NBA Finals: Warriors Hard Fought Return to Finals Will Lead to Another Reign
WARR's NBA experts expect GSW to get pushed by Boston before reclaiming greatness
Some podcasts promise a million dollars of game, but what’s a milli to a billi, right LeBron?
On the day that our NBA world convenes to begin the process of crowning a new champion (assured to be the fourth different champion in the last four years), King James made sure to trump everyone a little bit with his latest financial milestone, and unlike a former president Trump he has the paperwork to claim his billionaire bonifides. Must be nice.
Of course, it could be wagered that Bron would entertain trading a hundred million or two — enough, maybe, to draw a reliable 3-point shooter or a third 20-point scorer to the Lakers — to put himself on the court tonight, if only it would temporarily stall his record ascent to the level of wealthiest athlete on the planet.
If anyone knows about stalling LeBron’s pleasure it would be the Western Conference champions Golden State, who defined the first phase of its dynasty by standing in his way. This year’s Eastern Conference champs, Boston, gave it a good try in James’ last great run with Cleveland in 2018. Sick of waiting their turn, the Cs have finally broke through with two Jays, a Defensive Player of the Year and a smooth coach who contained the eternal Nubian thirst trap, Nia Long. How many dollars of game is that worth?
Maybe not enough to win it all this year, according to our guys from Runnin With WARR and our guy Josh Buckhalter from Heavy.com. Check out our picks for the Warriors-Celtics series below. Aside from an unexpected flourish of pro-Boston belief from Chris Pennant (and an accidentally overlooked prediction from Gavriel at initial publishing, my bad - ed.), we’re looking mostly at a very competitive series that the more experienced and potentially more-explosive Warriors should pull out with dramatic flair.
Gavriel Wilkins: Boston's switch-happy defense and versatility will force Golden State into turnovers all series long, leading to poor execution early that proves to be costly late in games while the Cs newfound resolve and mental toughness will help them prevail in this series to break their tie with the Lakers for the most championships all-time in league history to officially cap off the Association's diamond anniversary season.
Expect Jayson Tatum to take home Finals MVP honors as well in guiding Boston to its first title in 14 years. Boston in 6.
Chris Pennant: The two best teams this postseason meet for the grand prize. Isn't that what we want, even if it's hard to admit? The resurgent Warriors, on the verge of another period of dominance, versus Boston, the old dynasty, with a chance to control the East again.
Tatum, Brown, and Smart form a damn good nucleus to match with Curry, Klay and Draymond. Realistically, it’ll come down to coaching, ball control and luck, and Udoka’s squad turns opponents over just a bit more and sends them to the foul line less. Advantage? Boston. Celtics in 5.
Stephen PridGeon-Garner: Robert Williams’ looming health is most important. He and Horford's drop containment has been solid and they've pre-rotated, conceding to shooters in favor of early help. Point of attack plus chase/trail/denial from Smart/White will be most pertinent against GS's sets and off-script offense. Offensively, ball security's most key.
As for Golden State, Looney’s play kept them traditional, holding “Poole Party” in their back pocket. That as a weapon, not their end-all-be-all, is advantageous. Wiggins' two-way play’s been key too. They'll need their production and Payton II’s as they “show & recover” Curry out of mismatches. Can they replicate the rebounding/pace/ball security of last series? GSW in 7.
Joshua M. Hicks: As much as I’d love to see a first-year head coaching brother in Ime Udoka take home the championship, it is unwise for me to place my bet against Stephen Curry and the Warriors dynasty.
Sure, this not the same Warriors team as before, but this is an experienced core group of players that have proven to know how to seal the deal when it matters most. The Celtics are coming, and with their two young stars, a defensive player of the year and overall defensive presence, it will not be enough to stop the Warriors from reliving championship glory. Warriors win in 7.
Josh Buckhalter: This is a stylistic clash offensively, but both teams hang their hats on defense. The Boston Celtics have the length advantage without even counting Jayson Tatum. Their key will be how consistent Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart can be on offense.
Golden State will have some ugly games when their shooters are off. But we know what Steph, Klay, and Dray bring. Also, threes are still worth more than twos and the Dubs are shooting them at the third-best rate of the postseason (Boston is seventh). Golden State in 7.
Drew Stevens: Would you think less of me if I told you I resorted to a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe to predict the winner of this series?
In all seriousness, as gritty as the Celtics have shown themselves to be — collecting a pair of Game 7 victories after sweeping the floor with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the first round — I trust the Warriors more.
That GSW’s scored 121.5 points per 100 possessions in the clutch this postseason doesn’t hurt, either. Warriors in 7.
Kyle Means: I’d like to break up the uniformity of the picks my colleagues have laid out, but I’ve come to grips with the impending return of the NBA’s Death Star, rebuilt once again and pointed right at Boston. And while this year’s Celtics aren’t nearly as detestible as most past Boston squads, they aren’t as cute and rootable as the Ewoks.
Boston could very well be a team we’ll see hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in the near future but they could have a better matchup in the Finals to do so. I forsee a few dry quarters too many from Jayson Tatum, despite his Kobe-inspired tenacity, and like everyone who faces GSW in the playoffs, the Cs will find that containing their offense enough to win 4 games is easier said than done. Warriors in 6.