The 2022 NBA Finals | (3) Golden State Warriors VS. (2) Boston Celtics (BOS 1-0)

[ajones9219]

IMO Boston is going to physically abuse the Warriors if Rob is mostly healthy. Golden State was the matchup I wanted for Boston because I think they match up better than anyone. The worst match ups for the playoffs for Boston was Miami and Milwaukee and they won so who knows

[GreenBloodedC]

Celtics in 6 of course

[FNQ]

This is ultimately why I think the Warriors will win the Finals. Their edge on offense is bigger over Boston than Boston s edge on defense over the Warriors.

Wait what

Ok that was a weird phrasing. I think Boston has a slightly better defense than the Warriors. However the Warriors eclipse the Celtics much more offensively.

I'd argue both points tbh

No team had anywhere near a 103 DRtg for a stretch of the season.. I think our defense is better and their offense will be better than ours in the series

[meh]

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/GSW/2022.html

Warriors had 106.9 for the year, and the reason that your stat is right and mine is right is because Draymond was injured Jan 15 and missed 2 months..

healthy Draymond W's:

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=nba+team+defensive+rating+rankings+2021-22+before+january+1st+2022

Before January 1st 2022?? That is not really that relevant.

Wait what

Our team fully healthy, which it is now, had a defensive rating that was literally 3 full points ahead of everyone. We lost our best defensive player for 30 games.

But your cherry pick counts? Hmmm

I "cherry picked" the last 5 months!?!?!? WTF? There is less of the season before Jan 1 vs after Jan 1. LMAO.

[FNQ]

Before January 1st 2022?? That is not really that relevant.

Wait what

Our team fully healthy, which it is now, had a defensive rating that was literally 3 full points ahead of everyone. We lost our best defensive player for 30 games.

But your cherry pick counts? Hmmm

I "cherry picked" the last 5 months!?!?!? WTF? There is less of the season before Jan 1 vs after Jan 1. LMAO.

Actually it was 3.5 months, which is slightly over half the season. Mine has 34 games. And oh yeah, key point - we had our best defensive player then (its actually the crux of the argument)

Like how do you not get this? I dont know how to make it simpler

[meh]

Wait what

Our team fully healthy, which it is now, had a defensive rating that was literally 3 full points ahead of everyone. We lost our best defensive player for 30 games.

But your cherry pick counts? Hmmm

I "cherry picked" the last 5 months!?!?!? WTF? There is less of the season before Jan 1 vs after Jan 1. LMAO.

Actually it was 3.5 months, which is slightly over half the season. Mine has 34 games. And oh yeah, key point - we had our best defensive player then.

Like how do you not get this? I dont know how to make it simpler

You think Dramond is over 4 points defensively?? Not even close.

[FNQ]

I "cherry picked" the last 5 months!?!?!? WTF? There is less of the season before Jan 1 vs after Jan 1. LMAO.

Actually it was 3.5 months, which is slightly over half the season. Mine has 34 games. And oh yeah, key point - we had our best defensive player then.

Like how do you not get this? I dont know how to make it simpler

You think Dramond is over 4 points defensively?? Not even close.

Its more actually, we were 102.7, we spiked to 110...

And yes, defensive systems who lose the key component in their system can crash and burn. That's... kinda how it usually works. Our defense hinges on 2 players especially, and if one of them is gone, it crashes. Team defense, its a thing

[Miami_Lux]

Wait what

Ok that was a weird phrasing. I think Boston has a slightly better defense than the Warriors. However the Warriors eclipse the Celtics much more offensively.

I'd argue both points tbh

No team had anywhere near a 103 DRtg for a stretch of the season.. I think our defense is better and their offense will be better than ours in the series

Based on watching the Celtics vs Heat I thought their offense had a lot of stretches where the Celtics exercised horrific offensive execution and shot selection (especially Brown and Tatum). Their defense on the other end is a nightmare for the opponents. Tatum, Brown, Smart, Horford, Williams,etc. all have length and defensive tenacity. Warriors seem to have more holes defensively especially with Poole in the lineup but I guess we will find out soon

[GiannisAnte34]

That's the best thing about opinions is everyone can have one. I'll take Tatum over curry as a complete player, especially with the defense.

That's a different argument.

Saying Tatum is more talented than Curry is simply laughable.

Curry is clearly more talented than Tatum.

I think Tatum is more talented when you factor defensive talent. He is just a complete player. If you want to disagree that's entirely fine. I don't think it's a huge gap either way.

ajones coming in with the green tinted glasses once again. Curry is the best shooter of all time and has literally morphed the way teams construct their teams. Saying Tatum is more talented is just flat out ridiculous, but then again you also think Smart is a better player than Holiday because he’s a Celtic

[meh]

Actually it was 3.5 months, which is slightly over half the season. Mine has 34 games. And oh yeah, key point - we had our best defensive player then.

Like how do you not get this? I dont know how to make it simpler

You think Dramond is over 4 points defensively?? Not even close.

Its more actually, we were 102.7, we spiked to 110...

And yes, defensive systems who lose the key component in their system can crash and burn. That's... kinda how it usually works. Our defense hinges on 2 players especially, and if one of them is gone, it crashes. Team defense, its a thing

If you want to believe that the Warriors have a better defense than the Celtics, then OK. You'd find a tough time getting many to agree with you.

[FNQ]

Ok that was a weird phrasing. I think Boston has a slightly better defense than the Warriors. However the Warriors eclipse the Celtics much more offensively.

I'd argue both points tbh

No team had anywhere near a 103 DRtg for a stretch of the season.. I think our defense is better and their offense will be better than ours in the series

Based on watching the Celtics vs Heat I thought their offense had a lot of stretches where the Celtics exercised horrific offensive execution and shot selection (especially Brown and Tatum). Their defense on the other end is a nightmare for the opponents. Tatum, Brown, Smart, Horford, Williams,etc. all have length and defensive tenacity. Warriors seem to have more holes defensively especially with Poole in the lineup but I guess we will find out soon

Oh no I definitely get the argument, and I do think I'm bucking conventional wisdom saying so. But it comes down to

Can our defense force the Celtics to move the ball around more, and play the style we want?

Vs

Can our offense stretch out the Celtics defense enough to poke holes in it?

I'm way more convinced of our defensive execution than our offensive one. Dray and Wiggins didnt have off-games defensively, but all of our offensive players went through bad stretches where we looked pretty hapless. But that's why this series will be fun, there's going to be a lot of chess being played. Someone is going to have to pivot on the fly pretty harshly

[ajones9219]

That's a different argument.

Saying Tatum is more talented than Curry is simply laughable.

Curry is clearly more talented than Tatum.

I think Tatum is more talented when you factor defensive talent. He is just a complete player. If you want to disagree that's entirely fine. I don't think it's a huge gap either way.

ajones coming in with the green tinted glasses once again. Curry is the best shooter of all time and has literally morphed the way teams construct their teams. Saying Tatum is more talented is just flat out ridiculous, but then again you also think Smart is a better player than Holiday because he’s a Celtic

I think Smart is a better player because I think he's a better player. I've been a fan of Smart since college.

Curry is a more skilled player. No doubt. 3pt shooting? Curry all day.

Talent? I'll take Tatum. Tatum's defense>>>>>>>Curry and i'd argue they are close offensively right now with Curry having the edge.

[FNQ]

You think Dramond is over 4 points defensively?? Not even close.

Its more actually, we were 102.7, we spiked to 110...

And yes, defensive systems who lose the key component in their system can crash and burn. That's... kinda how it usually works. Our defense hinges on 2 players especially, and if one of them is gone, it crashes. Team defense, its a thing

If you want to believe that the Warriors have a better defense than the Celtics, then OK. You'd find a tough time getting many to agree with you.

Well, people who trust defensive rating metrics on the current rosters of the teams would, and that's more the audience I'm gunning for

[meh]

Its more actually, we were 102.7, we spiked to 110...

And yes, defensive systems who lose the key component in their system can crash and burn. That's... kinda how it usually works. Our defense hinges on 2 players especially, and if one of them is gone, it crashes. Team defense, its a thing

If you want to believe that the Warriors have a better defense than the Celtics, then OK. You'd find a tough time getting many to agree with you.

Well, people who trust defensive rating metrics on the current rosters of the teams would, and that's more the audience I'm gunning for

No, they wouldn't:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2022-nba-predictions/

[AussieCeltic]

Wait what

Ok that was a weird phrasing. I think Boston has a slightly better defense than the Warriors. However the Warriors eclipse the Celtics much more offensively.

I'd argue both points tbh

No team had anywhere near a 103 DRtg for a stretch of the season.. I think our defense is better and their offense will be better than ours in the series

Celtics had a defensive rating from 103 to 105 from Dec 31 onwards dependant on where you select. So yeh, we did.

[FNQ]

If you want to believe that the Warriors have a better defense than the Celtics, then OK. You'd find a tough time getting many to agree with you.

Well, people who trust defensive rating metrics on the current rosters of the teams would, and that's more the audience I'm gunning for

No, they wouldn't:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2022-nba-predictions/

Yeah... really wouldnt hang my hat on RAPTOR. We lost the last 2 series according to them... pretty handily too.

[FNQ]

Ok that was a weird phrasing. I think Boston has a slightly better defense than the Warriors. However the Warriors eclipse the Celtics much more offensively.

I'd argue both points tbh

No team had anywhere near a 103 DRtg for a stretch of the season.. I think our defense is better and their offense will be better than ours in the series

Celtics had a defensive rating from 103 to 105 from Dec 31 onwards dependant on where you select. So yeh, we did.

See? Now you get it

Although I'm not sure how a single day drops you 1-3 DRtg points

[OGEEZ]

Celtics size and athleticism will be a problem

[GiannisAnte34]

I think Tatum is more talented when you factor defensive talent. He is just a complete player. If you want to disagree that's entirely fine. I don't think it's a huge gap either way.

ajones coming in with the green tinted glasses once again. Curry is the best shooter of all time and has literally morphed the way teams construct their teams. Saying Tatum is more talented is just flat out ridiculous, but then again you also think Smart is a better player than Holiday because he’s a Celtic

I think Smart is a better player because I think he's a better player. I've been a fan of Smart since college.

Curry is a more skilled player. No doubt. 3pt shooting? Curry all day.

Talent? I'll take Tatum. Tatum's defense>>>>>>>Curry and i'd argue they are close offensively right now with Curry having the edge.

How many games has Tatum been the clear best player in the game or on his own team? In the Milwaukee series Tatum was the best player in the game maybe 2 out of the 7 games. How about the Heat series? Didn’t watch it as closely but I think it was pretty similar

[chyau.00]

so lets settle this before the goal posts start moving..

if dubs win this will there be an asterisk beside it?? do they have a "worthy" opponent in the celtics?