The Matchup

[gouki88]

So much talk about the G State's huge edge in playoff experience, which I don't buy at all.  4 of the 5 Celtics starters have logged huge playoff miles - and the warriors have 2 key guys. Poole and Wiggins, with very limited experience. I see no edge there.

Also, despite all the praise he gets, at this point in his career, Draymond is living off past accomplishments.  He is a borderline starter who can still defend, but certainly no impact player.  His lack of shooting will only help the celtics lock in on the other guys.

Draymond is what makes this GS offence work. Without him they are essentially a .500 team over his career (54-51 in career games missed). No coincidence - his passing, short rolling and screening gets them so many looks.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

The Celtics need to run GS out of the gym. They have the youth, legs, and length. With 4 days of rest, plus an additional day between games, why not run JT and JB for 44+ minutes in Game 1 and 2? They're young. If we can sneak out one win in GS, it's worth it.

Marcus or DWhite glued to Curry for the whole series + JT + JB= Elite perimeter defense

Down low, we need Grant Williams to step it up. He's capable (Game 7 v Milwaukee). Unfortunately I still think Rob Wiliams' minutes will be managed but he could present a huge mismatch.

Horford is old enough to have perspective. This is his moment, and he's got a great shot to win a championship. I'm convinced he will bring unbelievable effort.

[Goldstar88]

Is it me or are warriors fans extremely cocky? Been reading on Twitter all day how the warriors will dominate and this will be over soon. And Celtics have no chance because they beat injured teams.

They very well may. But it's not like they haven't been beaten in the finals before. Cavs with lebron, raptors with kawhi.

I think warriors fans will be surprised with our defense when the series actually starts. This isn't the Mavs.

The media is mostly Warriors as well. I think its mostly because of game 6 and 7. If we ended in game 6, or if not for the near collapse in game 7, I think a lot will be me more confident.

I certainly would be more confident. C’s got  out of the last 2 rounds of the postseason by the Skin of their teeth despite having the better roster each series.

True, but I continually remind myself that they did beat both the Bucks and the Heat 4 out of 7 games and probably outplayed them at least 1 if not 2 other games in the series.  It's disheartening a bit that the C's haven't closed well (OK understatement), but they did defeat the defending champs and the top player in the East, and then beat the #1 seed, a very well-coached, savvy team with their star player playing at the top of his game for the last 2 closeout games -- of which we won one.   C's aren't coming into this having accomplished nothing and they probably faced a tougher road than the Warriors.

My question is -- how much better is GSW than Milwaukee minus Middleton or the Heat (I don't count the Heat injuries as I think Heat and Celtics were equally battered)?  And... how much will having an advantage in the middle play to the Celtics favor?

They did, but the Bucks were missing their second best player for the entire series and Herro who is probably the 2nd most important player on the Heat missed games 4, 5, 6 and played 7 mins in the last game. The Celtics had injury issues, but they were not equal to what the other teams were dealing with. If they were missing Brown for the first series and didn’t have him for games 4,5,6 and the majority of game 7 it would have been comparable.

Warriors at full strength are a lot better than the teams the C’s faced so far. Golden state handled Dallas with little difficulty. I think the C’s have a chance to win the series, but they should be considered underdogs.

We may be underdogs, but according to ESPN on the NBA Finals series betting line.

Despite their differences in recent playoff history, on paper, this matchup is tied for the closest series price we've had in any NBA Finals in the past 35 seasons.

Can't think that massive Boston fan money is driving that alone. We match up well.

I feel like the they matchup very well. Think it’s going to come down to who is best prepared and who can do a better job making adjustments. Teams are about even in terms of talent.

[slamtheking]

The Celtics need to run GS out of the gym. They have the youth, legs, and length. With 4 days of rest, plus an additional day between games, why not run JT and JB for 44+ minutes in Game 1 and 2? They're young. If we can sneak out one win in GS, it's worth it.

Marcus or DWhite glued to Curry for the whole series + JT + JB= Elite perimeter defense

Down low, we need Grant Williams to step it up. He's capable (Game 7 v Milwaukee). Unfortunately I still think Rob Wiliams' minutes will be managed but he could present a huge mismatch.

Horford is old enough to have perspective. This is his moment, and he's got a great shot to win a championship. I'm convinced he will bring unbelievable effort.

this is the one thing I'm pretty confident of in this series

[hpantazo]

The Celtics need to run GS out of the gym. They have the youth, legs, and length. With 4 days of rest, plus an additional day between games, why not run JT and JB for 44+ minutes in Game 1 and 2? They're young. If we can sneak out one win in GS, it's worth it.

Marcus or DWhite glued to Curry for the whole series + JT + JB= Elite perimeter defense

Down low, we need Grant Williams to step it up. He's capable (Game 7 v Milwaukee). Unfortunately I still think Rob Wiliams' minutes will be managed but he could present a huge mismatch.

Horford is old enough to have perspective. This is his moment, and he's got a great shot to win a championship. I'm convinced he will bring unbelievable effort.

this is the one thing I'm pretty confident of in this series

Yeah Horford knows this could be it for him. He's going to play like these are his last games ever.


I'm hoping Tatum, Brown and Smart also have some perspective after failing to reach the Finals so many times already. They should have some perspective by now that these opportunities are far from guaranteed and may never come again.

[Phantom255x]

(wrong thread)

[SHAQATTACK]

I look for the same out of the Celtics , they not changing who they are.

Gonna start slow ,  let teams get up on them,  careless with handles,  Smart chucking .

But , they never quit ,  and use their tuffness and willingness to get down to business at the end when most teams are cooked and dead tired.

These Celtics stand in and take the best from the other team and grind it out.

They are grinders ,  will see if those old guys on Warriors still want to grind it out with young legs.

Warriors don’t want a close game with minutes to go ,  the Celtics still have energy to play defense .

[Phantom255x]

I know conventional wisdom would say that in a Finals series, the home team likely starts off extremely well in front of their home crowd and gets a solid win Game 1, then the desperate road team plays a close Game 2 and has a good chance of stealing it to make it 1-1.

I actually think we could see the opposite here. My gut feeling says Boston could steal Game 1.

Maybe Golden State starts a bit rusty since they've been off for a week, while the C's could have some momentum coming off a road Game 7 win and not too long of a layoff (but still enough to get some rest). Tbh I'd also be shocked if any of these teams were shooting lights out in Game 1, which potentially plays into Boston's favor since they are the better defensive team.

I think Boston comes out motivated and aggressive which could surprise Golden State a bit and so I could definitely see Boston taking Game 1, maybe something like a 106-102 final score.

Everyone seems to just assume Golden State will take Game 1 which has me thinking Boston could surprise folks there.

[Goldstar88]

Well, This certainly doesn’t help… I really think they should hold him out for the first game.


Jared Weiss: Marcus Smart: “The ankle is a pretty serious injury. I’m thankful to let alone play and still be walking. It hurt, but my mama always told me if you’re gonna play, you can’t make no excuses.” 4 hours ago – via Twitter JaredWeissNBA

Marc J. Spears: “If I’m going to go out there, no matter how much pain I’m in, I can’t let it affect me,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said about his ankle injury. 4 hours ago – via Twitter MarcJSpears

[hpantazo]

Well, This certainly doesn’t help… I really think they should hold him out for the first game.


Jared Weiss: Marcus Smart: “The ankle is a pretty serious injury. I’m thankful to let alone play and still be walking. It hurt, but my mama always told me if you’re gonna play, you can’t make no excuses.” 4 hours ago – via Twitter JaredWeissNBA

Marc J. Spears: “If I’m going to go out there, no matter how much pain I’m in, I can’t let it affect me,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said about his ankle injury. 4 hours ago – via Twitter MarcJSpears

Ime said Smart will get better each day and is fine. It's Rob that will be day to day the rest of the way both for recovery from his surgery and for the bone bruise he suffered on the same knee against the Bucks.

[liam]

Well, This certainly doesn’t help… I really think they should hold him out for the first game.


Jared Weiss: Marcus Smart: “The ankle is a pretty serious injury. I’m thankful to let alone play and still be walking. It hurt, but my mama always told me if you’re gonna play, you can’t make no excuses.” 4 hours ago – via Twitter JaredWeissNBA

Marc J. Spears: “If I’m going to go out there, no matter how much pain I’m in, I can’t let it affect me,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said about his ankle injury. 4 hours ago – via Twitter MarcJSpears

He said "It hurt" isn't that past tense?

[SparzWizard]

I know conventional wisdom would say that in a Finals series, the home team likely starts off extremely well in front of their home crowd and gets a solid win Game 1, then the desperate road team plays a close Game 2 and has a good chance of stealing it to make it 1-1.

I actually think we could see the opposite here. My gut feeling says Boston could steal Game 1.

Maybe Golden State starts a bit rusty since they've been off for a week, while the C's could have some momentum coming off a road Game 7 win and not too long of a layoff (but still enough to get some rest). Tbh I'd also be shocked if any of these teams were shooting lights out in Game 1, which potentially plays into Boston's favor since they are the better defensive team.

I think Boston comes out motivated and aggressive which could surprise Golden State a bit and so I could definitely see Boston taking Game 1, maybe something like a 106-102 final score.

Everyone seems to just assume Golden State will take Game 1 which has me thinking Boston could surprise folks there.

The last time the Celtics won a road game in the Finals, they set a record for 3-pointers made. Maybe they can break that record on the road again

Anyways, gotta steal Game 1. Will set the tune for the rest of the series.

[RockinRyA]

So much talk about the G State's huge edge in playoff experience, which I don't buy at all.  4 of the 5 Celtics starters have logged huge playoff miles - and the warriors have 2 key guys. Poole and Wiggins, with very limited experience. I see no edge there.

Also, despite all the praise he gets, at this point in his career, Draymond is living off past accomplishments.  He is a borderline starter who can still defend, but certainly no impact player.  His lack of shooting will only help the celtics lock in on the other guys.

Draymond is what makes this GS offence work. Without him they are essentially a .500 team over his career (54-51 in career games missed). No coincidence - his passing, short rolling and screening gets them so many looks.

People are really underestimating draymond. He looks meh on a bad team but hes what makes good teams great.

[colincb]

I know conventional wisdom would say that in a Finals series, the home team likely starts off extremely well in front of their home crowd and gets a solid win Game 1, then the desperate road team plays a close Game 2 and has a good chance of stealing it to make it 1-1.

I actually think we could see the opposite here. My gut feeling says Boston could steal Game 1.

Maybe Golden State starts a bit rusty since they've been off for a week, while the C's could have some momentum coming off a road Game 7 win and not too long of a layoff (but still enough to get some rest). Tbh I'd also be shocked if any of these teams were shooting lights out in Game 1, which potentially plays into Boston's favor since they are the better defensive team.

I think Boston comes out motivated and aggressive which could surprise Golden State a bit and so I could definitely see Boston taking Game 1, maybe something like a 106-102 final score.

Everyone seems to just assume Golden State will take Game 1 which has me thinking Boston could surprise folks there.

I think the conventional wisdom is that a team that hasn't played in a while is rusty in their first game back.

[Phantom255x]

1 down, 3 to go! 

Also don't get me wrong. We definitely won't shoot like that every game. But GSW's defense looked real meh tonight. Not as good as those teams back when they had KD or even before 2016. I think we can put up points on them every game. Hell, Tatum shot 3-17 and the C's still put up 120