Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics
The Celtics are looking to seize control of their NBA Finals series against the Warriors when they’ll have their second straight home game this Friday at the TD Garden. Boston currently hold a 2-1 series lead following their superb Game 3 victory on Wednesday.
Going up 3-1 after Friday should put the Celtics in great position to finally getting banner No. 18, but they must keep their foot on the gas pedal since the Warriors aren’t folding that easily.
We expect another fun match between these two sides, so read on below as SBOTOP previews Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Talking Points
The Warriors are sweating on Steph Curry’s fitness
Golden State are hopeful that Steph Curry will be fully healthy after injuring his foot late in Game 3, although the 34-year-old guard said that he doesn’t expect to miss Game 4.
Steph Curry was grimacing in pain when Al Horford landed on top of him following a scramble for a loose ball during the final period, and head coach Steve Kerr eventually took him out of the game when the Celtics were assured of a victory.
The Warriors superstar continues to be in fine form as he led the team scoring-wise with 31 points with six threes, and he is having his best personal scoring average in the Finals at 31.3 points per game thus far. No one in the league bends defences like Steph Curry, so the Warriors cannot afford to lose him in these next few games.
“We need him if we want to win this thing,” Klay Thompson said. “I am really hoping he’s okay because he’s our identity, and without him, it’ll be very difficult.”
Regardless of whether Curry is at 100-per cent or not, the Warriors’ supporting cast needs to show up in order to stand a chance against the Celtics.
Klay Thompson did his part by dropping 25 points with five treys while Andrew Wiggins had 18, but Jordan Poole and Draymond Green didn’t have much of an impact in Game 3 with only 12 points combined.
Celtics flex their muscle
Finals MVP favourite Jaylen Brown set the tone in Game 3 when he scored 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter which came with several NBA 2022 highlights, while Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart added 26 and 24 points respectively. Their 77 points total was the most by a Celtics trio in a Finals game since 1987.
Boston also got meaningful contributions from others, particularly from Al Horford and Robert Williams III, as they made their presence felt with 18 rebounds, four steals, and five blocks combined.
The Celtics outmuscled the Warriors in Game 3 as they outscored them 52-26 in the paint and they had the rebounds advantage at 47-31. Boston kept Golden State at bay since they also did a decent job in taking care of the basketball with only 12 turnovers compared to the Warriors’ 16.
History
The Warriors have been in this position being down 2-1 in the Finals, as Klay Thompson alluded to during their postgame press conference in Game 3.
During the 2015 NBA Finals, the Warriors fell to 2-1 against the valiant Cavaliers, but they eventually went on to win three straight to claim the championship.
Cleveland were dealing with injuries to their key players with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both sidelined for the rest of the season, and that’s the main reason why the Warriors won it all back then.
So far in this series, the Celtics have the higher amount of points, rebounds, assists, blocks, FG percentage, and three-point percentage than the Warriors after the first three games. However, Golden State have outscored Boston in all of the third quarters by a whopping total of +43.
Golden State are keen to avoid going down 3-1 since only 4.8-per cent of the teams who were in the said situation have successfully made a comeback (13 out of 271 total in the playoffs).
What are the odds?
The Celtics were able to win Game 3 and they are also favoured by the NBA 2022 odds to win in Game 4. Boston are priced at 1.62, while the Warriors are pegged at 2.38 in the 1X2 market. In the Asian Handicap readings, the hosts are three-point favourites at 1.84.
However, the Celtics’ job is not yet finished as the Warriors are going to adjust and ramp up their intensity in Game 4. Like Boston, Golden State are undefeated following a loss this postseason.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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