EASTERN FINALS
I know it’s only been ONE game… and I can still see Boston winning two straight and going up 2-1 in the East but it DOESN’T matter. Miami just shut the whole basketball world up last night.. and damnit it’s time to give Jimmy Buckets some credit and his own place among NBA royalty. He fits in as the Great Knight of the old Kingdoms. The fierce warriors that all the children looked up too and the men feared. Knights who won jousting tournaments and the admiration of the women in attendance. Ok, back to the 2022 NBA, Miami proved in Game 1 they have the same grittiness and deep roster that pushed them to the brink of winning the NBA Finals in the Bubble. Remember they dismantled a very similar Celtics team that year coached by Brad Stevens, arguably a better coach then Boston’s current coach, as well. Anyone who knows the NBA in the 2020s will tell you that your best player better shoot over 35% from 3-point range, attempt 7 to 9 shots from beyond the arc, and drive to the rim like Ja Morant. (God forbid you shoot a fadeaway from the top of the key) Nobody told the Miami Heat however, whos leading scorer “Sir Jimmy Buckets” led all scorers with 41 points in Game 1 and made ZERO 3 point shots!! Maybe I’m overreacting, because Boston was missing Marcus Smart and Al Horford who are the engine that makes this team go and two players that embody playoff basketball as much as anyone on the Celtics. Even so, we tend to forget about Eric Spolestra.. This is a coach who has won 5 Eastern Conference Championships (4 w/ the Heatles) and 2 NBA Championships (w/ the Heatles) quieter than any coach in NBA History while the Celtics have a rookie head coach.
PREDICTION: HEAT IN 7
I still think it’s going to be a tremendous series don’t get me wrong.. Boston is absolutely stacked now that Robert Williams III is back but it only goes 7 if Smart and Horford get back healthy and don’t miss anymore games. Oh and Miami is doing this without Kyle Lowry. Scary.
WESTERN FINALS
Gary Payton II is out for the Western Conference Finals so expect Andrew Wiggins to be up to the task to defend Luka for the most part while receiving help defense from Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who hasn’t defended at this level in two years because of ACL and Achilles injuries. This should scare the Warriors because Luka has owned them this year to the tune of 31.5 pts a game, which is the most by any player ever not named Lebron James. Golden State will use team defense similar to what they used vs LBJ in previous Finals appearances. If my memory serves me correctly Lebron had his way with them each year they played in the Finals besides the last meeting but after JR Smiths blunder the Cavs were toast. During his podcast on Monday Draymond Green had this to say, “It’s going to be a tough matchup for us. I think one thing we know we have to do is get our turnovers down. Those guys will feed off of turnovers.” Across their two playoff series thus far, the Warriors are averaging 15.4 turnovers per game. Likewise the Mavs are committing 9.4 turnovers a game. Now lets look at the man guarding Luka, Wiggins, and see how his rebounding stats have been:
- 4.5 /gm during season
- 3.8 /gm vs Mavs during season
- 6.9 /gm during Playoffs
If he can step his rebounding numbers up to nearly 7 a game like he has been I like the Warriors chances. They haven't lost a playoff game at Chase Center yet and hold the NBA record of winning at least one road game in 25 straight series.(That is unbelievable) This is now the sixth straight time the healthy trio of Steph, Klay and Draymond have led the Warriors to the West finals.
PREDICTION: WARRIORS IN 6
