Celtics (0-0) at Warriors (0-0) The Finals Game #1 6/2/22

[Birdman]

Tatum missing one thing, killer instinct..Bird, Magic, Kobe, Jordan had it..when he gets it, no one stopping him

[Drucci]

TP FLCeltsfan as always !

This is a « feel each other out » game but I’m feeling good about it. I think the carryover from game 7 can be the difference against the Warriors’ rust.

I’m particularly curious to see the mental state of mind of the Celtics, hoping they’ll play relaxed. And how Horford performs particularly, I feel he could have a statement game.

Well I’m glad about my Al Horford prediction, what a game !

I’ll admit I didn’t feel good heading into the 4th especially after the Iguodala 3 but the team responded in an amazing way, kind of reminiscent of the game 4 comeback in LA back in 08. I feel like GS is kind of a frontrunning team - don’t get me wrong, they’re obviously very dangerous but they tend to get really cocky when they lead by 10+ or Curry is on fire, which is suddenly not the case when the game gets close in critical moments. Also, the Celtics defended Curry very poorly in the first half but I thought it bode well for us that he got it going then rather than in the 4th.

I understand the worries about the team letting down its guard after hearing compliments for days before game 2 but from seeing their attitude in the game and in the postgame pressers, they just seem to be locked in and so, so focused on the endgame here. Plus, extra days of rest will only benefit Al and Rob. I think they really feel like they can improve in a lot of areas (such as defense and rebounding) and can get up 2-0 heading back to Boston, especially with a JT bounce back game (offensively) looming, so let’s do it!

[ozgod]

Never doubt this team! I know we've all been disappointed watching them over the years but this year they've earned the right to be given a second chance due to their resilience.

[ozgod]

Celtics on NBC Sports Boston@NBCSCeltics·43s

Green: "They hit 21 threes and Smart, Horford and White combined for 15 of them... 15-23 from those guys so, we'll be fine"

What an idiot. That's like the Germans saying, "We lost battles to all the Allies' generals but Patton and Montgomery, so we'll be fine"

I hope they all keep thinking like that...keep underestimating our team.

[tenn_smoothie]

We can definitely nitpick a lot of the smaller things. But my biggest takeaway is that, Golden State's defense definitely isn't as good as years past. Klay looks a bit shaky on that end, and as good as Draymond is he can't guard everyone.

Yes, the offensive rebounds we gave up were absolutely frustrating to watch
but the C's can definitely drive inside on the offensive end as much as they want.

The rebounding is still a concern for me. We are the bigger team in the ECF and now the Finals and we get embarrassed giving our opponent multiple second chances. During practices before Game 2, Ime needs to run those box-out drills you see high school teams do when a coach is trying to teach fundamentals. Put a strong body on someone !!!!!

[SHAQATTACK]

Wow,  great news this morning   ;DHad a long day could make it past half time ..lol…

Be glade t9 get back home.

[Rosco917]

Golden State decided to roll the dice by getting the ball out of Tatum's hands and seeing if the other Celtics could beat them.

A year ago it might of worked, he might have kept trying to force his shot over two defenders, not any longer, because JT turned into a facilitator and passed the ball to open men all game long and the "other" Celtics came through. I couldn't be any more happy with Tatums all around development. When the ball moves for this Celtic team, they're a tough nut to crack.

The Warriors are going to have to think of a different way to get to this Celtic team or chance going down 0-2 at home.   

[SHAQATTACK]

AL

WHITE

SMART

WERE BEASTS

Once again the Nature Boy is right on !

[mobilija]

I'm gonna have to spend some time watching 4th qtr again on my lunch break...it was such a whirlwind, happened so fast. Warrior fans must be so demoralized

[cman88]

so Draymond says that horford,smart,white wont shoot that well again.....does he take into account that tatum also likely wont go 3-17?

[Vermont Green]

I am going to come clean.  I fell asleep on the coach at the end of the 3rd.  When I woke up, it was the local news.  That is OK, what a quarter.

I did some stat sorting on the fourth quarter.  I think the most incredible aspect was that Brown, White, and Tatum all played about 11 min (all but the garbage time) and all were +27.  +27 in a fourth quarter of a finals game!  Tatum did not score (0 for 3) but had 4 assists.  White had 6 points and 1 assist.  Brown?  10 pts and 5 assists.  Wow.  Horford was terrific also of course, 11 pts but he "only" played about 6 minutes.  Pretty good 6 minutes.

Another interesting thing about the quarter was that there were 3 different 5-man line ups that all dominated.  Brown, Tatum, and White were part of all of them but with Horford/Smart (3 min, +9), Horford/Pritchard (3 min, +10), and RWill/Pritchard (5 min. +8).  I didn't matter who was out there with the "BIG 3", everybody got into the act.

Defensively, GSW were 2 for 8 from 3pt, 7 for 17 with 4 TO overall.  O for 2 FTs.  I guess all that finals experience didn't help.  That is not a terrible quarter for them, you don't expect that to result in being -24 for the quarter, but that is what happened.  I guess all that finals experience didn't help.

Now we have to play the next game like Game 6 in MIL.  Like the series is on the line.  GSW probably came into game 1 with a little too much air in their tires.  Then clearly they let down in the 4th.  They were not ready for how well the Celtics can play when they get hot.  I guess GSW just couldn't believe that another team could get even hotter than they get (or were earlier in the game).  Now they know.

We had one good quarter though.  We can't let that get into our heads.  Game 1 and Game 3 against MIA were like that.  They had one big quarter in each, we won all the rest but you can't win a series relying on the 1 big quarter.

[cons]

Golden State decided to roll the dice by getting the ball out of Tatum's hands and seeing if the other Celtics could beat them.

A year ago it might of worked, he might have kept trying to force his shot over two defenders, not any longer, because JT turned into a facilitator and passed the ball to open men all game long and the "other" Celtics came through. I couldn't be any more happy with Tatums all around development. When the ball moves for this Celtic team, they're a tough nut to crack.

The Warriors are going to have to think of a different way to get to this Celtic team or chance going down 0-2 at home.

This.

when this team moves the ball omg watch out

i hesitate to say it

but other teams are almost doing us a favor forcing tatum to move it around

because clearly thats when we're at our best

lets keep it going!!!

Let's Go Celtics!!!! 

[JohnBoy65]

Golden State decided to roll the dice by getting the ball out of Tatum's hands and seeing if the other Celtics could beat them.

A year ago it might of worked, he might have kept trying to force his shot over two defenders, not any longer, because JT turned into a facilitator and passed the ball to open men all game long and the "other" Celtics came through. I couldn't be any more happy with Tatums all around development. When the ball moves for this Celtic team, they're a tough nut to crack.

The Warriors are going to have to think of a different way to get to this Celtic team or chance going down 0-2 at home.

This.

when this team moves the ball omg watch out

i hesitate to say it

but other teams are almost doing us a favor forcing tatum to move it around

because clearly thats when we're at our best

lets keep it going!!!

Let's Go Celtics!!!! 

I don't disagree entirely, but what happened last night was borderline historic. 9-10 from 3 in the 4th Q? I imagine Golden State was pretty comfortable with how they played and it was 10 minutes of lights out shooting to beat them. I think Golden State is more inclined to see if Boston can do that again than completely chante their gameplan.

[Roy H.]

Golden State decided to roll the dice by getting the ball out of Tatum's hands and seeing if the other Celtics could beat them.

A year ago it might of worked, he might have kept trying to force his shot over two defenders, not any longer, because JT turned into a facilitator and passed the ball to open men all game long and the "other" Celtics came through. I couldn't be any more happy with Tatums all around development. When the ball moves for this Celtic team, they're a tough nut to crack.

The Warriors are going to have to think of a different way to get to this Celtic team or chance going down 0-2 at home.

This.

when this team moves the ball omg watch out

i hesitate to say it

but other teams are almost doing us a favor forcing tatum to move it around

because clearly thats when we're at our best

lets keep it going!!!

Let's Go Celtics!!!! 

I don't disagree entirely, but what happened last night was borderline historic. 9-10 from 3 in the 4th Q? I imagine Golden State was pretty comfortable with how they played and it was 10 minutes of lights out shooting to beat them. I think Golden State is more inclined to see if Boston can do that again than completely chante their gameplan.

Probably true, but let's not get *too* caught up in the historic comeback.  We were up by two at half-time, so it's not like they were crushing us until the fourth.  The Warriors went on a big run in the 3rd; we went on a bigger one in the 4th.

[JohnBoy65]

Golden State decided to roll the dice by getting the ball out of Tatum's hands and seeing if the other Celtics could beat them.

A year ago it might of worked, he might have kept trying to force his shot over two defenders, not any longer, because JT turned into a facilitator and passed the ball to open men all game long and the "other" Celtics came through. I couldn't be any more happy with Tatums all around development. When the ball moves for this Celtic team, they're a tough nut to crack.

The Warriors are going to have to think of a different way to get to this Celtic team or chance going down 0-2 at home.

This.

when this team moves the ball omg watch out

i hesitate to say it

but other teams are almost doing us a favor forcing tatum to move it around

because clearly thats when we're at our best

lets keep it going!!!

Let's Go Celtics!!!! 

I don't disagree entirely, but what happened last night was borderline historic. 9-10 from 3 in the 4th Q? I imagine Golden State was pretty comfortable with how they played and it was 10 minutes of lights out shooting to beat them. I think Golden State is more inclined to see if Boston can do that again than completely chante their gameplan.

Probably true, but let's not get *too* caught up in the historic comeback.  We were up by two at half-time, so it's not like they were crushing us until the fourth.  The Warriors went on a big run in the 3rd; we went on a bigger one in the 4th.

Oh I agree. I don't think there's anything 'historic' about the comeback. Moreso the way we shot the ball in the 4th quarter. I just think Golden State will say go ahead Al, Dwhite, and Smart. Do that again here. As opposed to completely rethink their defensive strategy.