Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics takes place Sunday evening, as the Celtics prevailed down the stretch in Game 1.
The Warriors enter play favored with a -4 spread. Let’s take a look at what’s at stake for both teams heading into Game 2.
Warriors Preview
The Warriors controlled the entire game in the first three quarters in Game 1, as Stephen Curry went off for 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first period alone.
However, once the game slowed down a little bit, Curry cooled down significantly, but Andrew Wiggins put up 12 points in the third to help keep the Warriors out on front. Wiggins finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting in his first-ever Finals game.
Draymond Green wasn’t very good on either end of the floor, as he put up four points on 2-of-12 shooting and made several bad reads on the defensive side of the floor.
Green was caught in no man’s land several times throughout the game, which allowed Celtics’ shooters to get wide open.
Klay Thompson scored 15 points in his first Finals game in three years, shooting 6-of-14 from the field.
Jordan Poole struggled to give the Warriors a lift off the bench, scoring just nine points on a forgettable 2-of-7 shooting from the field.
Celtics Preview
Al Horford stole the headlines for the Celtics in Game 1, going off for 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including six 3-pointers a day before his 36th birthday.
Horford hit some clutch threes down the stretch in the fourth quarter, which helped the Celtics add to their lead after entering the quarter down by 12 points.
Horford has been deep in the playoffs during his career, but he was never able to get to the Finals up until this point. What he proved, though, is that preparation meets opportunity saying.
Jayson Tatum didn’t look like himself in his first FInals game, as he was only able to score 12 points on 3-of-17 shooting from the floor. However, he was able to rack up 13 assists.
Jaylen Brown put up 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists in Game 1.
Derrick White came off the bench to score 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Marcus Smart provided 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Warriors Win
The Warriors appeared to be well on their way to a Game 1 victory, but the Celtics came back at the right time and slowed the game down to a pace they were comfortable with, which prevented the Warriors from moving the ball around and getting off quality shots.
However, the Celtics made a bunch of threes in Game 1 from unlikely sources, so they can’t rely on that happening again in Game 2, especially if they’re trying to fight back.
Expect the Warriors to make the necessary adjustments and come back to win in Game 2 while covering the spread.
