95th Article at the Independent

Taking a look at the NBA Finals

CHRIS DRUMMOND

cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

The 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals are upon us and it features two historic franchises: the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. And both team’s paths to the Finals have been a peculiar one.

The Celtics, who have been in four of the last six Eastern Conference Finals, were able to break through in an extremely difficult way, beating the No. 1 seed Miami Heat three times on their home floor to punch a ticket to the Finals. This is also the first Finals appearance for the Celtics since 2010. For the Warriors, after falling in the 2019 Finals and losing two key players (Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant) to significant injuries, it took them three years to recover and rebuild a team that has the term “dynasty” crowned, with this being their sixth trip to the Finals over the last eight years. The most recent team to do that were the Chicago Bulls in the 90s, a team that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr played for.

This will be a matchup of which teams’ bigs will produce more. We know Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart are the “big 3” for the Celtics and that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are that for the Warriors. They’ll play to a wash, but the bigs in my opinion, will determine the winner of the series. Forward/center Robert Williams for the Celtics has been battling knee injuries all postseason, but he will be critical in the Finals due to the lack of size the Warriors present. For the Warriors, Green has been the utility guy and defensive anchor for years and he will need to be that to slow down a Celtics team that shoots the three at a high percentage and has multiple players who can break down a defense getting their own shot. Warriors center Kevon Looney’s impact has absolutely been felt due to his rebounding and ability to finish at the basket. Looney’s contribution will be big for getting the Warriors extra possessions and limiting the Celtics’ possessions by rebounding the ball effectively.

The home court could be a factor as well as the Warriors will hold it in this series. The Warriors are 3-4 on the road this postseason and undefeated at home with a 9-0 record, but the Celtics are more than comfortable playing on the road this postseason, going 7-2.

My prediction: This series will go seven games with the Warriors coming out on top due to home-court advantage and experience being in the Finals. It should be an exciting series and I’m looking forward to seeing it start today.