Follow our live report of the 2022 NBA Finals between Golden State and Boston Celtics†
The Boston Celtics are in dire straits after losing to Golden State on Monday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, leaving them 3-2 behind as the series shifts to Boston on Thursday. Teams leading 3-2 in the NBA’s best-of-seven finals have won the championship 39 times out of 48: 81.3 percent. Some of the Celtics’ regular-season problems resurface in the Finals: They failed to sustain their efforts through the entire game and saw their lead evaporate in the fourth quarter.
Golden State, meanwhile, is at the helm. On Monday, Stephen Curry had his first disappointing game of the series and his team still won – a bad sign for the Celtics.
But there is still at least one game to play. The Celtics have made a habit of coming back at unexpected times, including in Game 1, with an unexpected implosion in Golden State’s fourth quarter.
Here’s a look at where the series stands for a potential elimination game on the NBA’s biggest stage.
For Boston to win:
Can the Celtics find Jayson Tatum?
Jayson Tatum, 24, is the biggest reason the Celtics made it to the final. He is one of the top scorers in the league and is capable of losing 50 points in a playoff game, as he did against the Nets in the first round last year. But against Golden State, he had trouble scoring near the basket and had trouble converting. On Monday-evening, he set a league record for turnover in a postseason. Tatum shoots out 37.3 percent against Golden State.
If the Celtics want to avoid elimination, they need more from Tatum. But there’s hope for Boston: In Game 6 of this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, as the Celtics faced the same deficit, Tatum put in a 46-point feat.
Can the Celtics stop flipping the ball?
In Game 5, the Celtics had 18 turnovers and Golden State had six. In Game 2, the Celtics had 18 and Golden State 12. This was a problem for the Celtics during the playoffs, especially with their stars, Tatum and Jaylen Brown – who were often stripped naked while dribbling in the paint. If Boston doesn’t take care of the ball, he won’t win. End of story.
Defensively, the Celtics were fine. Golden State scored from 100 to 108 points in each of the first five games, which is acceptable given his attacking talent. It’s on the offensive side where Boston has struggled to generate consistent looks.
To make Golden State win:
Can the supporting cast show up again?
For most of the series, Curry has had to carry a huge offensive load. In the first four games of the series, the Warriors shot just 37.3 percent on attempts deemed wide open. That’s especially from the rest of the Golden State players who haven’t been able to make Boston pay for a tight defense on Curry.
That is until Game 5, when Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole punished the Celtics from deep, making up for Curry’s 0-for-9 night of 3. Even Draymond Green, who had a dismal run, had 8 points, which was a crucial relief valve for Curry.
If Golden State’s non-Curry players get their act together, Boston will find it very difficult to win.
Does Curry still have a pantheon performance in it?
Golden State showed it could win despite a poor game from Curry. But he doesn’t want to take that chance again. Curry’s 43 point performance in Game 4 was remarkable. If he can dig deep for another similar outing, he puts himself in the conversation for one of the best finals in history.
Commitment
If Boston wins:
The series heads to a winner-take-all Game 7. And if the Celtics win that, they’ll have made an astonishing turnaround from January when they were 18-21. It will prove that a team can win a championship with two ball-dominant wings playing similar games, in this case Tatum and Brown. It will also confirm the team’s decision not to trade its young players for one of the established players that have come to the market in recent years.
Golden State will have to wonder whether it wouldn’t have been the right move to trade one of its young players – rookies Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga and sophomore center James Wiseman – for immediate help to take advantage of Curry’s dwindling stint.
If Golden State wins:
Andrew Wiggins’ ascension will reach new heights.
For the first five years of Andrew Wiggins’ career, he was best known as a cautionary tale. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him first overall in the 2014 NBA draft and traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves weeks later to build a title contender around LeBron James. He showed flashes of elite athleticism, enough for Minnesota to invest in him a maximum contract extension. But the production never matched the contract. However, since joining Golden State in 2020 via trade, Wiggins has turned his career around. This year, he played in his first All-Star Game. And in the final, he was sometimes the best player of both teams. If Golden State wins the championship, Wiggins will have been a big reason – and it will mark a remarkable turning point in his career.
Stephen Curry’s legacy is growing.
If Golden State wins Game 6, it’s almost certain that Curry will win the Most Valuable Player Award in the finals, which would fill the one remaining hole in his resume. But a championship has bigger stakes for Curry. His previous titles – according to some NBA observers – were not legendary championships as they were for other stars. In 2015, Golden State defeated a James-led Cavaliers team that missed two of its top three players. In 2017 and 2018, Golden State defeated the Cavaliers again, but Kevin Durant was arguably the best player of those teams. This would be Curry’s first championship in which he was unequivocally the best player at Golden State and the other team at full strength. This championship would jump Curry higher in the discussion of NBA greats.
Boston will consider tinkering.
Most of Boston’s protagonists are young and still in their prime. Tatum and Brown are dynamic wings that could theoretically be All-Stars for years. But when they lose, the question arises whether they can do it together. The problem for Boston is that it doesn’t have a lot of free wiggle room. With several teams expected to make improvements next year — including division rivals Nets and Toronto Raptors — the Celtics will be faced with tough questions about whether it’s enough to make changes to the fringes.
Draymond Green will podcast to his heart’s content.
Green has provided insightful commentary on his podcast after every game. With a championship, he can do that guilt-free and without fans telling him to stop, despite his mostly poor performance in the series.
