Celtics vs. Warriors preview: How the Celtics, Warriors match up in 2022 NBA Finals
Warriors vs. Celtics odds, picks, predictions, schedule for 2022 NBA Finals Draymond Green Predicts Boston Celtics Beating Miami Heat Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics The matchup is set. The 2022 NBA Finals will feature two of the premier franchises in the league. The Celtics, currently tied with the Lakers at 17 titles, will look to add banner No. 18 to the TD Garden rafters. The Warriors will try to add title No. 7 to their record books. The key matchup How will Stephen Curry fare against the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year? Marcus Smart made headlines when these teams matched up in March, injuring Curry on what Steve Kerr later deemed "a dangerous play." Prior to that injury, Curry had missed three of his four field goal attempts and committed four turnovers. Curry has had his explosions against previous versions of the Celtics, though. Last year, he dropped 47 and 38 points in two close losses. This year's Celtics defense is different. They've been one of the best defenses in recent memory in the second half of the season and NBA Playoffs. Curry will face more switches, better overall personnel and much more dynamic rim protection than he has thus far. Smart will likely be the main guy on Curry, but the Celtics don't have any weak defenders to target in their starting lineup. Curry is going to have to work for everything. The key stat Points in the paint. The Warriors were able to feast off the Mavericks' lack of rim protection, averaging nearly 50 points per game in the paint throughout the Western Conference Finals. As a frame of reference, the Heat, Celtics and Mavs averaged between 32 and 40 in the Conference Finals. The Warriors get a lot of attention for their 3-point shooting prowess, but rim pressure can create open looks for their shooters. The Mavs weren't able to show big bodies when the Warriors got past their first line of defense. They also made too many mistakes in communication guarding the Warriors' split cuts and movement-heavy offense. Can the Celtics, a switch-heavy team susceptible to slips to the basket, make fewer mistakes off that player movement than the Mavs did? They have more defensive talent, but it is going to be the mental errors that they have to avoid. The X-factor Warriors Jordan Poole. His offense has been otherworldly. His defense has also been otherworldly - but in a bad way. Celtics Robert Williams. How well can that surgically-repaired knee hold up? Williams has covered immense amounts of space to clean up all of the team's defensive issues. He's even flown out to 3-point shooters in the corners for big blocks on the perimeter. Warriors vs. Celtics series schedule Warriors vs. Celtics series odds (This section will be updated as odds become available.) Warriors vs. Celtics picks, predictions This is going to be a great NBA Finals. If the Warriors can find a way to confuse the Celtics' dominant defense with their flurry of movement, then they will win. If the Celtics can figure out a way to score enough, then they will win. The Celtics lost to the Warriors early in the regular season when they struggled out of the gate, but they were a completely different team in the second half of the season. They blew the Warriors out in the second meeting - with the caveat that Curry did miss most of that game. #bostonceltics #Nbapostgame #goldenstatewarriors #celtics #warriors #nbafinals #nbapredictions #nbaplayoffs2022 #nbafinalslive #nbalivestream #nbalive nba playoffs boston celtics golden state warriors nba highlights 2022 nba playoffs nba today nba finals celtics vs heat andrew wiggins eastern conference finals nba full game highlights colin cowherd nba on espn Heat vs celtics post game boston celtics vs miami heat heat vs celtics heat post game heat postgame celtics all access nba podcast clns celtics post game show celtics clns celtics podcast clns media
