By: Nina Samone
As the NBA season comes to a conclusion, the finals heat up with the much-anticipated Game 6 happening this evening between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. The series has been a roller coaster ride, from the Celtics stealing Game 1 – 120-108 – at the Warriors home to Curry’s 43-point Game 4, resulting in a 107-97 Golden State win.
Will the Warriors wrap up the series tonight and win their fourth title in eight years? Or will the Celtics power through and continue their perfect record in playoff elimination matches and force a Game 7? Despite how efficient Boston has been in elimination games, we can’t ignore the experience of the Warriors – and chemistry between their seasoned players.
According to Sopan Deb with The New York Times, teams with a 3-2 lead in best-of-seven finals games have won the championship 39 of 48 times – a whopping 81.3 percent.
During Monday’s game we saw what some would call an underperformance by Curry – a potentially bad sign for Boston if they can’t stay consistent for the duration of Game 6.
As we saw in Game 1, we can’t underestimate Boston – notoriously known for poor third quarter performances but have proven they can come back at the bleakest of times.
For the Celtics to take Game 6 and potentially the 2022 title, they will need more from Jayson Tatum – one of the best scorers in the league and arguably the reason for the Celtics making it so far. In Game 6 against the Bucks, Tatum went for 46 points – can he do the same tonight?
Another thing for the Celtics to succeed will be getting a handle on their turnovers. The Celtics have had 18 turnovers in both Games 2 and 5 this series.
Finally, the Celtics will need to remain composed and collected, firing on all cylinders if a Game 7 is forced – because they will be up against the Warriors on their home court with a championship game on the line.
For Golden State to win, they will need to keep their foot on the offensive gas. It would be great if players like Wiggins, Thompson and Poole could provide the offensive support they have shown in this series to help take so much pressure off Curry. If Golden State gets that energy and starts off Game 6 guns blazing, it may be possible for them to get Boston to beat themselves.
Sources:
Reiter, Bill. June 16th, 2022. CBS Sports. “Celtics vs. Warriors: Boston can still be NBA champions, but its going to have to show us something.” <https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-vs-warriors-boston-can-still-be-nba-champions-but-its-going-to-have-to-show-us-something/>
Deb, Sopan. June 16th, 2022. The New York Times. “What’s at Stake for the Celtics and Golden State in Game 6 of the N.B.A. Finals.” <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/sports/basketball/boston-celtics-golden-state-game-6.html>
