SAN FRANCISCO—There is no better way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NBA with a Finals series between two storied franchises.
The Boston Celtics, arguably the most storied of all, are participating in their 22nd NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors will suit up for the franchise’s 12th appearance. It will be their sixth appearance in the last eight years.
Many storylines are already sizzling ahead of tipoff for Game 1. Legacies are on the line, especially for Golden State.
With their main core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green getting older, it is difficult to know how many more chances they may have at winning a championship.
Boston is not playing with house money, though. The dominance of the Eastern Conference was on full display throughout this season. With powerhouse teams like Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Brooklyn to up-and-coming teams such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Toronto and Charlotte, there is absolutely no guarantee the Celtics will be back in this position moving forward.
Nonetheless, fans should expect an unbelievable, lengthy series between two teams who bring a variety of unique attributes to the table.
Boston’s stringent defense
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have emerged as offensive stars throughout the second half of this NBA season and playoffs. The scoring contributions from Marcus Smart, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III have also played a major role in the Celtics climbing all the way to the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
But the true calling card for the Boston is its dominant defense.
In their first-round sweep against the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics held all-star point guard Kyrie Irving to 16-for-43 shooting in Games 2, 3 and 4. They also limited superstar Kevin Durant to a mere 10 three-point attempts in the first three games of the series.
Although they had trouble neutralizing Giannis Antetokounmpo in the next round, Boston limited Bucks guard Jrue Holiday to inefficient shooting performances—including 5-of-22 shooting in Game 4 and 9-of-21 shooting in the critical Game 7 (which Boston won by 28 points).
Boston’s defense was tested in another seven-game series, this time against the first-seeded Miami Heat. Despite suffering from a couple of 40-point games from Jimmy Butler, the Celtics’ defense stood their ground when they needed it most—in the closing moments of Game 7.
Up two and on the road, Al Horford was running back in transition when Butler jogged up-court with the ball. He had the option of going for the tie or sealing the deal with a three.
He chose the ladder.
But Horford stood his ground beautifully by contesting the shot without fowling. And Butler’s attempt went wide left. The Celtics held on and advanced.
The Celtics’ big men (primarily Horford and Williams III) will need to dominate Golden State in the paint. Although Kevon Looney has been an intricate part to the Warriors’ offense, Boston must take advantage of the paint by securing offensive rebounds and forcing Looney to work defensively.
That could lead to players like Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins having to come inside and help Looney, leaving open shooters on the perimeter for Boston.
Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and even Jayson Tatum must be able to hit those shots for the Celtics to have a chance—especially on the road.
Golden State’s perimeter attack
The Bay Area employs two of the best shooters to ever lace up a pair of sneakers—Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Coming off his stellar performance in the Western Conference finals, Curry is still in search of his first ever NBA Finals MVP award.
The last Finals game Curry played in was back in 2019. It was Game 6 against the Toronto Raptors. With Golden State down three games to two in the series and trailing by one in the game, Curry came off a curl and got a great look at a three from the right-side wing.
But he missed it and the Raptors would seal their first championship in franchise history.
Curry knows that his story is not finished being written.
“It’s been an amazing run. Obviously, we (the Warriors) still feel like we have a lot left in the tank,” Curry said earlier this week. “That’s why we’re here.”
Klay Thompson’s journey back to this stage is nothing short of inspiring. After missing two full seasons due to an ACL tear and right Achilles injury, Thompson returned to the court for Golden State back in January.
During media availability this week, he spoke on how grateful he is to be back on the court.
“It’s such (an) awesome job to be (an) NBA player,” Thompson said. “Going through surgeries and the rehabs and putting a jersey on just hits so much harder than it did back in the day (before the injuries).”
His performance this postseason has reminded fans that he never missed a beat. In Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Thompson hit eight three-pointers and finished with 32 points to help Golden State secure another trip to the NBA Finals.
Thompson has made 431 threes in his playoff career—good for third most all-time.
Warriors supporting cast
Although Curry and Thompson’s ability to shoot the ball from downtown will be critical, the Warriors also will rely heavily on Draymond Green.
Green led the Warriors all season in assists, averaging about seven per contest. However, he also has averaged six turnovers a game in the previous two rounds combined. He must take better care of the basketball, especially against Boston’s switching defense.
Golden State Head Coach Steve Kerr and his team received some positive news heading into Thursday’s game. As of Wednesday afternoon, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Andre Iguodala were all listed as “questionable.”
Having any of them available will help the Warriors on the defensive end of the floor. Not only does it give them more bodies to throw at Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but it gives them more defenders to help Kevon Looney anchor the defense down low as well.
Upcoming schedule
Game 1 between the Celtics and Warriors is set to tipoff from the Chase Center shortly after 9 p.m. EST. Game 2 of the NBA Finals will resume from San Francisco on Sunday.
