Warriors Trouble Jayson Tatum, Celtics Once Again in Finals Rematch
Three thoughts on the 2022 NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and the Celtics, which saw Golden State come away with a 123–107 win over the best team in the NBA. (All thoughts come with the massive caveat that three very important players were missing: Al Horford, Rob Williams and Andrew Wiggins.)
Stop the drop
The Celtics certainly didn’t seem to attack this game with the same intensity they would a playoff game. One telltale sign? Boston’s willingness to drop on pick and rolls involving Stephen Curry. Part of the problem was personnel.
With Blake Griffin getting the start, the C’s couldn’t be as aggressive hedging or switching screens as they are when fully operational. The result was a ton of room for Curry behind the three-point line, and he obliged by launching 11 threes and hitting six of them. (Klay Thompson also shot 4-of-11 from deep for good measure.)
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Boston looked better when playing small, echoing what happened in the Finals, when two-big lineups struggled against Steph. There is no magic elixir for slowing down Curry. But Boston can do a better job when it commits to switching, a strategy the team typically employs incredibly well.
If we do see a rematch between these clubs in the playoffs, that’s at least one way the Celtics can try to slow down Steph. Emphasis on try. Better transition defense would go a long way as well.
Tatum once again wasn’t sharp against Golden State, harkening back to his struggles in the Finals.
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Jayson Tatum struggles again
In his last seven games against the Warriors, including the 2022 Finals, Jayson Tatum is shooting 50-of-141 from the field, a ghastly 35.5%. Tatum has been such an offensive force this season, it was rather surprising to see him continue to play so inefficiently against Golden State. He finished Saturday’s contest with 18 points on 6-of-21 from the field.
The Warriors seem to do a better job than anyone else at crowding him. It helps to have rugged defenders such as Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, as well as a rock solid big in Kevon Looney, who was able to cheat off Griffin on Saturday. (Green especially is a cheat code, though. He hounds Tatum better than anyone.)
Tatum has become such a sophisticated scorer, it’s hard to imagine him not figuring out what keeps going wrong against the Warriors. If he hits a couple more threes on Saturday—shots he’s comfortable taking—his stat line looks much more like his All-Star self. And if there’s a positive, at least he limited his turnovers. It also won’t be easy for every team to replicate what the Warriors do against Tatum. Still, his rough shooting nights against Golden State are now becoming a genuine trend.
The Jonathan Kuminga game
Kuminga’s final stat line is not necessarily remarkable—14 points, five rebounds and three assists. He even finished as a minus-3 in his 21 minutes. And yet he posted more points, boards and assists than Green while shooting 6-of-9 from the field.
The Warriors have had a tortured relationship with their bench so far this season. The James Wiseman experiment was a disaster. The losses of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. have been felt. So it’s nice to see Kuminga start to carve out his role in the rotation. After barely playing in the Finals, he looked like he belonged on the floor against a very good Celtics team.
Kuminga may not bring GP2’s on-ball defense or Porter’s shooting, but his athleticism is a welcome sight on the wing. The Warriors likely will continue to tweak their bench, and maybe even make moves to bolster it. On Saturday, Kuminga added to his case to be a part of the eventual playoff push.
