(6/5/22)
Written by John Raley
Following Thursday night's game one loss to the Celtics on their home court the Warriors will be looking to bounce back to avoid going down 2-0 in the series before heading to Boston for games three and four. Boston was able to rally from down 15 points in the third to beat the Warriors 120-108 last week behind a humongous fourth quarter where they outscored Golden State by 24 points. Boston was led by unlikely hero Al Horford who was the C’s leading scorer with 26 points.
In game one Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum shot just 3-17 from the field which will likely be his worst shooting performance of the series. The Celtics found success due to their role players, their superb defense in the fourth quarter, and Jayson Tatum’s ability to impact the game while his shots weren’t falling. Although Tatum shot just a shade over 17% he was able to rack up 13 assists while only turning the ball over 2 times. He was also a key part of that Celtic defense that is so good because of their ability to switch with their size and physicality. This hard nosed, physical defense is what the Celtics hang their hat on and will look to bring that intensity once again tonight. Boston’s biggest adjustment I expect to see tonight, is finding Steph Curry when plays break down. Steph is the greatest shooter ever and the last guy in the world Boston wants to see shooting uncontested three pointers. This was the case in the first quarter Thursday as Steph went for 21 points on 6 threes. After this explosive start Boston keyed in on Curry and made it more difficult for him to find open looks. The result was 13 points for Curry over the next 3 quarters which included him going scoreless for the games last 6:05 of the contest. Steph hit a shot from seven feet out to push the Warriors lead to 3 with just over six minutes remaining. After this Boston went on a 17-0 run to close out the Warriors. Boston’s keys to winning tonight are the same keys they used to dominate the closing minutes of game one, and if they are able to take care of the ball, play physically on the defensive end, and capitalize on open looks offensively I think there is a good chance they can go back to Boston up two games to none with a chance to close out the Warriors in the Boston Garden.
Now that being said.
Never ever ever count out the Golden State Warriors. This is a team with not just playoff experience, but NBA Finals experience and lots of it. Golden State will be looking to bury Boston tonight to steal any momentum the Celtics may have before they go on the road. Yes, like I said earlier Steph was fantastic in the first quarter, but tonight he will have to be better in the second half of the game. He will also need some more help from his supporting cast. Draymond posted just 4 points on 2-12 shooting in game one, and I know he is not a scorer and his impact includes a lot of things that do not show up on a box score at the end of the night, but he has to be better than that offensively for the Warriors to beat a team as talented defensively as Boston is. The same can be said of Jordan Poole. Poole had what seemed to be a breakout year as the sixth man on Steve Kerr’s squad but was really a non factor for the Warriors in game one with just 9 points in 25 minutes on 2-7 shooting. Otto Porter Jr. was a welcome surprise for Golden State knocking down 4 three pointers along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. I expect to see Golden State come out with a fire lit under them tonight. They should be fueled by the fact that a team with no Finals experience was able to dominate them on their home court in the fourth quarter given the fact that Golden State has over 120 games of Finals experience on their roster.
I think tonight’s game will be another epic showdown between these two powerhouse teams. I could see the game going either way really because these two clubs are just so talented on both sides of the ball, but I just don’t think Golden State loses two games in a row on their home court. My prediction is Golden State pulls it out in overtime behind a huge game from Steph and Klay who will combine for 55+ points and tie the series going to Boston.