Two teams with elite defenses will participate in the NBA finals in 2022. In the regular season, the Boston Celtics had the best defense rating in the league, and the Golden State Warriors were right behind them at number 2. In addition to the dominant defense, both teams are very deep and extremely well trained. The series will also have no shortage of star power. In addition to the Golden State star trio of Stephen Curry, Clay Thompson and Draymond Green, Boston boasts its own triumvirate of strength, consisting of Jason Tatum, Jaylan Brown and Managing Defender of the Year Marcus Smart.
The series promises to be a fun and appropriate end to the eventful NBA season. Here’s a look at five key games leading up to the battle between Boston and Golden State.
1. Marcus Smart vs. Steph Curry
This one is written by myself. Acting Defender of the Year at Marcus Smart is battling one of the deadliest offensive weapons the league has ever seen in Steph Curry. They’re both defenders, so Smart has to spend a lot of time trying to keep Curry. He will certainly receive some help in the form of switches, traps, dual teams, etc., but the main responsibility will probably fall on Smart.
As for Curry, there is no such thing as stopping him, so Smart’s job will be to make Curry’s life more difficult and make sure he doesn’t get too many clean eyes. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but if anyone can handle the task, it’s the stubborn Smart. How well he is able to defend Curry can go a long way in determining who will win the series in the end.
2. Andrew Wiggins vs. Jason Tatum
Andrew Wiggins has been tasked with being the main defender of Luka Doncic during the Western Conference finals against Mavericks, and in the NBA finals there will probably be another extremely difficult task in the form of Jason Tatum. Tatum has help around him, but he is at the heart of Boston’s attack and his ability to generate points is central to Boston’s success.
Just as Smart will get help with Curry, Wiggins will probably get help for Tatum sometimes, but he will probably have to do much of the hard work. Wiggins’ length and athleticism make him an ideal defender for a player like Tatum, who himself is long and athletic. It would not be surprising to see Steve Kerr compare Wiggins’ minutes to some extent with those of Tatum, especially if he manages to achieve some early success.
3. Steve Kerr vs. Name Udoka
The side chess match between the head coaches is always one of the most intriguing storylines for the finals and this season is no different. The difference in experience between Steve Kerr and Name Udoka is staggering. Kerr has coached in his sixth NBA Finals since Golden State did so for five consecutive years, from 2015 to 2019. He has coached 121 playoff games and won 89 of them.
Udoka, on the other hand, trains in his first finals as a rookie head coach and has only 16 games of post-season coaching experience under his belt. It will be extremely interesting to see how much this discrepancy in experience materializes in the course of the series and how much it ultimately matters.
4. Clay Thompson vs. Jaylan Brown
As home defenders for their teams, Jaylan Brown and Clay Thompson are likely to spend a lot of time guarding each other, and their match will be important as they both rely heavily on securing extra points for their teams. Brown is Boston’s second offensive behind Tatum, and Thompson is playing for Golden State, along with reserve guard Jordan Poole.
With a lot of attention paid to Curry and Tatum, these minor scorers could spin the whole series with a few good or bad games.
5. Boston’s attack on Steph Curry
We already know what Steph Curry will give in the offensive for Golden State in the finals, but he will have to do it in defense. As Brad Botkin of CBS Sports pointed out in a recent article, the Celtics are likely to hunt Curry in defense throughout the series. While the Celtics don’t really have a weak point for the Warriors to head to the defensive end, Curry will have an apple on his back when Boston has the ball.
Although Curry has improved on the defensive end of his career, he is still far from the elite and Boston will try to use that. They will want to try to get bigger, more athletic players like Tatum and Brown isolated from Curry, and he will have the task of behaving alone. Also, by continuing to Curry, the Celtics will hope to tire him out so that he has less energy to hurt them at the end of the offensive. Golden State must hope that Curry handles the task in defense.
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