CELTS CLUB THE DUBS!!! HUGE NBA FINALS GAME 1 WIN 6/2 (BOS 1-0)

[Jammer]

I have deleted an earlier post that was inaccurate since Tatum, Brown, Rob, Derrick White and Pritch started the 4th, and I had Tatum on the bench with Al in.

But throughout the 4th what was working, including after Al Horford replaced Rob around the 6 minute mark, was sticking two of Brown, Tatum and Derrick White in the slots, one in the corner with Pritch in the opposite corner and Rob setting screens or hanging near the basket. Completely split the Golden State defense since a zone won't work against 4 guys hitting (Al in the last 6 minutes, White, Brown and Pritch in the first 6 minutes and White again near the end). It's effectively a zone buster offensive setup if the two guys in corners and two guys in the slots can be counted on to make shots, since if you try double teaming Tatum to take the ball out of his hands and he's not late in getting rid of the ball you can find a lot of open men, which is what happened. It's an offense that can kill a zone if you have good shooters, or shooters that are hitting, especially if guys can read the defense and use cuts, back screens and down screens and cross screens effectively.

[Feed Your Head]

The lineup that had the big rally early in the 4th had Smart and Tatum on the bench.

Jaylen Brown would be in the left slot.

Pritch was in one corner.

Al Horford would be in the right slot or other corner.

Derrick White would be in the right slot or other corner (interchangeable with Horford).

Rob would set screens for Jaylen or Derrick when Derrick was in the slot, and roll to the hoop or be near the basket otherwise.

With Al Horford, Derrick White, Pritch and 4th quarter Jaylen shooting the lights out, Golden State was doomed.

Rob only took 4 shots all day (4-4) but Golden State still had to guard him, just like they were double teaming Tatum most of the day.

Tatum was in for the whole 4th quarter.

[Jammer]

The lineup that had the big rally early in the 4th had Smart on the bench.

Jaylen Brown would be in the left slot.

Pritch was in one corner.

Al Horford would be in the right slot or other corner.

Derrick White would be in the right slot or other corner (interchangeable with Horford).

Rob would set screens for Jaylen or Derrick when Derrick was in the slot, and roll to the hoop or be near the basket otherwise.

With Al Horford, Derrick White, Pritch and 4th quarter Jaylen shooting the lights out, Golden State was doomed.

Rob only took 4 shots all day (4-4) but Golden State still had to guard him, just like they were double teaming Tatum most of the day.

Tatum was in for the whole 4th quarter.

I stand corrected. Apologies to the board for an inaccurate recollection. Horford replaced Rob around the 6 minute mark. Tatum was there the whole time. I've revised the initial post above.

[Hal14]

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[CelticFaninLBC]

Porter and Iggy were 5 for 6 from 3 and Steph got 4-5 wide open 3's on mental lapses. Can't see Porter and Iggy shooting 83% from 3 in Game 2 and Steph getting multiple open looks.

If Ime continues to go small, can see GSW being held under 100 points in Game 2.

[leper-con]

Hortfords locked and loaded after all these years int eh NBA he knows this is his beat chance

Physically this is the best I've ever seen him.
He's so perfect for this team. He's the glue!

He's old man wisdom and calm. He went into his shots last night with no hesitation. All the three point shooters did.
catch, shot, no second thoughts about it.

[meatball sub]

Anyone who watched the Warriors in previous series knows they relied on teams missing wide open shots. They don't have a good defense. They just hope people miss. In game 1 we didn't miss much -- they're going to need us to miss A LOT 4 times. And that's assuming they hit shots at the same clip they did when we were barely playing defense most of the night.

If I'm a Warriors fan there's a lot to be worried about right now.

[Tyakack]

I feel like it was just yesterday that white was turning down wide open 3's..... Now he is hitting contested 3's with curry all in his face in the NBA finals.

[moonie_mcgee]

A great team effort, so cigars all around. I recall the cameras focusing on Steve Kerr late in the 3rd quarter, and he was all smiles. The Celtics wiped the smile right off his face. What a great 4th quarter we had! Jaylen, Derrick, Marcus, Al, and Jayson all were huge. But let me give a shout out to Payton Pritchard. He played 8 minutes of the 4th quarter, scoring 5 points, and grabbing 4 rebounds. It's not a stretch to say that he had a positive impact on the game. The fact that Ime kept him in for 8 minutes while we clawed our way into a lead is testimony to that. Feels so good to take a win on their court! Go Celtics!

Yep saw that too.
All smiles when it's sunny.
Not so sunny in the 4th.

[Memokerobi]

My theory of Steph Curry being a front runner still looking true so far

He struggles when his team is down late in games in the finals. Always has.

Warriors have massive pressure to win game 2, we have got to want it more and kill all their confidence

I’ve always noticed this too. If things are going good for the Warriors, he elevates them to the stratosphere. If the games get bogged down, he has a tendency to disappear, I noticed that more during their Finals runs vs the Cavs

[Green89]

My favorite sideline moment of the game was the look on the faces of Mike Brown, Steve Kerr, and Kenny Atkinson, when Al hit a three to put us up 6 in the 4th. It was right after Kerr was telling his guys how they were only down 3 on their home court. No plays called, just "we're down 3 at home and we're in great shape, we have to respond" was his best advice. It's that "we're the Warriors" mentality and we just have to win. Starting to believe the radio guy who said anyone besides Kerr could have coached the Warriors teams the years they won titles.

Someone please screen shot that moment. It was priceless. They all looked befuddled.

[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

My favorite sideline moment of the game was the look on the faces of Mike Brown, Steve Kerr, and Kenny Atkinson, when Al hit a three to put us up 6 in the 4th. It was right after Kerr was telling his guys how they were only down 3 on their home court. No plays called, just "we're down 3 at home and we're in great shape, we have to respond" was his best advice. It's that "we're the Warriors" mentality and we just have to win. Starting to believe the radio guy who said anyone besides Kerr could have coached the Warriors teams the years they won titles.

Someone please screen shot that moment. It was priceless. They all looked befuddled.

Since you asked so nicely...

[ConstableGeneva]

My favorite sideline moment of the game was the look on the faces of Mike Brown, Steve Kerr, and Kenny Atkinson, when Al hit a three to put us up 6 in the 4th. It was right after Kerr was telling his guys how they were only down 3 on their home court. No plays called, just "we're down 3 at home and we're in great shape, we have to respond" was his best advice. It's that "we're the Warriors" mentality and we just have to win. Starting to believe the radio guy who said anyone besides Kerr could have coached the Warriors teams the years they won titles.

Someone please screen shot that moment. It was priceless. They all looked befuddled.

Since you asked so nicely...

Celtics forced Kerr's assistant coaches to transfer to worse teams, Hornets and Kings, after that play.

[Garbanzo]

Watched the game for the third time haha
I had a very strong feeling we would win this game.
When the Dubs were up 15 I was like.. we still got it.

Before the Heat and Bucks games I was sleeples, restless and had doubts.
Before this one, It was like I knew we already won.

I have the same feeling about game 2.


For me Udoka deserves to lit it up.
In this game his decision to fight fire with fire and go small worked wonders. GS, like the Bucks and Heat before, can't handle both Brown and Tatum on defense, so they clog the lane.
Warriors had Looney and Green parked in the paint, and since we don't really have bigs who excel posting up, going small and having more shooters on the floor was great.
Really liked the in game adjustments from Ime as well.

White? Balls of still. Made every GS momentum killing shot. Great defense. The 4 ft he drew to end the 3rd q were crucial.
Horfie? A talented, lovable Draymond. The godfather. Wants it more then anyone in this playoffs.
Brown? Was responsible for every point in our run in the fourth.
Tatum? Didn't force the issue in a bad shooting night, and it payed dividends.
So mature from him.
Pritch? I though he would be unplayable vs Curry. As usuall he proves every one wrong and just "does what he do".
Rob? Made huge adjustments in the game. Blocked 4 shots, 2 of them on Curry. One was an amazing lay upp attempt block that Curry never saw coming, as the sky pirate left his duties in the corner, and went to steal Curry's soul.

[LewisnotMiller]

Have to go Al. Mostly because I had a couple of sneaky bucks on him winning FMVP prior to the finals.
Man that was a fun game.

[LewisnotMiller]

I feel like it was just yesterday that white was turning down wide open 3's..... Now he is hitting contested 3's with curry all in his face in the NBA finals.

You thought he was turning them down. But like anyone with an eye to the future, he was saving them. Like some sort of basketball squirrel saving his three point nuts for Winter.

Now he's opening his stash, and it's goddamn beautiful.

[LewisnotMiller]

Seriously, it's bemusing to me when I see some posters (mostly GB) trying to work out who will win a series based on ranking individual players against each other.

Then we get to the end of game 1, and they're like 'Well, Boston got hot, but Tatum isn't really a no 1 on a championship team, he had the least points in their starting five...'

I think they've watched so much iso ball over the years they've forgotten what team basketball looks like.
@Hal14 posted a great clip to remind them. The team is greater than the sum of its parts.

Bad Tatum shooting kills us when he's isoing, and we are playing like individuals, static, etc.

It doesn't kill us when he's committed to drawing doubles, making reads, kicking, playing D...

If we win the series, the fan in me sleeps happy.

If we get to the end of this, and it's a seven way tie for FMVP, the coach in me will be happy too.

[1st banana]

My favorite sideline moment of the game was the look on the faces of Mike Brown, Steve Kerr, and Kenny Atkinson, when Al hit a three to put us up 6 in the 4th. It was right after Kerr was telling his guys how they were only down 3 on their home court. No plays called, just "we're down 3 at home and we're in great shape, we have to respond" was his best advice. It's that "we're the Warriors" mentality and we just have to win. Starting to believe the radio guy who said anyone besides Kerr could have coached the Warriors teams the years they won titles.

Someone please screen shot that moment. It was priceless. They all looked befuddled.

How about when he turned to his assistant to say he wanted to challenge the dray offensive foul and his assist gave him a fat thumbs down and was like “no way dude”.

[Memokerobi]

My favorite sideline moment of the game was the look on the faces of Mike Brown, Steve Kerr, and Kenny Atkinson, when Al hit a three to put us up 6 in the 4th. It was right after Kerr was telling his guys how they were only down 3 on their home court. No plays called, just "we're down 3 at home and we're in great shape, we have to respond" was his best advice. It's that "we're the Warriors" mentality and we just have to win. Starting to believe the radio guy who said anyone besides Kerr could have coached the Warriors teams the years they won titles.

Someone please screen shot that moment. It was priceless. They all looked befuddled.

He actually had an excellent play called if you watch the play right after the TO. Multiple off ball screens and runs which results in a wide open Looney cutting to the basket with White behind him. Horford just made a brilliant play tipping Draymond’s pass and causing the TO and draining the 3 on the other end. Just a monster performance by Horford

[ConstableGeneva]

Splash Fathers

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