The 2022 NBA Finals will feature two teams with elite defenses. During the regular season, the Boston Celtics had the best defensive ranking in the league, and the Golden State Warriors were just behind them at No. 2. In addition to the dominant defense, both teams are very deep and very good. trained. The series will also feature the power of the stars. In addition to the Golden State All-Star trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Boston has its own power triumvirate of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
The series promises to be entertaining and a fitting ending to what was an eventful NBA season. Below are five key clashes for the battle between Boston and Golden State.
1. Marcus Smart vs. Steph Curry
He writes himself. Marcus Smart’s current defensive player of the year goes against one of the deadliest offensive weapons the league has ever seen in Steph Curry. Both guys are basics, so Smart should have a good time trying to contain Curry. He will probably receive help in the form of switches, traps, double equipment, etc., but the main duty will probably fall to Smart.
When it comes to Curry, there’s nothing to stop him, so Smart’s job will be to make life difficult for him and make sure he doesn’t look too clean. Obviously, it’s easier said than done, but if anyone is up to it, it’s the tenacious Smart. How well he is able to defend Curry could go a long way in determining who eventually wins the series.
2. Andrew Wiggins v. Jayson Tatum
Andrew Wiggins was commissioned to be Luka Doncic’s main defender during the Western Conference Finals against the Mavericks, and in the NBA Finals he will likely have another extremely tough job in the form of Jayson Tatum. Tatum has help around him, but he is the crux of Boston’s attack and his ability to score points is critical to Boston’s success.
Just as Smart will get help with Curry, Wiggins will probably get help with Tatum sometimes, but he will probably have to do a lot of things. Wiggins ’length and athleticism make him an ideal defender for a player like Tatum, who is tall and athletic. It wouldn’t be particularly surprising to see Steve Kerr match Wiggins’ minutes to Tatum’s to some extent, especially if he’s capable of early success.
3. Steve Kerr Vs. I’m Udoka
The side chess match between the head coaches is always one of the most intriguing stories for the final, and this season is no different. The difference in experience between Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka is staggering. Kerr is training in his sixth NBA Finals, as Golden State did five years in a row, from 2015 to 2019. He has coached in 121 playoff games and won 89.
Udoka, on the other hand, is coaching in his first finals as a rookie head coach, and has only 16 games of post-season coaching experience on his belt. It will be extremely interesting to see to what extent this disparity of experience materializes throughout the series and to what extent it ends up being important.
4. Klay Thompson vs. Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown and Klay Thompson, as the starting shooters for their respective teams, will probably have a good time keeping each other, and their confrontation will be important, as they rely heavily on both to provide auxiliary scoring to their teams. Brown is Boston’s secondary offensive option behind Tatum, and Thompson plays Golden State alongside reserve guard Jordan Poole.
With a lot of attention to Curry and Tatum, these secondary scorers could change the whole series with a couple of good or bad games.
5. The Boston Attack on Steph Curry
We already know what Steph Curry will offer in the offensive end for Golden State in the finals, but he will also have to take it on the defensive. As Brad Botkin of CBS Sports pointed out in his recent article, the Celtics are likely to chase Curry defensively throughout the series. While the Celtics don’t really have a weak point for the Warriors to point to the defensive end, Curry will have a look in the back when Boston has the ball.
Although Curry has improved on the defensive end throughout his career, he is still far from the elite, and Boston will seek to exploit him. They’ll love trying to get older, athletic players like Tatum and Brown isolated on Curry, and he’ll be tasked with staying with him. Also, by constantly going to Curry, the Celtics will wait to wear him down so he has less energy to hurt them on the offensive end. Golden State must expect Curry to live up to the task defensively.