In a tied series 2-2, Game 5 is usually decisive because the loser has to win back-to-back games to capture the series. The Boston Celtics did not lose full strength back-to-back games in about four months, and there was an expectation that they could go on the road to snatch a win in San Francisco. Instead, the Celtics started the game flat and missed shot after shot. Despite the horrendous offensive performance, they were only down 12 points heading into the half. Ime Udoka seemed to have quite the halftime locker room talk because his players responded with a 10-0 run and won the quarter by 11 points. However, the Celtics lost all the momentum in the fourth quarter and the home team prevailed with a comfortable 10-point win. In this article, we discuss the five takeaways from the game.
1. Turnovers kill this team every time- it has been a monotonous storyline of not just this series but the entire playoffs, the Celtics’ kryptonite is that when they turn the ball over, they lose games. The Celtics racked up 18 turnovers in Game 5, and it pushed them to the awful mark of 1-7 when they have 15 turnovers or fewer. The Warriors made them pay by putting up 22 points off their mistakes. The team is 13-2 when they have fewer than 15 turnovers in the playoffs. At this point, you can tell the outcome of each Celtics game by looking at the box score and their turnovers in the game.
2. Tatum and Brown are not playing dynamic basketball-Jayson Tatum has received criticism for his lackluster performances in the series. He did little to quiet the noise because he started the game by turning the ball over on the Celtics’ first possession. Then, Tatum failed to attempt a shot until 4 minutes remained in the first quarter. He did spark the turnaround in the 3rd quarter and finished with 27 points and ten rebounds. However, he needed to go 40 points to carry this team on the road. Jaylen Brown can be considered “Mr. First Quarter” because he has consistently jump-started this team with his play at the start of the game. He struggled in the first half with four points and was a microcosm of the team’s effort. He did have flashes in the second half scoring 16 points but a paltry 5 of 18 is not going to take the Celtics to the Larry Obrien trophy.
3. Wiggins stars to propel Warriors-After a sultry 43 points in Game 4 by Steph Curry, it would have been hard for him to repeat the feat in Game 5. However, the unlikely player to step up proved to be Andrew Wiggins, who I considered the x-factor in the series. Wiggins stepped up by scoring 16 points in the first half to propel the Warriors to the early cushion. He rounded out his performance with a quality fourth-quarter ending with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Curry scored only 16 points and missed all 9 of his 3-pointers in the game. The Celtics star duo can’t allow Wiggins to outplay them, and if they do, it will end in Game 6.
4. Missed Free throws- the Boston Celtics were third in the NBA in free-throw shooting with 81.0% as a team in the regular season. It did not show in Game 5 in the pressure-packed environment of the NBA Finals. The Celtics were a putrid 21 of 31 from the field throw line. The Celtics lost the game by the same margin of 10 points. It will be interesting to see if they turn it around in Game 6 because most of it is just mental rather than mechanics.
5. Role players struggle-Derrick White has been stellar in the series and had a bad night going 0 for four from the field and scoring 1 point in the game. Grant Williams only had 3 points, and Peyton Pritchard went scoreless. On the other hand, the Warriors got 29 points from Gary Payton Jr, and Jordan Poole combined. Overall, the Warriors bench outscored their Celtics counterpart 31-10. Role players play at home in the playoffs, and Game 5 proved it.