2022 NBA Finals Preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics

 

                                             Credit: Getty Images/TSN

Tonight, the 2022 NBA Finals tip-off in San Francisco with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Boston Celtics. The Warriors come in having taken out the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Finals while the Celtics snuck past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning the series in seven games. 

The Warriors come into this series as the seasoned NBA Finals veterans having won three NBA championships in 2015, 2017, and 2018 while also reaching the NBA Finals in 2016 and 2019. As for the Celtics, while their franchise historically is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with most NBA titles (17), this current Celtics group is new to this big of a stage. 

Stephen Curry (25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, & 6.3 assists) is the leader of this Warriors team, playing some of the best basketball of his entire career. While Kevin Durant is no longer on the team, the Warriors have picked up right where they left off before he even joined them in the first place. They're looking like the Warriors team that won in 2015 with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins forming a solid core around Curry. 

As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum (26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, & 4.4 assists) leads the charge along with Jaylen Brown (23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, & 3.5 assists). The two of them form a really dynamic wing duo that is very difficult to stop. They too have a solid cast around them in Dennis Schröder, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford. 

As for what's going to determine this series, I think a lot of this comes down to whether or not the Warriors play a clean, efficient series or not and whether or not the Celtics will be able to force them into playing sloppy basketball. The Warriors are the more experienced team. If they play their best basketball, they're going to win this series. However, they sometimes have lulls or moments where they are sloppy and not playing their best. If the Celtics can take advantage of those moments and play a clean, efficient series on their end, this series could get interesting. 

For the Warriors, Curry is going to need to come up big and have an NBA Finals MVP-level performance. They cannot expect to win this series if he isn't playing at his best. He really is the engine that makes this Warriors team go. As for the Celtics, they need Brown and Tatum to be on their game. If those two guys are balling out, the Celtics have a chance. 

Prediction: I got the Warriors winning this series in six games. They have championship experience and know what it takes to win an NBA championship. I think the Celtics will do enough to take a couple games of the series, but when it's all said and done, the Warriors will be the ones lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Stephen Curry will also take home his first NBA Finals MVP award. 

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