Warriors vs Celtics….who wins the NBA title?

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
And even though I sometimes criticize his toyness and shot selection, and while he deserves to be MVP not just because he's Steph Curry, but Andrew Wiggins is about as close an honorable mention that existed in this series.
 

Heim

EOG Master
Give GSW staff credit, major defense adjustment after GM3. Everything contested, few dribble drives to hoop.

Boston....well, help defense left the building after GM3
 

Heim

EOG Master
Payton is a great story....cut and asked to work in their video room. Now a ring.

Meyer said post-game, day after they cut him, he asked if he could still workout with the team
 

Viejo Dinosaur

EOG Master
Enjoyed the banter back and forth during the finals…lots of great observations from all posters….one thing that impressed me the most about the finals was the play of Wiggins and Williams…that kid on Boston is a beast…hopefully he stays healthy next year….
 

boston massacre

EOG Master
Golden St.'s Defense Kept Getting Better and Better and Better Every Game.

They Talk Celtic Turnovers, Tatum Having A Below Average Series.

Most Of That Is Caused By Defensive Pressure.

Especially From A Half Court Set.

Tatum and Brown Had At Least 2 Guys Under Their Chin, Every Time They Tried To Get To The Rim.

Most Of Their Points Came On Good Outside Looks.

Like Marcus Smart Said In Game 6 Press Conference.

It Was Tough.

They Stayed In Front Of Us.
 

asportsguy

EOG Veteran
GS made these Finals look easy. Celtics with a big fourth qtr game 1 and one good game at home that was all they had.
Great 4th Qtr game 1 on the road.
 

lap18

EOG Dedicated
Just like clockwork…turnovers took the life out of Boston
Kane said Boption defense was the difference. I watched a game or 2 of previous series and thought he was correct.
Terriblely wrong. Plus panic shooting when behind did them in at least in one game. Last game they seemed defeated from the onset
 

lap18

EOG Dedicated
Side note. I have never been a fan of NBA but always seem to get interested in playoffs. I did enjoy watching throughout as usual
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Kane said Boption defense was the difference. I watched a game or 2 of previous series and thought he was correct.
Terriblely wrong. Plus panic shooting when behind did them in at least in one game. Last game they seemed defeated from the onset

Love the term "panic shooting."

It happens at every level of basketball.
 

boston massacre

EOG Master
Once Kerr Saw The Adjustments He Needed To Make, In Series, And They Were All On The Defensive End, He Implemented Them, And They Were Successful.

Won Last 3 Games.

Held Celtics To Single Digits Last 3 Games.

2 Of 3 Wins Were On Boston Home Court.
 

kane

EOG master
Kane said Boption defense was the difference. I watched a game or 2 of previous series and thought he was correct.
Terriblely wrong. Plus panic shooting when behind did them in at least in one game. Last game they seemed defeated from the onset
I never said Boston's defense would be the difference, and I picked the Warriors to win the series
 

kane

EOG master
Of course I'll be rooting for the Celtics, but the thing I keep thinking about is how not one player on their roster has ever played in a finals game, whereas G St has been there and done that many times, besides the experience edge G St has, another thing I keep thinking about is how the C's finally reached the finals after losing in the ECF's so many times, Smart and Brown had been 0-3 in the ECF's and Tatum was 0-2, Horford had played more playoff games without a finals appearance of any player in league history, and for as great a job as Udoka has done, he's a rookie coach going against Steve Kerr who's coached a ton of finals games, and as odd as it sounds I'm a little concerned the C's are just "happy to be there", The Warriors best players aren't getting younger and they might play with a sense of urgency that Boston doesn't match. I think Boston matches up really well with them defensively, and even though at times shots don't fall, defense travels, so that alone will give them a chance, and if they're knocking down their three's this will be a competitive series, but it isn't often you get this type of experience edge in the finals. I hope I'm wrong, but I think G St ends up winning. Not sure I want to lay 155, so I'll hope Boston takes game 1, then make a series play on G St at a better price
I said Boston's defense would give them a chance, and it did, they played well defensively, the Warriors averaged 111 points per game, they didn't reach that number in any of the 6 games while averaging 104 points per game, 7 points below their average. The Warriors shoot 47% from the field and Boston held them to 44% for the series. If you had watched any of the games you would know Boston's D wasn't why they lost, but rather their lack of shot making along with way too many turnovers
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Side note. I have never been a fan of NBA but always seem to get interested in playoffs. I did enjoy watching throughout as usual

I've tried this approach with other sports and it never seems to work.

I think you need to follow a sport from the preseason to the postseason to truly understand the flow of what's happening.

Especially if you allow "feel" to enter your handicapping process.
 
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boston massacre

EOG Master
I said Boston's defense would give them a chance, and it did, they played well defensively, the Warriors averaged 111 points per game, they didn't reach that number in any of the 6 games while averaging 104 points per game, 7 points below their average. The Warriors shoot 47% from the field and Boston held them to 44% for the series. If you had watched any of the games you would know Boston's D wasn't why they lost, but rather their lack of shot making along with way too many turnovers

along with way too many turnovers

Said It Many Times.

Created From Defensive Pressure.

Tatum Had 23 Turnovers Himself In The Series.

Had A Total Of 100 Turnovers Himself In The Celtic's 4 Playoff Series.

Ime Udoka Said; As A Star, Tatum Is Going To Face A Lot Of Defensive Pressure.

And He Needs To Learn How To React Better, To it.
 

lap18

EOG Dedicated
I've tried this approach with other sports and it never seems to work.

I think you need to follow a sport from the preseason to the postseason to truly understand the flow of what's happening.

Especially if you allow "feel" to enter your handicapping process.
Agree... I still suck though. Thank god I'm a small wagerer
 

lap18

EOG Dedicated
I said Boston's defense would give them a chance, and it did, they played well defensively, the Warriors averaged 111 points per game, they didn't reach that number in any of the 6 games while averaging 104 points per game, 7 points below their average. The Warriors shoot 47% from the field and Boston held them to 44% for the series. If you had watched any of the games you would know Boston's D wasn't why they lost, but rather their lack of shot making along with way too many turnovers
Well fuck KANE. I thougot I could hang that on you
 

boston massacre

EOG Master
JK and Others, That Backed Him, With The Quotes And Thumbs Up, Doubted Me.

I Knew Better.

On This One.


Celtics in 5.

Don't Think Steve Kerr Will Get Beat 3 In A Row.

Is Kerr still playing?

The coaching edges, in my opinion, are very slight in the 2022 NBA Finals.

Basketball, especially NBA playoff basketball, is a game of adjustments.

Very few secrets at this time of season.

Kerr's defensive switches notwithstanding, the NBA remains a make-or-miss league.

When the Celtics could not hit a shot in third quarter of Game 2 (4-for-17), the game was essentially over.

If you want to praise Kerr for Boston's cold shooting or credit Kerr's strategy for five sloppy turnovers in the quarter, be my guest.

I think the series will be decided by the players on the court, not the coaches on the sideline.

When it comes down to the NBA, I trust JK…..


It's All Laid Out For You.

Right Here.

In Depth.


Steve Kerr turned in a coaching masterpiece to claim the Warriors a fourth title​



BOSTON — When Steve Kerr came to the Warriors, it was because the team needed a head coach that would reset the culture in Oakland.

Five straight NBA Finals and a move across the Bay later, it’s obvious that Kerr was able to do that.
The Warriors’ systems are the envy of the league and the team’s environment of positivity and accountability is legendary.

But the Warriors needed something more than a big-picture coach this season, particularly in the NBA Finals.

They needed a tactical master. Someone who could adapt to any situation and deploy his players in the perfect way. They needed someone to handle the micro.

It’s rare to be a quality team visionary. It’s tough to be an X’s and O’s master.

To be both? That would make someone arguably the best coach in the NBA.
And that’s what Kerr proved himself to be this season.

“Man, you’re talking about one of the greatest coaches of all time,” Andrew Wiggins, arguably the poster child for the Warriors Way said after Game 6. “The way he challenges his players but supports them, it’s amazing. He gives his players confidence and he puts his players in position to succeed. So I’m definitely thankful for Steve Kerr.”


Kerr’s adjustments throughout these NBA Finals were critical in claiming the series and a fourth title under his reign for the Dubs.

The early portion of the series saw little between Golden State and Boston. The Celtics might have been the more talented team; the Warriors certainly the more experienced. The basic tactics were on point for both teams from the opening tip of Game 1 in San Francisco.


Starting in Game 4, with the Warriors down 2-1 in the series, Kerr comprehensively out-adjusted Boston’s first-year head coach, Ime Udoka. He worked over the rookie, and it resulted in three straight wins and a fourth NBA title in eight years.

For a coach that has so often defaulted to the Warriors’ ideals, this was a realpolitik performance from the Warriors’ head coach.

And it manifested in his benching of Draymond Green in the fourth quarter of that game.
It was a risky but necessary move. It paid with Green’s finish to that game and finish to the series.
Meanwhile, the Boston coach had one move: imploring his team to stop playing soft.


That stopped working around halftime of Game 4.

The Warriors, meanwhile, tinkered, mixed and matched all the way to the final whistle.

And when Kerr found something that worked, he had no problem pushing the button again and again and again late in the series.

Kerr still had moves remaining. He dared Boston to counter. In the final two games, those counters didn’t come.

The biggest adjustment the Warriors made was in Game 5, when Wiggins was matched with Jayson Tatum for every minute the latter was on the court.

In the NHL playoffs, teams try to match lines — this was Kerr’s hockey play.

Tatum shot 16 of 38 over the final two games was far more of a detriment than benefit to the Celtics over the final two contest. Wiggins had him second-guessing everything.

Earlier in the series, the Warriors had found some success with Gary Payton II in the rotation. He sat in Game 1, but he was an impact player in Game 2. Then, Kerr couldn’t find him big minutes in Games 3 and 4.

That was not a problem in Game 5 or Game 6, though. Kerr played Payton played 46 minutes — a top-five number on the Dubs in the final two games of the Finals — and he had 21 points, eight rebounds, a block and six steals. No one had a better net rating than the Young Glove in the final two contests.


Kerr also staggered Kevon Looney and Green more in Games 5, 6 — their minutes on the court together were limited. Both players were marvelous, but having two non-shooters on the floor proved challenging for the Dubs, even if there were defensive positives.


The final big adjustment that Kerr made was to go against what had been working in the series up until Game 4.


But, trust me, it was a pragmatic move.

The Celtics were keying in on the Warriors’ high pick-and-roll — a system that Golden State avoids on principle but started using heavily in Game 1 because of Boston’s switch-everything defense.

But with Curry scoring 43 points in Game 4, Boston made it clear from the jump in Game 5 that they were going to make anyone but No. 30 beat them.

Kerr foresaw the move and the Warriors ran their traditional motion sets almost exclusively for the final two games. Boston was stuck in no man’s land — the Warriors claimed the title.

There will be countless questions in the coming months about if the Warriors can do it again — can they go on another run of NBA Finals appearances?

There’s one question that won’t have to be asked, in any capacity: Is the right man at the helm for whatever happens next?

Kerr has proven himself four times over now, and this might have been the most impressive coaching performance of the lot.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Kerr's excellent, no doubt.

He has learned from two of the best ever in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich and he played on teams that understood team basketball.
 

Heim

EOG Master
Mike Brown deserves all the credit. He made all the adjustments on defense. What does Kerr know about defense?

Brown did a good job with the Lakers defense too, unfortunately you win games with offense in today's game.

He'll flop in SAC too because defense takes effort, and we're talking Sacramento here.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Mike Brown deserves all the credit. He made all the adjustments on defense. What does Kerr know about defense?

Brown did a good job with the Lakers defense too, unfortunately you win games with offense in today's game.

He'll flop in SAC too because defense takes effort, and we're talking Sacramento here.

And that's why Golden State dumped Mark Jackson and picked up Steve Kerr.

Jackson was known as a defense-first guy.
 
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