NBA Finals Takeaways (So Far)
Biggest Takeaway’s from Game 1 and 2 of the Finals
After Two well fought entertaining games of basketball (although Draymond might have hit his head and thinks he’s back in high school playing tight end) the Celtics and the Warriors are tied 1–1. Nearly every analyst and member of the media picked this series to go six or seven, with the winner being split about 50/50. As it turns out, this series is going to be everything we expected.
We hear Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy say enough to sound like a broken record, “basketball is a game of runs.” It’s true at all levels of the game, but this series specifically it couldn’t be more accurate. Boston skull crushing finale run came in the fourth quarter of Game 1, when their defense made a veteran Golden State team look lackadaisical, exhausted, and confused. Boston started the fourth quarter on a 17–0 run, creating momentum and offensive for themselves by contesting shots, causing turnovers, and playing excellent defense. The Warriors took command of Game 2 in the third quarter, as their offense exploded for 35 point quarter, 11/23 from the field, 6/7 from the stripe, and 7/12 from behind the arch, making Boston’s elite defense look helpless.
Now that both teams have gotten a game, coaches have made adjustments, and the players players are getting a feel for one another, it’s time to look at four key takeaways from Games 1 and 2 to keep in mind the rest of the series.
Vintage Steph
Steph Curry was once on the floor with three other All-Stars in Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson. Kevin Durant is gone. Draymond Green looks like he’s playing with a bowling ball and is trying to pickup a scholarship to play football at Iowa. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson, who once only took elite high quality shots, appears to only have one focus; trying to tack on his All-Time playoffs points so he can get on the NBA 100 list in 25 years.
I said it in my series preview last week, if the Warriors pull this thing out you can count on the fact Steph Curry will be winning his first NBA Finals MVP, due to the lack of consistency around him. Curry is going to have to be a little more selfish when it comes to shot attempts then he is use to. Ironically, it’s his unselfishness that has led to all of his titles previous. However, this time around is going to have to be different. Steph must be elite every night, or they will loose. He leads all scorers in the finals right now with 63 points. Curry has never been one to demand the spotlight be on him, but if the Warriors want to win the finals Steph must takeover and have the best finals performance of his career.
Kerr’s Adjustments on Tatum
Game 1 — Jayson Tatum — 3/17 from the Field
Game 2 — Jayson Tatum — 8/19 from the Field
I know what you are thinking. What adjustments is this crazy guy talking about? Well in Game 1, Steve Kerr treated Jayson Tatum like an inexperienced young star. They tried to rattle Tatum and force him into taking bad shots, a mistake we saw a young Tatum make often. As soon as he would put the ball on the floor, the pressure would come, in hopes of a Tatum saying “I’ll save us with a ridiculously difficult basket because I am a superstar.” However, Tatum has really matured this season. Although he still may throw up a not so great look once in awhile, when pressure, or a double team comes, you can count on him more often than not to make the right play and find the open man, one of the hardest things a superstar must learn to do.
Tatum finished Game 1 with 13 assists. The Warriors commitment to Tatum allowed Al Horford to light it up for 26 (9/12 from the field and 6/8 from 3). It looked like 2021 again as everyone was socially distancing themselves six feet away from Horford, and he made them pay. Similar stories apply for Marcus Smart (7/11 from the field and 4/7 from 3) and Derrick White (6/11 and 5/8 from 3), although they both had their fair share of tough baskets.
This being the biggest reason they lost the game, Steve Kerr made the adjustment in Game 2 to not focus on shutting down Tatum as much. With Wiggins being his primary defender, Jayson Tatum did Jayson Tatum things and hit some silky smooth shots that left us saying, “nothing you can do about that.” However, Tatum only finished with three assists in Game 2. Outside of Jalen Brown’s 17, Derrick White scored 12, Al Horford scored 2, Marcus smart scored 2, Robert Williams scored 2, and Grant Williams scored 6.
Steve Kerr gets a huge nod for the adjustment. We’ll see what Celtics head coach, Ime Udoka, responds with at home for Games 3 and 4.
The Splash Bro’s: Steph and… Poole
Every time Jordan Poole hits an obscene off the dribble step back 3, somewhere deep down Klay Thompson hopes it misses. The crowd goes ballistic and the national media looks at Jordan Poole like their little puppy. Klay Thompson has been replaced to some extent. People will disagree, but it’s clear to me Jordan Poole is the second best offensive player on this team, and if there is any tie breaker, him being 22 tilts the scale.
Coming out of Michigan, Jordan Poole would make the Maize and Blue Nation pull their hair out as he attempted this ridiculous hero shots all game long, especially down the stretch. Little did we realize he was a West Coast star playing in the “team first” BIG 10 conference. Steve Kerr getting his hands on that kid was the biggest mistake the NBA has made in awhile. The Warriors pump confidence into their players to always take the shot, because that is the only way their system works. Jordan Poole took that to another level with what he can do off the dribble. He very quickly went from a fun guy off the bench, to someone no one can stay in front of, very quickly in these playoffs.
Like Steph Curry, it just feels like there isn’t a shot he cannot make, as that was glorified by his half court step back 3 before half time in Game 2. Who was the first person to run after him after he hit the shot? Steph Curry. He loves the younger version of himself, and Klay is Jealous. Jokes aside, if the Warriors want to continue to put together finals runs, (assuming Klay never gets back to the version of himself before two career defying leg injuries) Steph and Poole are going to have to be the centerpieces of the team.
Celtics Ineffective Bum Hunt
In my series preview piece, I noted Steph was not the same horrific defender he once was in his MVP days. Steph has clearly put on some muscle since those first Warriors runs, but for some reason no one seems to notice.
Have you ever been in a pickup game, seen the person guarding you, and immediately call for an iso thinking, “this guy can’t guard me,” only to find out he’s a scrappy little defender (I’m totally not that scrappy little guy at my colleges rec center…). That is exactly what teams, including the Celtics are attempting to do to Steph Curry. No, he’s not Scottie Pippin. Yes, he still gets scored on sometimes. But the Celtics will have possessions where they completely go away from their offense to go 1-on-1 with Curry. They do the same thing to Nemanja Bjelica, and it took the Celtics four possessions to score on him when he checked in to start the second quarter. Sometimes it works out and they get a bucket, or maybe a trip to the line. But just as often it ends up without the ball moving around and someone taking a poor shot. Let the ball find the mismatches naturally in an offense with the ball moving around, not stopping a 5-on-5 game to play iso ball. It doesn’t get anyone else involved and looks really bad when you don’t score.
Since the national media only likes posting his offense, I’ll give Steph some credit where credit it due.
Verdict
I’ll stick with my originally prediction. Warriors in 6. I would imagine they split the games in Boston before Golden State wins game 5 at home. Warriors finish the job in Boston, and Steph wins his fourth ring.
