After beating the Boston Celtics in a hard-fought six-game series, the Golden State Warriors find themselves at the top of the NBA world once again. With their fourth championship in the last eight years, the Warriors are undoubtedly a dynasty. In addition to his fourth championship, the incredible point guard Stephen Curry also won his first Finals MVP award, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players in history.
As a passionate and diehard Celtics fan, it pains me to have to write this article. That said, even though I would have much rather seen the Warriors lose, it is impossible to discredit what they have accomplished this season. After trading two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Nets in 2019, losing sharpshooter Klay Thompson to injury for two seasons, and missing the playoffs in consecutive years, it seemed the Warriors’ dynasty was over. Well, it appears that the Warriors had other plans; in fact, after missing the playoffs in 2021, Stephen Curry prophetically said, “you don’t want to see us next year.” In 2022, the Warriors followed up their disappointing 2021 campaign by earning the third seed in the Western Conference. On their road to the Finals, they knocked out Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, Most Improved Player Ja Morant’s rising Memphis Grizzlies, and Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks. In the NBA Finals, they defeated their fiercest challenge yet, the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, in six games.
Granted, many things went the Warriors’ way, from Jamal Murray’s absence to Ja Morant’s knee injury; however, this should not take away from how impressive their run was, especially considering the adversity they faced in the last two seasons. Furthermore, one must be happy for Klay Thompson, who, in his first season back from a brutal two-year injury, is an NBA champion once again. As Jayson Tatum said, “If you win a championship, they can debate a lot of things, but they can’t debate whether or not you’re a champion.”
As for the Boston Celtics? Well, the Celtics are known for their defensive prowess — after all, point guard Marcus Smart was the Defensive Player of the Year — and their run to the Finals was no less impressive than the Warriors’. They swept Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s Nets, knocked off Giannis Antetokounmpo’s defending champion Bucks, and eliminated the top-seeded Miami Heat. Superstar Jayson Tatum, who was named to the All-NBA First Team, was spectacular throughout the playoffs, most notably scoring 46 points in an elimination game against the Bucks and winning Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
So, how did the Warriors beat them? Three main factors led to the Warriors’ Finals victory.
1. Stephen Curry
Curry clinically dissected the Celtics’ defense, scoring 43 points in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2 and 34 in Game 6 to close out the series. The Warriors’ use of screens, ball movement, and overall basketball IQ rendered him unstoppable.
2. The Celtics
The second factor was the Celtics themselves. Coming into the Finals, they had played two consecutive seven-game series, each physical and exhausting. The Warriors, on the other hand, had just beaten the Mavericks in five easy games, giving them more time for rest and preparation. Though the Celtics started off the Finals strong with a Game 1 victory, they seemed exhausted after the first three games, turning the ball over often and playing increasingly soft defense. Jayson Tatum, still suffering from a shoulder injury from the conference finals, had a mediocre series, and his struggles were a large reason why the Warriors won.
3. Experience
Many argued before and even during the series that the Celtics were the better team on paper. They had the better defense, more size and physicality, and arguably more depth. What they lacked was experience. None of the Celtics players had ever been to the NBA Finals, whereas the Warriors had been there and done that several times. The Warriors’ experience, mental strength, and chemistry made all the difference as they won three straight games to win the series.
The Golden State Warriors, unwilling to let go of their reign, proved to the sports world that they are refusing to go away. The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, proved that they are capable of making a deep playoff run. They are a young and tough team, hungry to come back and win a championship themselves. With Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and much of their core group under 25 years old, the Celtics have a bright future. The next few seasons will be very exciting, with teams like the Bucks, Heat, Grizzlies, and Mavericks seeking to dethrone the Warriors and Celtics as conference champions.
I got the Warriors, Celtics, and Bucks as my top three teams next year. What do you think? Leave a comment below!
