Hats off to the Warriors as they defeated the Celtics in six games and it wasn’t that close. The Warriors used their championship pedigree good defense and great ball movement to wear down the Celtics.
Defensively the Warriors were outstanding forcing everything to the middle where their defenders were waiting for the Celtics allowing Boston few if any clean drives to the basket. What made their defense outstanding was their ability to close out on what appeared to be open Boston threes making Boston work for open shots throughout the series. This led to Boston going into scoring droughts throughout the series as evidenced by last nights twenty-two nothing run by Golden State.
Golden State’s offense is what ultimately broke the Celtics down mentally. Their ability to move the ball to find the open shooter was outstanding. The Warriors were doing this against one of the best defenses in the NBA. Whenever the Celtics were making a run in the second half last night the Warriors came right back and scored. They were able to find the open shot and make it. That is their championship pedigree. The Warriors had fifteen offensive rebounds in game six giving them second chances to cash in. These second possessions caused Boston’s defense to be in scramble mode and usually led to an open Golden State shot. This wore the Celtics down. Outside of game three the Warriors consistently out rebounded the Celtics despite Boston having a size advantage.
The Golden State Dynasty
Stephen Curry was great. Curry could get any shot he wanted throughout the series. Curry hits some shots that were backbreakers. When Boston took away the three he went to the basket usually ending with a layup or a floater from inside the foul line. Andrew Wiggins played great defense, shot well and rebounded well providing Golden State with whatever was needed at that particular time. In game five his play enabled Golden State to win despite Curry having a bad shooting game. Golden State also got good play from Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and the spark plug Gary Payton. Draymond Green after a poor start to the playoffs played well in the last two games. Lastly, Kevon Looney was a presence throughout the series especially on the offensive boards.
Turnovers plagued Boston throughout the series. Boston turned the ball over often sometimes through unforced errors however Golden State also forced some of those turnovers. Every time a Celtic drove to the basket it seemed a Warrior player was able to get their hands on the ball leading to a Boston turnover.
Jayson Tatum had a rough series. This was Tatum’s first time in the Finals and he is only twenty-four years old and hopefully grows from this experience. Tatum needs to get more accustomed to defenses loading up on him in trying to stop him. He improved his passing this year and over time will continue to improve in that area.
For Boston it was their first time in the Finals with this group. With good health they should return as they grow and have better results.
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