The 2021-2022 NBA season has ended, and the Golden State Warriors are the champions again. Even though the playoffs and finals are over, there’s a lot to unpack here, but don’t worry, I got you.
Being totally transparent, I don’t like the Warriors. In my opinion, they’re arrogant, annoying, and the things they get away with on the court drive me crazy. However I will admit, they are the best shooting team that basketball fans have ever seen. When Klay Thompson returned after his injury, anyone who knows the game knew was going to pose a problem. For the record, my early season picks for the finals were the Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks. Obviously my prediction that the Bucks were going to repeat as champions was incorrect. Unfortunately for them, their star Forward Khris Middleton was injured, and his teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t beat the Boston Celtics by himself.
Enough about all of that, let’s get to the finals. The Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets with star players Kevin Durant (K.D.) and Kyrie Irving, then Giannis and the Bucks, and sealed the deal winning against Jimmy Butler and company of the Miami Heat, to reach the championship. They defended their opponents at an elite level and consistently hit tough shots. Their first-year coach Ime Udoka was able to get his entire team to buy in. They had all the momentum, and I was hoping they were going to get over the hump.
The Warriors also felt like they had a lot to prove; including Steph Curry, who is already a 3-time champion. Like me, there are a lot of guys who poke holes in the team’s championship wins. Let’s take a look:
- Championship 1 – Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were hurt. Andre Iguodala was the Finals’ MVP.
- Championship 2 – The Warriors acquired K.D., who was the second-best overall player in the league, despite winning 73 games the season before. He was the Finals’ MVP; and
- Championship 3 – For a second time K.D. was selected as the Finals’ MVP again.
Game 1 was a defensive masterpiece by the Celtics. They bullied the Warriors in every way possible. During that particular game, everything that could have gone right did for the Celtics. Al Horford scored six three pointers and Jaylen Brown had 24 points. Although Curry had a great game, Boston put it on them in the 4th quarter. In front of their home crowd at TD Garden they stole Game 1, giving a lot of folks’ confidence that they were going to win the series.
Game 2 was a game that Golden State had to win. They had outscored Boston 34-14 in the third quarter. Curry had 29 points and his teammate Jordan Poole chipped in with 17. Unfortunately, the Celtic’s defense was nonexistent, and the Warriors cruised to a win in Game 2.
The Celtics got back to business in Game 3. They played their best basketball on the road. This particular night, they channeled the energy of the TD Garden crowd to victory. Their young stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, scored 26 and 27 points, respectively. Marcus Smart added 24, and his defensive effort helped hold the Warriors to 11 points in the 4th quarter. The Celtics led the series 2-1, and for the first time, I felt like they were truly the better team.
Game 4 was the one I saw coming. I knew Curry had one ridiculous game in him; I just didn’t
know when it was going to happen. This was a game the Warriors had to win. If they had lost and trailed the series 3-1, they never would’ve been able to climb back to win. Curry knew this, so he went nuts. The guy ended up with 43 points, and they won by 10 to even up the series at two games apiece. Teammate Andrew Wiggins, who has struggled to get his career on track, had a strong showing with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
The team that wins Game 5 in the Finals usually wins the series 82% of the time. I was really hoping that the Celtics would find a way to win this game. One thing that I was confident about was the fact that Curry wouldn’t have two monster games back-to-back. It was tailor-made for the Celtics to steal this game. I clearly should be a paid analyst for ESPN. Curry had 16 points but was 0 and 9 from 3-point range. The problem for Boston on this night however was Andrew Wiggins. The former number one pick had the best playoff game of his eight-year career, leading the Warriors with 26 points and 13 rebounds. When the Celtics dropped this game, I knew it was over. They looked defeated and deflated. I knew at that moment that Game 6 was going to be a coronation.
I don’t believe many doubted that Game 6 would end without the Warriors cruising to a championship win. With Curry winning the Finals MVP, for another year their fans will remind us of this every chance they get. Like them or not (and I don’t), I can’t discredit what they did this season. They climbed the mountaintop again. A few takeaways for me from these finals were:
- Curry is good (one reading this might say ‘duh,’ but I hate admitting this)
- The Warriors never needed K.D and I side-eye both of his championships because they had won 73 games the season before he arrived.
- Andrew Wiggins was a number one pick that a lot of people chalked up as a bust (I never did). He was the second-best player on the Warriors roster all season. Respect to him.
- Gary Payton II worked his butt off to get to the league. Prior to joining the Warriors, he was cut by the Bucks, Lakers, and the Wizards (twice). Although he also had stints with multiple G-league teams, he never gave up, worked hard to fight his way onto an NBA roster, and now he’s a champion.
- The Boston Celtics lost because they’re a young team. They turned the ball over too much and struggled under the bright lights of The Finals. This is a series they could’ve won if they had more poise under pressure.
- Klay Thompson is immature in my opinion. After winning the championship, he called out a Memphis Grizzlies player who had offended him during the regular season. The player in question who made the comment was actually referring to his own team and not Thompson. He referred to the young 22-year-old player as “freaking trash.” That’s a real class act coming from a champion.
Anyone who reads this article will now understand why I hate the Warriors … right? Stay tuned…we’ll see what unfolds next season!
