Game 6 of the NBA Finals has delivered some of the most iconic moments in NBA history. In the 1980 Finals, Magic Johnson filled at center in his rookie season to seal his first championship. In the 1988 finals, Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points in the 3rd quarter on an injured ankle. In 1998, Michael Jordan stunned the Utah Jazz home crowd with his late-game heroics with a late steal, clutch jumper over Bryan Russell, and the iconic pose. Yes, Game 6 is an iconic game in NBA history, and the past three championships has ended at this juncture to highlight its importance. On June 15, 2022, Game 6 will tip-off at the TD Garden in Boston with the Warriors having the chance to win their 4th title in 8 years. On the other hand, the Boston Celtics will be fighting to extend this series to a Game 7. In this article, we break down the talking points heading into the big matchup for the Celtics.
1. Reducing the turnovers-Ime Udoka will be drilling his players on the need to protect the ball. The Celtics lose playoff games not because the opposition outplayed them by a wide margin but by committing bad turnovers. Tatum, Brown, and Smart are the primary ball handlers on the team and must do a better job of dribbling and passing the ball. The challenge will be to limit themselves to less than four turnovers per quarter. If they somehow achieve that feat, then they have a good chance of extending their record to 14-2 when they have less than 15 turnovers in the playoffs.
2. Containing Steph and Klay-the Celtics will be upset with themselves for failing to capitalize on Steph Curry’s performance in Game 5. After averaging nearly 35 points in the series and being the leading Finals MVP candidate, Steph struggled by failing to make a three-pointer and ending with just 16 points. However, was the performance just an off-night, or was it a sign of more struggles ahead? Klay Thompson has a reputation for delivering in the closeout situations scoring 30 and 32 points against the Grizzlies and Mavericks. Although Andrew Wiggins was the star man for Game 5, I expect the game to come down to whether Celtics can contain the splash brothers. It is a tall order but the Celtics have shown flashes of making it difficult on the Warriors in the half-court.
3. The Jays Superstar Game- it is hard to imagine that Jayson Tatum will struggle for an entire series without delivering one of his signature complete performances. Tatum showed in these playoffs that he embraces the big moments after conquering Kevin Durant, matching Giannis and Jimmy Butler. However, in the Finals Tatum has looked passive and goes for stretches in games by not looking to attack. Brown, on the other hand, has been the Celtics’ best player in the series but chose a bad time to have a flop in Game 5 by scoring 18 points and 5 for 18 from the field. These young All-Star players must operate inside-out in this game by attacking the rim with no shot-blocking and thus make them confident to drill their perimeter shots.
4. Role Players must step up- the Celtics are not as deep as the Warriors with only eight and sometimes seven players playing on a nightly basis. Therefore, they will need Derrick White to become a force again after a dreadful 1 point performance. Grant Williams was tremendous in Game 7 against the Bucks with 27 points and must score more than the 3 points he tallied in Game 5. Peyton Pritchard and Al Horford are two fan favorites, and when they make shots it ignites the crowd. The Warriors benched outplayed the Celtics bench in Game 5, and the C’s need to turn the tide if they want to extend this to Game 7.
5. Bulletin board material-the Celtics can get all the motivation to extend this to Game 7 from the opposing locker room. Steve Kerr was bullish in stating in his press conference, “we’re going to get this in Boston, we’re going to finish this in Boston.” Klay Thompson smirked and said, “I’ve never been so excited to go to Boston.” Ime Udoka needs to play these sound bytes in a loop because the Warriors want to beat the Celtics on your home floor and celebrate in front of your fans. Surely, that is enough motivation for the Celtics to make a stand in Game 6.
Prediction-I have the Celtics winning this game. It is difficult to imagine this team ending their season on a three-game losing streak, and in my eyes these teams are evenly matched. I think the Celtics will amp up their defense early like in Game 3, and I think Steph Curry will not be as historic as he was in Game 4. The key will be containing Klay and cutting down the turnovers. I think Tatum delivers a good performance, and Sunday, June 19, will be Game 7 in the Bay.
Celtics 111-Warriors 103.