Although he can be streaky, when he is right it is almost as if the Warriors cloned Steph.
Wing: Otto Porter Jr. - Andre Iguodala and Porter both look on track to return from injury by Game 1. While Iggy has the veteran playoff experience, Porter can play power forward when the Warriors go “small.” He is also a decade younger and provides more of a threat from behind the arc. Otto Porter Jr. turned down bigger contracts elsewhere to play with the Warriors at the NBA minimum.
Big: Jonathan Kuminga - The rookie was the 7th overall pick of this year’s draft class. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and only 19 years old, Kuminga is extremely raw but also extremely talented. He has not played as much in these playoffs due to his lack of experience but may be needed as a wildcard to match up with the Celtics bigs. He has electric athleticism.
Getting to Know the Boston Celtics
Head Coach: Ime Udoka - Former NBA bench role player with a respectable 10-year playing career. Udoka was Brad Stephens’ hand-picked successor who would love to join the list of Nick Nurse, Ty Lue, Steve Kerr, Pat Riley, and Paul Westhead as rookie head coaches to win a title. Many credit Udoka’s tough-love approach as being vital in igniting this latest Boston title chase.
Starters
Point Guard: Marcus Smart - The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year who always plays with a chip on his shoulder. Here is an obscure and random stat from Twitter that may play a big role in the series: since the 2017-18 season, Steph Curry when guarded by Smart is a 29.3% field goal percent shooter. To add more to this matchup, Smart’s aggressive play also got Steph injured in a game earlier this year. Before I drone on more about his defense, it is noteworthy that on offense Smart is coming off a game 6 and 7 against the Miami Heat where they dared him to shoot. He went 12 for 37 (32%) from the floor and exactly 4 of 19 from deep (21%). If Smart isn’t hitting open shots, it may not matter how well he can guard Curry.
Shooting Guard: Jaylen Brown - Was actually teammates with Steve Kerr’s son at the University of California, Berkeley. Brown is the premier sidekick in today’s NBA. He and Tatum are the first pair of teammates aged 25 or younger to reach the NBA Finals averaging 20 points per game each since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook did so in 2012. Something to look out for against the Warriors is Brown’s dribbling - the Heat were able to pick his pocket time and time again. Jaylen Brown also became the first professional athlete to sign with Kanye’s Donda Sports.
Small Forward: Jayson Tatum - NBA will showcase Tatum as the next big star of the league. At only 24 years of age, Tatum has already played in 68 career playoff games. If this series goes 7 games, Tatum will tie Kawhi Leonard with 75 career playoff games before turning 25 (would only trail Kobe Bryant w/97 and Tony Parker w/90 for all time). Tatum has the best odds out of the Celtics to win Finals MVP (+170).
Power Forward: Al Horford - Wily veteran’s first finals. The last time Horford was playing in a championship, he was defending his title with Joakim Noah against Greg Oden back when Tebow was still playing college football. Horford’s been playing some of his basketball in year 14 in the NBA. If Draymond is matching up with him, Horford may get a ton of 3-point opportunities because Green likes to roam the paint for help defense.
Center: Robert Williams - Reminds me so much of Ben Wallace with the Pistons as an undersized athletic center who anchors an elite defense. An ideal Williams game is 10 points (off of offensive rebounds + alley-oops), 12 boards, and 3 blocked shots.
Bench
Guard: Payton Pritchard - In his short career has shot over 40% from 3. Boston may use him to provide a spark if they get into a shooting contest with the Warriors which is inevitable in a series.
Wing: Derrick White - More of a point guard but has the size and length to guard wing players. Hasn’t played great since being traded from the Spurs midseason.
Big: Grant Williams - Plays like a young Draymond Green. Much like Green at Michigan State, Williams was a top scorer in college before reinventing their game in the NBA as an important role player role. Would not be surprised at all if he and Green get into it at some point in these finals.
Schedule
Game 1: Celtics @ Golden State - Thursday, June 2 at 9 PM ET
Game 2: Celtics @ Golden State - Sunday, June 5 at 8 PM ET
Game 3: Warriors @ Boston - Wednesday, June 8 at 9 PM ET
Game 4: Warriors @ Boston - Friday, June 10 at 9 PM ET
*Game 5: Celtics @ Golden State - Monday, June 13 at 9 PM ET*
*Game 6: Warriors @ Boston - Thursday, June 16 at 9 PM ET*
*Game 7: Celtics @ Golden State - Sunday, June 19 at 8 PM ET*
*if necessary*
Prediction
Warriors in 7.
Thanks for reading!