The Boston Celtics got the first win of the 2022 NBA Finals. Will the Golden State Warriors respond with a win of their own in Game 2? Or will the Celtics take a 2-0 lead to Beantown for Game 3? Check out our preview below of this Celtics vs. Warriors 2022 NBA Finals game.
The Celtics have no quit in them. Boston weathered an early explosion from Stephen Curry and a cold-shooting night from Jayson Tatum in Game 1 to come away with a 120-108 victory at Chase Center. The Celtics leaned on a scorching fourth-quarter performance on offense to right the ship and turn the tables on the Warriors, with Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford doing heavy damage in that quarter to pull off the comeback. This is a much different team than what the Warriors faced in their past trips to the Finals. The Celtics not only can shoot the deep ball, but they also are so good at switching defensively and closing gaps on that end of the floor. Tatum might have struggled mightily with his shooting with a 3/17 line from the field for just 12 points, but he finished plus-16 to go with 13 assists. Having gotten a taste of what it’s like to play in the Finals and with the Celtics taking Game 1, Tatum should have all the confidence he needs for a bounce-back performance on Sunday.
The Celtics are 7-0 against the spread in their last 7 games playing on two days of rest.
The Warriors let a win slip away from their hands in Game 1. They were the ones who played better basketball for the most part of the series opener but just couldn’t get the job done against a Celtics team that went full video-game mode in the fourth period. Nevertheless, Golden State isn’t unfazed by the loss at all. Draymond Green said after Game 1 that the Warriors will be just fine, knowing that his team dominated the play until that shocking twist of events in the final period. The Warriors have been played in too many NBA Finals games to be shaken up by this loss. Curry went off for 34 points with 7 3-pointers, but he probably sat out too long in the fourth, so Steve Kerr should come up with a better rotation plan in Game 2. Jordan Poole played 25 minutes but coughed up just 9 points on 2/7 shooting. The Warrior are at their best when Poole is functioning the way he used to as the high-scoring bench scorer for the team. A more productive night could be on the way for the former Michigan Wolverines star.
The Warriors are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
