History vs Recency? 2022 NBA Finals Picks

The time has finally come for all NBA fans to watch another finals featuring Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Although as shocking as it may be, this time it is not against LeBron James, but instead the Warriors are matched up against one of the league’s all-time great teams, the Boston Celtics. Despite the most recent championship coming in 2008, the Celtics still have 17 total chips to their name and have had hall of famers galore come through their locker rooms. Whereas the Golden State Warriors only have four (two championships won when the franchise was in Philadelphia) and three of which have come since 2015 thanks to the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Now having history to a franchise is no small gesture and typically it leads to that team dominating, or least competing, at a consistent level. Since the year 2000, the Celtics have only missed the playoffs three times, whereas the Warriors have missed 13. At the same time, the Warriors have been what many can now call a dynasty, winning championships in three-out-of-four seasons from 2014-2018. I understand many of fans would say that the past has no bearing on this NBA finals, but I would beg to differ. One small example I’ll use is Klay Thompson. Before this year, he missed the two previous seasons with an injury. In these seasons, the Warriors missed the playoffs both times. The seasons prior to the injury, the Warriors made five consecutive finals. And now here they are returning to what seems to be their new home with Klay Thompson back and healthy. History shows when he is healthy, they win. But I concur. The Celtics however are a whole different monster. This team has the Defensive Player of the Year, a rejuvenated Al Horford, Jaylen Brown who can get you 50, and all-star forward and Kobe follower Jayson Tatum. Within all of their finals runs, this Celtics team is the most complete roster the Warriors will face in their final’s history. Setting aside the Raptors in which the Warriors lost Klay and KD. In recent history, the Celtics have won six-out-of-the-last-seven against the Warriors and the two teams split the regular season series. Regardless of your sheer love or hate for either of these teams, it is evident we are going to have one heck of an entertaining NBA Finals. There is no denying it, health pending of course! So, buckle up and get ready to see how some of our Pro Sports Fanatics writers think the 2022 NBA Finals will play out.

As we get set for this year’s 2022 NBA Finals, I sit here and see two teams that were written off early on in the season. The Warriors had a bit of a slow start and as Steph Curry started off cold, many thought this teams time has come and went. As for the Boston Celtics, they were caught dead in the water in mid-January, at the point where the discussion of blowing up the team began. Yet, with the reemergence of the Warriors and players like Jordan Poole stepping up, and the Celtics having one of the objectively greatest turnarounds the league has ever seen, we sit here with a Golden State versus Boston NBA Finals.

With that being said, how do I see this one playing out? First and foremost, I want it to be known that I believe this series goes six games minimum. No less. The matchup of starters is incredible and seeing one of the most exciting offenses matchup with the NBA’s second-best rated defensive these playoffs, behind the eliminated Bucks, is sure to be a ratings gold mine. However, there are several factors in this year’s finals that lead me to believe Golden State will be back on top. The first one being that the Warriors core three has been through it and done it before. They know what it is like to win and have been here multiple times, the Celtics players have not. On top of this, while the Celtics only have three days of rest before the series starts, the Warriors have had six days, double the amount of rest. When you give future hall of famers like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson that much more rest, they will come out guns a blazing and ready to fight. If one thing we have learned in recent years, it is that rest if KEY in this league.

Adding to these factors, the Warriors have started every series these playoffs up 3-1(cue 3-1 joke here). There is something to that in the way that they come out hot and don’t look back. On the flip side, the Celtics has lost game one of the past two series and started those series 2-2, time for one of the streaks to end. All of that aside, I think the starters are so evenly matched that it will come down to the bench units. Having a true starter like Jordan Poole come off the bench is an immense advantage, along with getting back defensive specialist Gary Payton II. Not to mention the potential return of former finals MVP Andre Iguodala. I do have to show respect to the bench of Boston as guys like Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard have come to play this postseason. Respect where respect is due. Overall, I will take the bench unit that is more elite in my humble opinion, which is the team with a starter and a guy who has done it all before.

Not to mention that Golden State has home court advantage in these playoffs as well. The Warriors are a perfect 9-0 at home in these playoffs, which is a stunning number to see. However, the Celtics have fared well on the road having a 7-2 record being away this postseason. The Celtics having the likes of Tatum, Brown, Horford, and Smart will make for a tough defensive matchup at times. I’m positive we will see shot clock violations and blocks all over. In the end, good offense will always beat out good defense and I just trust the likes of Curry and Thompson to lead this Golden State team. If they go cold, players like Wiggins and Poole have shown their willingness to step up when times get tough. The fact that they have four players averaging over 15 points per game is rare to see for a playoff stretch and I cannot see this offense going cold for four games. I will take the Golden State Warriors winning this series in seven games at their home court in one of the most entertaining finals of all-time, and Steph Curry finally being dubbed the coveted NBA Finals MVP. -Christian White PSF Writer

Previewed as one of the league’s best offenses versus best defense, the Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics will be classic finals matchup that everyone will set sights on to determine the winner of the lucrative Larry O’Brien trophy. Although the starters for both teams will be influential in winner of the NBA Finals, whichever bench steps up the most will be the X-factor in the series. For the Warriors, the play of Jordan Poole, Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala, rookies Johnathan Kuminga and Moses Moody will be important. For Boston, the success of Derrick White, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, and Payton Pritchard will be critical for the Celtics. Besides the bench I view Klay Thompson and Jaylen Brown as the key contributors that will propel the Warriors or the Celtics to win the finals. Overall, I expect a competitive series that will go the distance and last six games. Although this prediction is early, I believe the Golden State Warriors will be back on top as the NBA champions. The Finals MVP as well be Klay Thompson. -Allan I, Lakers PSF Writer

The Boston Celtics will play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Warriors will compete for another championship after missing the last two postseasons due to injuries. It will be their sixth trip in the last decade. Meanwhile, the Celtics are returning to the Finals for the first time since 2010. After coming up short many times over the last decade, they are finally back to the big game.

The Celtics have an incredible defense with Grant Williams, Robert Williams III, and Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. However, Golden State’s dynamic offense may be too much for Boston to handle. It took Boston seven games to defeat a Milwaukee Bucks team without Khris Middleton and a Miami Heat team whose only real threat was Jimmy Butler. Now they will have to deal with Steph Curry, who is nearly impossible to guard on his own. Even if he does stall out, the cast of Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and others can produce in his absence.

Andrew Wiggins: 15.8 points, seven rebounds, 1.7 assists

Klay Thompson: 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists

Jordan Poole: 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists

The Warriors have had some mishaps offensively this postseason, which Boston can take advantage of. At the same time however, the Celtics have had their own offensive struggles, especially against the Heat. Boston has had trouble winning close games, which they are going to have to do against Golden State. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are going to need to produce efficiently together; it cannot just be one or the other.

This will be a tough test for both teams. Golden State hasn’t seen a defense like the Celtics, and the Celtics haven’t seen an offense like Golden State’s. In the end, I think the Warriors just have too much experience and offensive firepower for the Celtics to handle. This will be a great series, but I am taking the Warriors in six. – Jayden Armant, PSF Writer

Looking back at the beginning of the season there was a lot of skepticism surrounding The Golden State Warriors and The Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics started their season off very rocky at one point sitting at 10th place in the eastern conference. A lot of people believed that the dynamic duo of Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum just didn’t work. Still through all the turmoil the Celtics were able to come together and complete a historic season finishing as the second seed in the east and secure their ticket to the NBA Finals. The Warriors had a completely different path, going into this season many people believe that the Golden State Warriors dynasty was a thing of the past. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Klay Thompson and his return from injury with people asking the question could he be the player he once was. But a new star was on the rise this season Jordan Pole continuing his leap from last season he solidified himself as the future of the Golden State Dynasty. While the return of big three Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry took some time to adjust, they were able to show the world that they still dominate when healthy. The Golden State Warriors were able to finish as the third seed and continue their dominance as they secured their spot to the NBA Finals.

While I am not a fan of either team, I do love and enjoy the game of basketball. For me it’s hard to choose between the two without causing division in my household. My mom is a diehard Warriors fan, and my sister is a Celtics fan. With that being said I believe that the Boston Celtics will beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals in six games and here’s three reasons why. First thing to mention is the youth of the Boston Celtics and how that affects their defense mentality. Boston has a three headed monster with Jalen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, to throw at Klay, Curry, and Wiggins and the ability to switch any of these matchups is quite different from anything the Warriors have seen so far in the playoffs. Along with that we must mention that the Warriors have not played a team this year in the playoffs with two superstars like Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. This duo can produce consistently on offense and defense. Jason Tatum is averaging 27.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the postseason, while Jalen Brown is averaging 22.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Compared to previous rounds vs the Dallas Mavericks The Warriors were able to win because while Luka was able to play dominate on the offense end, he struggled significantly on defense and was often a target for the Golden State Warriors offensive sets. The last thing to mention is Golden State is playing a complete team arguably for the first time this postseason. I believe that with the combination of Boston’s Dynamic duo Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum along with key role players like Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Robert Williams, and Derrick White make it a tough matchup for this Golden State Warriors Defense. A new brand of basketball is being written, the age of the Golden State Dynasty is coming to an end and the Emergence of the Boston Celtics is just getting started. -Earl Ross, PSF Writer

FINAL COUNT: Warriors 3 Celtics 1