We are now what is merely moments away before the tip-off of the 2021-2022 NBA Finals, and what a journey it has been to get to this point in this time. After a tough Game 7 win over the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics find themselves up against who other than the Golden State.Warriors.
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The matchup here is a particularly interesting one, with one of the most winningest teams in league history competing against one of the most winningest teams within the last decade. It is here where we will discuss the keys to victory in this series and consider who will be lifting the championship trophy once the dust settles. There is a plethora of things that go into a playoff series for each respective team: initial offensive/ defensive strategies going into it, individual matchups, and the quarter to quarter and game to game adjustments that’ll be made as the series progresses.
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First and foremost, looking at both rosters, there’s very much some similarities but at the same time just as many differences. Both rosters have role players who are very much capable of contributing on both sides of the ball, but at the same time the Celtics have much more of a positionless basketball approach with their rotation where as the Warriors have a bit more definition in regards to who fits into what position for the most part. Looking at this matchup we get a bit of a “when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object” sort of situation, with the Celtics defense being ranked as one of the best in the league as well as the Warriors having one of the most free flowing and effective offenses.
Some of the things that this series boils down to is what will be more difficult for either team, the Warriors scoring on the Celtics in the half-court, or the Celtics shutting down the Warriors while on defense. Although it sounds rather redundant, realistically speaking the Celtics have had major defensive schemes set up by the Coach Udoka and staff per series and that is definitely no different going into this matchup starting tonight. The Celtics have taken pride in being able to defend teams, shutting down their offensive sets in order to make things easier for themselves on the other end. So one of the big “ifs” in this series is whether or not the Celtics can string together some big stops on some of the best shooters this league has ever seen.
Assuming that both teams’ superstars are healthy, it is safe to say that their performances are jot be just about what we’d expect from them, and where the X-Factors lie are amongst other role players: Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole for the Warriors, and Al Horford and Robert Williams III for the Celtics. Each of these players have shown to be vital pieces in these playoffs in multiple facets of the game, where Wiggins and Poole have been shining through with shot creating and scoring, where as Horford and Williams have shown time and time again the effectiveness of what a big can bring to both sides of the ball. Unfortunately a question mark falls upon the health of Rober Williams III, having missed a handful of games leading up to this point in time, as the same can be said for Celtics guard Marcus Smart. As basketball fans we can only hope that both rosters will have a healthy series, knowing just how taxing it can be.
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The list of keys to this series is one that truly can be discussed for hours on end which in truth is something to be very excited about. Few saw both teams having the potential to win it all this season, but with solid top to bottom rosters, great coaches and staff, and some all-time talents on both sides, we as basketball fans are in for an interesting set of games to come. Although it seems like every game won’t be too one sided, personally it seems difficult to bet against good defense and grit. And with that being said
Boston Celtics in 6.
Game 1 of the 2021-2022 NBA Finals starts today at 9PM EST on ABC.
