After weeks of build up and some great series, we are now one game into the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. I decided to start supporting the Warriors after they lost to Toronto in the 2019 finals, so it’s nice to see them there after a torrid two years.
I was never that big on the NBA until a few years ago, but I loved watching the Warriors in 2019. I loved the way they shot the ball, got the crowd going, moved the ball and the narratives that surrounded the team. They were a feel-good team with a crowd that made spectating from home enjoyable. Everytime the team made a three the crowd would go mental, which in turn got me excited.
That was the year where Kevin Durant got a calf injury, and then after coming back in the finals tore his Achilles. A couple of games later Klay Thompson then tore his ACL, and the Finals came to an expected end with the Raptors winning game 6 and ending the series. I’d managed to see the highs and lows with that team all in a 4 week timeline throughout those playoffs. The final deciding factor was I asked my fiancé at the time which team we should follow, and she chose them, so that was really the reason.
So, Game 1 was Thursday night and it wasn’t the result I expected or wanted. After watching the Warriors lead for the majority of the first three quarters, I then had to watch the Celtics catch fire and dominate the fourth. Never have I been more frustrated to see people make shot after shot. It wasn’t even like it was Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, it was fringe players like Al Horford who just couldn’t miss. After they took the lead there was no stopping them, and the Celtics won by 12.
I would love to be able to start going in to the details around the corrections the Warriors should make, but I don’t have the basketball knowledge to do that, I really can only point out the obvious takeaways. Ultimately I don’t see the Celtics shooting that well again, and I would hope the Warriors don’t shoot or play that badly in the fourth, so I’m still confident the Warriors can win the series. The worst thing you can do is overreact to Game 1, but it sucked watching what should have been a win turn around so dramatically into a loss.
My final thought is on Steph Curry. I bloody love that guy! He changed the game forever with his crazy shooting ability, and there is nothing more exciting than watching him catch fire and shoot 12 threes in a game. I really want him to win Finals MVP and get his fourth ring, so he needs to do more of what he did in the first quarter of Game 1, and carry that into the third and fourth quarters of the remaining games. Clutch time is where Steph has often struggled to show off his ability in the big games, so this needs to be the series he does that if he wants to try and get his way into the Top 10 All Time list for the NBA.
Game 2 is Sunday night, I’m expecting a big comeback for the Warriors to reset the momentum for the series. 123-115 Warriors.