NBA 2022 Playoffs Thread

[Nate Powalie]

Warriors at -250.  That's courtesy of Caesars.  FWIW, against Dallas and then the East champion, they're at +135 to win out

Thanks, Seabreeze. And recaps:

Miami goes on a huge run to open 2nd half, dispatching the Celtics in Game 1 118-107. Game 2 is tonight at 8:30 PM EDT on ESPN.
And in the West, the Warriors have 7 players score in double figures as they pound the Mavericks 112-87. Game 2 Friday at 9 PM EDT on TNT.

[SeaBreeze341]

At the end of the day on Thursday, 05.26.22, all 4 teams would have completed action through five games.  Golden State is one win away from reaching their first NBA Final in 3 years, while in the East, Boston is a win away from the reaching their first NBA Final in quite awhile.  Both the Celtics and Warriors can close things on their home court.  It’s rather important for the Celtics to do so as it’s their last time at the Garden.   Though to be honest, they probably could still take down the Heat in Miami for a third time if they can get it done on Friday.  Meanwhile, I’d think the Warriors would love to take out Dallas tonight.  They had 2 games to give against the Mavericks.  In the very rare case the West goes 7 games, two of them will be in San Francisco; barring epic injury, the first 3-0 fall isn’t happening this month.

If Golden State wins, they’ll have a least a day against Boston, and 3 if Miami comes back down 3-2.  It’s pretty important; if the WFC extends into the weekend, they could lose their rest advantage against Boston.  However, a big deal & major advantage over a banged up Celtics & even Heat squad; Golden State will stay put for their first game a week from now

[Nate Powalie]

Golden State is through to the Finals, thanks to Klay Thompson stepping up big time in the first half, the final count of 120 to 110. 

Meanwhile, in the East, we have a game 7 to look forward to on Sunday night at 8:30. Jimmy Butler puts in a playoff career-high 47 points to lead the Heat past the Celtics 119-113. All eyes will be on Miami Sunday to determine who will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

[SeaBreeze341]

Vegas still likes Boston to represent the East.  I'm not sure it matters, because it'll be a very, very difficult task to battle successfully against the Warriors, who not have earned an additional two-day advantage in terms of rest.  On the other hand, the NBA Finals starts on Thursday so it might be a tad too much rest.

FanDuel has the Celtics favored by 2 on the road in Miami.  FWIW, Boston has gone from +130 to +300 to win the 2022 NBA Finals, while the Heat moved from +2400 to +300 to win their first title in 9 years (major move for being on the brink & on the road before regaining home court for a second time).

Golden State was -150 but now are at -195 to win their fourth title since within the past 10 years.

This year marks the first time the lNBA is awarding players for their performances within the conference, in the postseason.  Steph Curry (the favorite to win the Finals MVP, which would actually be his first), is the first player to win a conference finals MVP (the Magic Johnson Trophy).  Someone in the East will be the second, but first in that conference

[SeaBreeze341]

The NBA Finals are set with the Golden State Warriors facing the Boston Celtics.  The (series) opening tip is slated for Thursday, 06.02.22 after nine o’clock Eastern in the PM somewhere in San Francisco.  In terms of Game 1, Golden State is favored by 3.5; in terms of winning the title, the Warriors are currently at -160 (while the Celtics are at +130).

Barring injury, if Golden State wins but Curry exits without his first Finals MVP, I’m not sure when or if he’ll ever get there.  I’d be a little shocked if he doesn’t get it this season (unless Boston wins).

I’m not going to be here to post the results & reactions/updates as the series progresses.  I know Nate will if he can & is available (has time).  I’ll be tuned into the NBA Finals this year but I have a couple of thing s (at least) to do/focus on this summer.  What I can say is that anything can happen despite the notion that Boston will get run out of the tourney.  It’s possible, but if they lose Game 1, people will say the Warriors were spotted 72 hours & didn’t have to travel (twice).  To be fair, the GSW are the better team, but far from the most accomplished franchise.

I can totally see this NBA Finals as a competitive back-and-forth contest, and I can see the opposite too.  I’m not sure I can see Boston winning outright, but I don’t know if I’d bet for them to get run out the door either.  The “original” trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green are still a big deal, but during a rather brief down period, they got to acquire some awesome talent that usually ends up with teams that just plain suck.  BTW, I believe Payton returns on Thursday, and in addition, Poole & Wiggins are pretty good.

Steph Curry remains the NBA Finals MVP favorite, followed by Tatum and Brown.  BTW, all the totals/line/whatever are courtesy of Fan Duel.  With the exception of next week, all games are 3 days apart (days off for travel & practice).  They’re not running things normally for games 1-2 as the series starts on Thursday.  The league typically doesn’t start on Friday, and they’ve avoided Saturday games for quite some time.  If the NBA finals go the distance, it’ll end on 06.19.22

[Richie]

With the Finals being Golden State VS Boston, I see this going ALL 7 games.   This will NOT be easy.

[geniusinmath]

Something tells me it is going to be 6 games and Warriors are going to win in my opinion.

[Nate Powalie]

Al Horford leads the charge with a career-high 6 three-pointers made en route to a 26-point performance off the bench, Celtics erupt for a 40-point 4th quarter and take care of business in Game 1 against the Warriors 120-108. Jayson Tatum also had a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists. Game 2 is back at the Chase Center on Sunday night with a tip-off shortly after 8 EST. Right now, the Warriors are listed as 4-point favorites for Game 2.

[Nate Powalie]

Warriors bounce back nicely with five players in double figures for scoring, including Jordan Poole becoming the youngest player to hit 5 3s in a Finals game, as they cruise to a 107-88 win in Game 2. The series now shifts to the TD Garden in Boston tied at 1-1, with Game 3 slated to tip-off on Wednesday a little after 9 PM EST.

[Nate Powalie]

A bit delayed, I know, but Celtics take game 3 from Wednesday thanks to a combined 53 points from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in 116-100 victory over Warriors. Concern for Golden State is the health of star guard Stephen Curry after sustaining an injury going after a loose ball. Game 4 is tonight at the TD Garden in Boston, tip-off at 9 EST.

[Nate Powalie]

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors, your 2022 NBA Champions. Curry drops a 34-point performance in Game 6, giving GSW the 4-2 series win and the Dubs their fourth title in eight years.

Naturally, Curry gets that elusive first Finals MVP award for his career. I want to know what you guys think about this year's Finals and the playoffs overall.

[geniusinmath]

It was very awesome like always. I can't recall 1 finals in my opinion that was bad.

[mellongraig]

Warriors parade is set for Monday, this time in San Francisco.

[SeaBreeze341]

Sorry for the tardy response (I was not available as mentioned during the NBA Finals period).  While I was on point with Warriors in Six, I felt that Boston could’ve won the series given the matchups.  They did lack the experience (while Golden State did not), but they had the defense to stop the West Champs.

As mentioned, it was a great series, and I’m glad that it was rather competitive.  Looked like the Celtics were in position to put the Warriors on life support.  However, the talk of Curry never winning a Finals MVP surfaced.  Game 4 was the type of performance needed to be the guy.

Then when Steph struggled, the rest of the team rose to the occasion, and the rest was history.

So glad that Golden State won it all, and happy for Steph Curry.  Hats off to the Boston Celtics.  Despite questions on the validity of Miami and Milwaukee, they won the games that were played.  I’m not sure that it’ll be easier next season despite their gained experience.  As for the Warriors, they might be great again for a very long time.  Or they’re going to be really very good for a while, especially given the fact that their future stars didn’t contribute that much!