It’s all tied up again in the 2022 NBA Finals after four games in the series between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. Who takes the win and the series lead with the pivotal Game 5 coming right up this Tuesday?
The Celtics melted in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals and paid the consequence for that. Boston’s 107-97 loss to Stephen Curry and the Warriors put to waste the efforts of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to waste. Tatum had 23 points while Brown provided 21 points, with neither shooting over 50 percent from the field. But that’s where the Celtics’ Game 1 upset win at Chase Center benefits Boston. Not only are the Celtics still tied at 2-2 with Golden State despite their Game 4 loss but they can also draw from their series-opening win further confidence heading into another game in the Warriors’ home. Boston’s defense might be struggling to contain Stephen Curry, but the Celtics are still having their share of success on that end of the floor. Cleaning the glass will be important for the Celtics, as Al Horford and Robert Williams can’t allow somebody like Andrew Wiggins to dominate them in the rebounding battle just as he did in Game 4.
The Celtics are 9-2-1 against the spread in their last 12 games as a road underdog.
Stephen Curry is something else. The Warriors wouldn’t have been in the position they are in heading to Game 5 without Curry going beast mode in their wins, including in Game 4, where he smoked the Celtics for 43 points on 14/26 shooting from the field with seven 3-pointers on 14 attempts. Curry’s shot-making and plain gravity are bending and breaking Boston’s defense. So far in the series, Curry is averaging 34.3 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 49 percent shooting from behind the arc. Thompson is behind Curry with 17.3 points, while Wiggins is third with 16.5. Speaking of Wiggins, the former Kansas Jayhawk is arguably the most consistent non-Stephen Curry Warriors player, often finding ways to help in other areas besides scoring. In Game 4, Wiggins gave Golden State a ton of opportunities with his 16 rebounds. Between Wiggins and Kevon Looney, the Warriors had 7 offensive boards. Golden State is more than just Curry.
The Warriors are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games as a favorite.
