Ahead of what's sure to be one of the most memorable nights in recent New England basketball history, an absolute madman offers his thoughts.
The night the Celtics beat the Bucks in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, I was working and had to drive to the airport at like midnight for my real job (lame). So the fact that the Celtics are, in fact, in the Finals really only hit me after Game One. After getting properly taken to task by one Wardell Stephen Curry II and sliced and diced by the Third Quarter Warriors (trademark copyright patent pending), they mounted one of the greatest comebacks in recent playoff memory.
I'm NOT going to spend an excessive amount of time talking about Game Two because this is my blog and I don't have to! They came out flat, the Warriors were physical, and the officiating was...contentious. (ImeUdokaCallsRefsPussyBitches.mp4)
For the Celtics to win tonight, there are a few non-referee related factors that are absolutely necessary.
-Use The Garden to Their Advantage
There has not been an NBA Finals game played at the TD Garden in 4,372 days. Outside of Oracle Arena, there are fewer places that are known league-wide as more challenging to play in than Boston. The fans are passionate about them even when the starting lineup consists of Avery Bradley, Jordan Crawford (GOAT), Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, and Jared Sullinger. Fucked if I knew who, but someone on the Celtics had a quote (Tatum maybe?) where they were talking about how they appreciate that Celtics fans hold them accountable even when they're playing like ass. Let's go for that.
-Play Like Draymond (Cause You Can Tonight)
As has been previously mentioned, this is a Scott Foster legacy game. Celtics are 12-0 when refereed by Chris Paul's personal boogeyman. Mix that factor with the usual physicality allowed in the Finals and I think there's a lot of positive factors pointing towards the East coast.
(Side note, love Draymond saying "you're not me, you wanna be me but you're not" to Grant Williams, who has already superseded his talent on the offensive side of the ball)
-Sharing is Caring
After what could only be described as a "is he betting on the Warriors?" performance in Game One, Jayson Tatum's usage ballooned to over 52% in Game Two, and after his heroics, Al Horford's fell to just over 20%. This team plays their best when there aren't many more than two or three dribbles before a pass happens, and the ball swings from perimeter player to perimeter player, into the post, and ending in an open three or finish at the rim. Bumping up the total number of passes should do nothing but positive things for the outcome this evening.
-Don't Let Steph Curry Do That
Dropping into drop coverage off of pick and rolls against that guy? Him?
-Holy Christ on the Cross, Stop Turning the Ball Over
All memes and jokes about Jaylen Brown's lack of a handle aside, sometimes the Celtics fall into the habit of perpetual one on one, and it's easy to do that against a team they match up so well against from a physical standpoint. Letting the offense build itself out in the half court against Golden State is how you prevent them from being Golden State. By forcing the Celtics to play at their pace, it negated the green men's ability to be physical and rebound. So not dissimilar to the idea of sharing being caring, patience will serve extremely well and the total turnovers should reflect that.
I'm glad to be writing again, and it feels good to type out a bunch of slightly informed nonsense to spew out into the world. Go Celtics.
ความคิดเห็น