Warriors vs Celtics

The 2022 NBA Finals tip off Thursday night in San Francisco; here's what to keep an eye on.

Golden State has to hope that Curry is up to the task defensively. As CBS Sports' Brad Botkin pointed out in his recent piece, the Celtics are likely going to hunt Curry on the defensive end throughout the series. Udoka, on the other hand, is coaching in his first Finals as a rookie head coach, and he has just 16 games of postseason coaching experience under his belt. Just like Smart will receive help with Curry, Wiggins will likely receive help on Tatum at times, but he'll likely have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. That's obviously easier said than done, but if anyone is up to the task, it's the tenacious Smart. How well he is able to defend Curry could go a long way toward determining who ultimately wins the series. Here's a look at five key matchups heading into the battle between Boston and Golden State.

The Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics will square in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Who will be the X-factors for each team?

He helps anchor the defense with his savvy near the rim and ability to defend on the perimeter. If he can hold his own defensively against the Celtics’ talented wings, that also helps the Warriors. He can take scoring pressure off Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with his scoring, especially when he spreads the court with his 3-point shooting. But can Jordan Poole continue to score against Boston like he has so far in the playoffs. He will handle a variety of assignments, including guarding Steph Curry at times, and his ability to defend multiple positions will factor into Boston’s success. Although the Eastern and Western Conference Finals featured wide margins of victory and multiple blowouts, a closely contested Finals matchup is anticipated. The 2022 NBA Finals are set. ** Game 5: June 13, 9 p.m. Chase Center, San Francisco, California. ** Game 7: June 19, 8 p.m. Chase Center, San Francisco, California. It marks the Warriors' first Finals appearance since 2019 and their sixth in eight years. Game 1: June 2, 9 p.m. Chase Center, San Francisco, California. Game 2: June 5, 8 p.m. Chase Center, San Francisco, California.

The Golden State Warriors will play against the Boston Celtics tonight for Game 1 of the NBA Finals at 6pm PT in San Francisco.

Curry is the engine that powers the Golden State offense, leading them to the number one offensive rating in the playoffs. Styles truly make the fight in this one in what looks to be a very competitive NBA Finals series. During their 2 regular season games against Boston, Golden State was 1-1 with their most recent matchup ending in a 110-88 Warriors loss at home on March 16th, 2022.

Warriors 47, Celtics 47 (2Q)What are the odds for Celtics vs. Warriors?SpreadWarriors: -3.5Celtics: +3.5Money lineWarriors: -165Celtics: +140How to watch: ...

This is a best-case scenario for the Warriors' offense. the Rockets in 2019). The Warriors are getting instant contributions from two of their previously missing players. So is Marcus Smart. Even Daniel Theis has made a 3. Derrick White is 2-fo- 4. You have up this scorching hot first quarter to Steph Curry, and trail by single digits (47-41 as of this note). Golden State will probably live with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Daniel Theis taking those shots, but Tatum is making the right play. – Steph Curry has gotten a good 15-plus minutes of actual rest since he left the game at the end of the first quarter. They need to come out to shooters and THEN drop back into the paint. ESPN’s cameras caught Marcus Smart explaining the key issue that the Celtics need to solve. The Celtics have heeded his words ever since those comments. Celtics clearly willing to give them up.

Breaking down what to expect in the 2022 NBA Finals between Golden State and Boston.

But as a bet on Tatum’s offensive maturation and the NBA’s top defense, Boston in six is the choice here. But the Warriors are unique in how those players (Green, Looney, Payton, etc.) stay engaged on the ball and from the weakside, setting screens and sparking dribble handoffs. But he’s been plenty effective in this role for months, and will be critical for Boston’s offense when the Warriors either stick weaker defenders on him or let Green roam.) He’ll be asked to hound Tatum on one end and then strike against a physical defense that loves to reduce ball movement and coax isolations. (In these playoffs, when Green slides to the five with Poole on the floor, their offensive rating is a whopping 124.6.) That’s easier said than done against a defense that will pack the paint, clog gaps and race out to contest the shots they want to contest. When the ball gets thrown into Draymond Green in the post and those split actions flow into flare screens, even the most locked-in defenders are pushed to their limit trying to force a tough look. The Celtics and Warriors met only once after the trade deadline, in a game on March 16 that didn’t have Andrew Wiggins and saw Curry suffer a foot injury that sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. (In the 129 minutes Curry shared the floor with Thompson and Poole, it was a whopping 121.7.) In so many ways, the Warriors and Celtics are a Finals showdown that felt inevitable, the culmination of one organization striving to stay ahead of a strategic curve that was established by the other. The desire to be positionless and adaptable didn’t require a premonition after watching the 2015 NBA Finals, but acquiring athletic, skilled wings and ballhandlers who can function in lineups big and small is easier said than done. A similar thing can be said about a Warriors team that would be sitting at home right now if not for critical contributions made by Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney. The Warriors have a league-high eight players selected through the draft on their roster.

Golden State's Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II are available for Game 1. Warriors usually roll in the first game of each series.

Smart missed Games 1 and 4 against Miami in the Eastern Conference finals and was listed as questionable for Game 7 with a sprained right ankle. We've kept his minutes lower in the last few games against Miami, and his availability has been up and down based on that game. Game 1s are usually a feeling-out process, especially when you get to the Finals. You don't know your opponent as well as you know your conference rivals. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was no different. But unlike a majority of us, the biggest stars in movies, TV and music have the means to cheer on their beloved teams courtside. Curry was called for an offensive foul, his second of the game, with 1:41 left in the first half after a push-off against Boston's Marcus Smart. Curry slammed the ball in frustration and adamantly denied his foul. I'm thankful to be able to play, let alone still be walking," Smart said Wednesday. "It hurt, but my mom always told me, if you are going to be on the court, you can't make excuses. ABC’s lead play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and co-analyst Jeff Van Gundy are in COVID protocol and missed Game 1. He quickly picked up his third foul on Jayson Tatum with 53.8 second left in the first half. Brown is a consistent scorer with an ability to put up a big number. Can the Celtics go into San Francisco and steal Game 1? NBA Finals Game 1, Warriors vs.

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The Golden State Warriors have cleared Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala, and Gary Payton II to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Steve Kerr wouldn’t comment on if any of the three would play, just that they would be available. Payton, who has been out since fracturing his elbow in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies, is one of the league’s elite on-ball defenders, and can be disruptive whether put on guards like Marcus Smart, or larger players like Jayson Tatum. The Golden State Warriors will be the healthiest they’ve been all year for the start of the NBA Finals. Prior to Thursday’s Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, the Warriors announced that three key members of the bench, who have been dealing with injuries, will be cleared to play.

NBA Finals 2022, Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics Live Score Streaming: The Jayson Tatum-led Celtics own the best road record in this year's ...

NBA Finals LIVE: Curry 'absolutely cooking' in Game 1... but Celtics won't go away.

A gulf in experience between the two rosters may also shape the outcome. The Celtics roster has zero games of NBA Finals experience; Golden State has a combined 123 games of experience. Behind a historic first-quarter explosion, and a strong third, Stephen Curry has led the Golden State Warriors to a 92-80 lead after three quarters in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

At one point in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it looked like Stephen Curry had put the Warriors in position to run away with things early at the Chase Center as ...

White, who knocked down timely three pointers, finished with 21 points, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Derrick White hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 103 with 5:40 remaining. After White's long-range bomb, the Celtics never looked back.

Who will be available in Game 1 and how will lineups be impacted? Here are the latest injury reports and projected starting lineups for the first game of ...

ABC ABC ABC Game 1 of the NBA Finals will tip off around 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 2. Here are the latest injury reports and projected starting lineups for the first game of the 2022 NBA Finals. While we've reached the point of the year in which everyone is dealing with various nagging injuries, players will do all they can to compete for a championship.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Once Boston's balanced roster of NBA Finals first-timers found a groove from long range, the determined Celtics delivered a memorable ...

... Golden State is 21-3 in postseason Game 1s dating to the 2014-15 season when the Warriors captured the franchise's first championship in 40 years - and they had won 13 straight playoff series openers at home, third-longest streak in NBA history, before this. Curry scored a smooth 21 points in the opening period on 7-for-8 shooting, including 6 of 8 made 3s - missing a half-court heave at the buzzer. Brown scored five quick points early in the fourth and assisted on an alley-oop dunk to Robert Williams III as the Celtics pulled back within 92-87 with 9:35 remaining. ''It's an unbelievable feeling just to be here and competing at this level against such a dynamic franchise the last couple years,'' Boston guard Payton Pritchard said. Coach Ime Udoka expected him to be limited to about 20 minutes as has been the recent pattern. You obviously go into Game 2 with more of a sense of desperation. ''So learn a lot from that fourth quarter, obviously they made a lot of shots. When you have a team that just finds a little bit of momentum like they did and they keep making shots, it's tough to kind of regain that momentum.'' The 15th-year big man, who turns 36 Friday, played in 141 previous postseason games, most ever before playing in the NBA Finals. Jayson Tatum was the lone Celtics regular who struggled offensively, finishing 3 for 17, though he did have 13 assists. ''I was just getting the looks, knocking them down. ''I felt like the guys kept finding me time after time.

Grading Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, and the rest of the Golden State Warriors in the team's 120-108 loss to the Boston ...

But it’s hard to argue with his experience, his veteran savvy, and his chemistry with the Dubs’ core players. I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect Iguodala to play meaningful minutes this series. Grade: Incomplete He didn’t have a strong defensive game, and wasn’t doing much as a playmaker or a rebounder. His shot wasn’t quite falling, and he wasn’t able to get to the rim for easy looks. Late in the game, Boston sent all their defensive attention at Curry and dared anyone else to beat them. The bad news is that means he only had three defensive rebounds. Wiggins had a few possessions where he fell back on some old habits and took offense-slowing, contested long twos. Draymond Green: "We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. And, whether you like or dislike him displaying this type of public confidence, he certainly made it clear that he thinks the Warriors are still in a fine position. But before we get there, we need to grade the players, weighting for our expectations of each. The rebounding was crucial, and he played very strong defense.

he 2022 NBA Finals will finally begin Thursday night when the Golden State Warriors host the Boston Celtics in Game 1 at Chase Center.T.

They've lost the last two such series (1987 and 2010). - The Celtics are 14-7 all time in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They are 13-1 in the NBA Finals after winning Game 1. - The winner of Game 1 in the NBA Finals wins the series 70.7 percent (53-22) of the time.

Golden State's double-digit lead entering the final quarter evaporated with the Celtics' Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Derrick White combining to lead an ...

KD weighed in on the first NBA Finals game between Golden State and Boston.

The Boston Celtics really began putting the basketball world on notice with their dominant sweep over Durant and the Nets earlier this postseason, and they have not looked back since. A simple acknowledgement of the game's high level of competition, Durant was appreciative of what he saw in this first game between Boston and Golden State. There is of course history for Durant on both sides of this matchup, having won two championships with Golden State, and also having just been swept by Boston, but the two-time Finals MVP seems to be enjoying this series without any significant rooting interests. Since being eliminated in the first round, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has been active on Twitter, including a recent back and forth with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Today's Tweet from KD didn't contain any of the same contention that his thread from a few days ago did, but the superstar forward did provide a reaction to Game 1 of the NBA Finals: