This season, basketball fans had a lot to look forward to. The NBA season started at the usual time and was surprisingly bright and unpredictable.
2022 NBA Finals Teams
Back in January, the Golden State Warriors were 11th in the Western Conference. The style of play and general mood of the team did not promise anything extraordinary for the new season. In contrast, the San Francisco boys finished second in their conference.
The situation may have changed for the better because of changes in the coaching staff. The talented and ambitious Steve Kerr took the vacant head coaching job at Golden State.
Boston, as you would expect, produced a quality game without any excesses. To a large extent, their lead in the Eastern Conference was maintained by the steady play of team leaders Al Horford, Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum.
The finalists will show their prowess in a final series of fights from 3 June. At the start of the clash, not even the most experienced sports observers and critics had a clear favourite. Bookmakers offer a wide range of bets on basketball for beginners and experienced bettors. The most popular bets are totals based on the number of points scored in a given quarter and over the whole game, as well as a win for one of the teams.
Golden State Warriors ready for the final
It should be noted that the luck of this team sometimes seemed simply unrealistic. Compared to the Boston rivals, the Warriors were much weaker. They came out 5 times winners in games with Denver, 6 times beat Memphis and snatched 5 bright victories from Dallas.
Game series were not as long as Boston with Miami. So, the players had more time to recover and prepare for the next game.
Their last game of the semi-final was on 27 May: the boys had rested, gained strength and mentally prepared to greet their sad and tired opponents. The first game was played on the Warriors’ court, which also played a role.
Despite that state of affairs, Boston’s head coach by no means considered the situation fatal for his charges. Ime Udoka stressed that his team did a good job of coping with the high workload. In addition, this situation may be an additional source of motivation for the players.
The mistakes of beginners in basketball betting mainly lie in the wrong interpretation of what is happening on the court and blind trust in the estimates of bookmakers. None of the finalist teams lost two matches in a row. This fact should be taken into account before betting and looking for value bets.
The team from San Francisco is also not so rosy. Due to serious injuries, Golden State lost three players. Gary Payton is still in rehab after suffering a broken elbow in the quarter-finals of the postseason. The Memphis player was removed from the court, but Payton did not feel any better. Yes, and the meeting Warriors lost with an insulting score of 106:101.
Andre Iguodala, who is still unavailable due to a neck injury, will not help his team either. And Otto Porter is not expected to be on the court either. At least not in the near future.
Therefore, all hope lies in Stephen Curry’s productive play. Despite his considerable experience and impressive accomplishments, the point guard has yet to boast an MVP title. Given his age, this could be a decisive year for Steph.
What about Boston?
For the Celtics, this season has been one of the most difficult in the club’s history. The long series with the Miami Heat was one of the toughest in the club’s history. In the playoffs, Boston managed to beat Brooklyn 4 times, defeated Milwaukee 7 times and successfully completed the series with Miami.
In just 3 days, Boston is scheduled to face the Warriors, and at San Francisco Stadium. During this time, the athletes just need to come to their senses and get in the mood.
It will be difficult to do so, with only eight players in the starting line-up. The return of Robert Williams and Marcus Smart is great news for the fans. We can only hope that the experienced players will be able to strengthen the tired team.
First meeting of the NBA 2022 final
The first meeting in the NBA finals took place on 3 June. Both the home team and the visitors were extremely determined. Contrary to what analysts had predicted, by the middle of the game it was clear that the Celtics were out of contention today. The game ended 108-120 in favour of the visitors.
The assertiveness and confidence with which Boston stubbornly went forward could not be underestimated. Al Horford was the highest scorer of the game, scoring 36 points for his team. He was followed by Jalen Brown with 24 points. Jason Tatum, on the other hand, was unconvincing with 12 points and 13 assists.
As you’d expect, Stephen Curry was the star of the performance, with six successful long-range shots.
Rematch
On 6 June, fans could enjoy a bright and dynamic game at home as the Warriors showed quality play. The lead was staggering: 107-88 on the scoreboard and 1-1 in the end.
Curry surpassed himself with 29 points. In addition, he had 4 assists and 3 steals.
Gary Payton played 25 minutes in the second game of the final and surprised his team with 7 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
Jordan Poole also shone with 17 points and 5 successful three-pointers.
Of Boston, Tatum’s play is worth noting: he scored more points for the team in the first 15 minutes of the game alone than he did in the whole of the last game.
What to expect?
Game 3 between the NBA finalists took place on 9 June. Now Boston welcomed the big names. The Celtics did not win easily, but the score was 116-110 in favour of the home team and 2-1 on aggregate.
Boston’s win was absolutely deserved as Tatum, Brown and Smart combined for 77 points.
In unpleasant news, Stephen Curry suffered an ankle injury under his basket. He says it’s not that bad, so he won’t miss the next game.
