2022 NBA Finals Game 2 Observations

For each game during the Finals, I will take notes of random things I observed or thought throughout the game and will post it either the day of or day after each game.  These are my notes regarding Game 2, which the Warriors won 107-88 after an abysmal second half by the Celtics (and awesome half by the Warriors).

 

Quarter 1

·         The Warriors had some early sloppy turnovers that were bad.  They will not be able to win if they keep playing like that

·         Jaylen Brown has been aggressive early in the game.  While it is nice to see, he did have a couple shots that went in that I didn’t think were good looks

·         Boston will not be able to survive if Brown and Jayson Tatum have played like they have the last couple plays, as in looking for their own shot.  That is how they started with a losing record

·         It’s nice that the crowd gave a standing ovation to Gary Payton II.  He’s a great defender and good player overall who works so hard

·         The play resulting in a Grant Williams layup was an amazing play and had some elite playmaking and decision-making abilities in there

·         I vehemently disagree with the second foul called against Jaylen Brown.  There was more contact (and by that, I mean actual contact) on each of the first few plays of the game

·         Geez, the Celtics have had several bad fouls.  Tatum’s second foul was a bad play on defense

·         I didn’t even realize the Celtics had so many turnovers in the game until they put up the numbers, but they have had several sloppy plays.  7 in the first quarter?  Yikes

·         The fact that it’s the Celtics are down by 1 despite them committing 5 more turnovers than the Warriors is a good sign for Boston but is something the Warriors need to keep an eye out for.  Part of that is because the Celtics have been sloppy at the end of the quarter but still

Quarter 2

·         Derrick White’s defense against Jordan Poole on 3^rd play of the quarter was so nice.  He is such a good defender and while teams act like he’s a weaker defender, settling on him instead of other players, which many offenses pay for

·         If it’s a close game, I expect people will focus on the rescinded technical.  Unless it causes a huge momentum shift, I don’t think it will be consequential

·         I have no idea what happened on the Andrew Wiggins missed layup.  I wonder if he overthought it with Brown behind him

·         Every time Daniel Theis is in the game, I wonder why.  He will make a great play like that block or an important bucket and then I doubt myself

·         That was such a nice pass by Draymond Green to Nemanja Bjelica.  Green is one of the best passing forwards I have ever seen

·         Jaylen Brown shouldn’t have taken the shot he did with Draymond clearly in his face, but someone on the Celtics needs to move; it was clear he couldn’t see any of them at that moment and nobody was at the top of the key, so Pritchard (who was closest to it) should have run over there to help

·         Al Horford’s block on Klay Thompson was such a nice play.  There was obviously a mismatch with Thompson being guarded by Pritchard and Thompson, who isn’t the best passer, was likely to shoot.  Helping in that case was a good decision

·         I know it missed, but the play of Tatum driving, passing it to White, and then passing it to Brown for the open 3 was such a nice play.  The Warriors are currently on a run and that kind of look is essential to get their offense back on track

·         It always makes me laugh when a ball goes out of bounds and players on each team point the direction that would benefit them.  I wonder if that’s something teams practice

·         I loved the basket Tatum got while being guarded by Payton.  While most would oppose to it, it was a mismatch

·         There needed to be a double technical on the Draymond Green and Jaylen Brown mini kerfuffle.  The only reason it wasn’t is because they didn’t want Green ejected because it’s the finals, but in my opinion the Finals is when the rules should be most enforced…you know, when the games matter?

·         Geez, Thompson does not look like himself this series.  I’m not sure what’s going on

Quarter 3

·         I love it when Marcus Smart does this exaggerated bounce pass type play.  It seems like a pass with more power involved and doesn’t look like it involves a lot of finesse, but there’s something that enamors me about it

·         Wiggins seems to be missing a lot of shots, even on good looks, but I love how aggressive he has been

·         The Celtics just had a turnover where Jaylen Brown was double teamed and the only guy Brown could see was Rob Williams, but Brown couldn’t get it over the defender.  Again, someone else needs to run over to help with that

·         There was another play where the Celtics were not moving off the ball.  They are now down with the deficit growing and that’s why they’re struggling offensively

·         The first Celtics bucket during this run was the result of Horford cutting in while Jaylen Brown had the ball

·         Geez, the Celtics are fouling a ton this quarter as well.  This is how you guarantee a loss against the Warriors

·         That was nice defense by Draymond against Al Horford in the paint in transition.  To prevent a transition bucket is really impressive in that situation

·         That was shocking, seeing Al Horford posting up against Curry and not capitalizing on it.  He turned it over in a pretty sloppy play.  In that major of a mismatch, you can’t afford that if you’re down

·         Tatum just missed a heavily contested 3.  For crying out loud, the Celtics are losing and still are refusing to move despite the fact that their offense has been abysmal.  I expected them to lose Game 1 because I was kind of expected their offense to stall a bit at points

·         The Warriors have been aggressive early in the hot clock on several possessions, which is how you beat the Celtics’ defense

·         I said something positive about Theis earlier, now I feel better ripping him:  Curry has the ball in a pick and roll while shooting better this quarter and he thinks the right decision is to give him an open look while dropping and moving closer to the paint?

·         Theis leaves his man to double team but allows a passing lane open next to the rim, then bobbles the ball with the shot clock winding down, then dropping on a screen.  Nope.

·         Well, all I can say about Poole’s half court shot is that this checks out for the Warriors at this point.  Geez, that was a nice shot

Quarter 4

·         While the Warriors dominated the 3^rd quarter both games, the difference is that the Celtics were getting good looks but just missing shots in Game 1; they’re playing like they care less than I do at this point (and I’m not sure why I’m still covering this game)

·         You know the Celtics have likely given up when Aaron Nesmith is in the game.  I love him, but probably for the best considering it’s a 29-point game with 10 minutes left

·         The fact that the Warriors are getting crushed despite Klay Thompson having another bad game is not a good sign for the Celtics in the coming games

·         I was laughing that Grant Williams was still being in someone’s face until I realized Draymond Green was that player.  Since he already has 1 tech, makes sense

·         It’s great to see the Celtics playing great transition basketball now that the game is out of reach and the players who would get a lot of playing time are on the bench

·         I’m surprised Klay Thompson is still on the court with 4 minutes left.  Maybe because he has struggled so far and this is an attempt to help him gain confidence?  He’s a good enough shooter that I wouldn’t be worried about that and would rather not risk the injury with him

·         I know it’s garbage time, but even though a shot missed, I love the ball movement the Warriors have demonstrated on multiple plays, especially one where they got an open look after 4 great passes

·         I don’t think I’ve given enough credit to the Warriors offense this half in particular.  They’ve been exploiting every weakness the Celtics have shown this game, especially transition defense and defending Curry off screens

·         I know it’s the end of the game and doesn’t matter, but I’m kind of surprised they didn’t call Luke Kornett for a couple over the back fouls; he had one where it looked like the definition of it

·         Thankfully that game is over

·         I’ll be totally honest:  I expected this kind of result in Game 1.  The Warriors offense was at its peak and the Celtics offense looked stagnant while their defense was not match for Golden State.  While the Warriors defense was better this game, it’s easier to look elite when a team isn’t doing anything smart on or off the ball in a half.  That was a mess of a half

 

What did you think about that game?  Probably was bad enough to not be a conversation starter, but how do you think both teams should go from here?  Let me know in the comments!