Our in house basketball expert Mike Dodge provides his outlook on the NBA Finals.
This Thursday, June 2nd, kicks-off the start of the 76th Finals in NBA history (dating back to 1947 when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America) and it features the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Despite the Celtics finishing the regular season with a higher seed, the Warriors will be the benefactors of home court advantage as they completed the season with a better record (53-29 vs 51-31). The current home and away format in the NBA Finals is 2-2-1-1-1. The Celtics, making their 22nd finals appearance and whose last championship season was in 2008, are looking to become the league’s most successful franchise by capturing the title for the 18th time (currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers at 17). While the Warriors, who won three rings between the 2015 and 2018 seasons, are aiming to create a second dynasty within the last decade.
While both teams have had impressive runs to finish out the regular season and continue that success leading up to the finals it is hard not to think the Warriors hold the edge. In addition to the home court advantage the Warriors bring plenty of experience. For the core nucleus of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr, this 2022 NBA Finals will be their fifth appearance. The Celtics on the other hand, who have a star-studded cast of their own, have very limited, if any finals experience. In fact, they are led by former player and first year head coach Ime Udoka. But that might just be the key to winning the series for the Celtics.
While the Warriors have arguably the deeper and more talented roster, at least offensively, the Celtics are younger, looser and seem to thrive playing in the underdog roles. They have already taken down the stacked Brooklyn Nets, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the 2021 NBA Champs Milwaukee Bucks, and the Eastern Conference’s #1 seed Miami Heat. The Celtics have bought into Ime Udoka’s coaching style and philosophies about midway through the season have haven’t looked back since. Their team is bigger, have a hand full of guys who play on both sides of the ball better than average, and are meshing better than anyone.
Prediction: The Boston Celtics are your 2022 NBA Champions (+130 at BetMGM*) and your 2022 NBA Finals MVP will be Jaylen Brown (+1100 at BETMGM*). Bet one unit on both bets!
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