2022 NBA Finals Game 3 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 3, which the Celtics won 116-100 in an unusual game where the Warriors dominated in the 3^rd quarter, but the Celtics outplayed them in the remainder.

 

 

Quarter 1

·         That’s not good seeing Tatum already dealing with shoulder issues.  Hopefully it’s a minor thing, but even there I can see it nagging

·         Robert Williams being aggressive on the boards is going to be essential, so getting an early offensive rebound is huge

·         Already two early fouls against the Warriors; I wonder if Draymond Green’s comments had something to do with that

·         The Celtics’ offense has been awesome early, but I do have some concerns with a few early bad isolation plays they are making.  Their offense was clicking in each game early, but it fell apart in Game 2

·         Curry has appeared to be tentative on a couple early offensive plays as he’s passed up a couple good looks already.  He has gotten a bit more aggressive in the last couple minutes but still

·         That was a nice block by Draymond, I have no idea how he managed to avoid fouling him in that transition opportunity with Jaylen Brown running right at him

·         There have been 3 straight possessions prior to the timeout that had amazing offense, capped by White passing back to Horford when he was open in the paint

·         I’m a bit surprised by how much Jordan Poole has struggled offensively.  While he is not a good defender, he has not been particularly effective on the offensive end this series despite being so skilled and having no trouble prior

·         You know those explosive dunks that don’t go in?  I think we just witnessed one, but it was still so spectacular

·         The Celtics have had a few passes that were pretty bad passes to wide open guys; while not all have been turnovers, it should be a habit to nip in the butt

·         Even when he’s struggling the Celtics don’t want to foul Klay Thompson.  That is how he gets points even when he can’t hit anything since he’s such a good shooter

Quarter 2

·         I was a bit surprised to see Nemanja Bjelica driving on Robert Williams, though I was more surprised when I saw the only big out there for Golden State was Draymond Green despite Williams being out there

·         Is Thompson starting to get going?  He’s made a couple shots, but it seems nobody else is on Golden State

·         What kind of defense was that by Jason Tatum when Andrew Wiggins was driving in?  When someone is driving at you, don’t stick your hands out to push the offensive player, which is a foul

·         There are a few things certain Celtics players do that drive me crazy; some of these include Marcus Smart opting for iso plays, Jayson Tatum acting bewildered about an obvious foul call, Jaylen Brown thinking he’s an elite ball handler.  2 down this quarter, Brown’s flaw to go

·         I was starting to write that the alley-oop attempt from Tatum to Brown was amazing…I jinxed it.  Sorry everyone.  Or as my dad put up, “alley-oops” (I laughed so hard at that one)

·         I’m not surprised to see the Warriors go on a run.  Their offense is too good to not go on one during a game and the Celtics had some bad turnovers

·         I just watched the Steph Curry 3^rd foul and am still not quite sure what the foul was

·         Wow, the offensive rebounds keep coming for the Celtics.  They really need to finish on all of them given how their offense is sputtering a bit and Golden State’s is thriving

·         While the Warriors should have noticed Klay Thompson’s contested shot didn’t hit the rim, I have a little bit of sympathy since I was shocked when I heard the shot clock go off

·         Tatum, stop throwing basketballs at the backboard with the intentions of forcing a foul.  The refs aren’t going to call offense-initiated content in the playoffs

·         That steal by Horford that resulted in Tatum’s assist to Brown was absolutely beautiful

·         Interesting having Derrick White guarding Steph Curry full court on the inbound play after the timeout.  It ultimately was inconsequential but still something I find intriguing

·         Even when the players Otto Porter are defending score, he’s still staying with them.  I believe I said after opening night that I was nervous about him looking like he was a couple steps behind everyone.  Every game I have watched since made me wonder how I badly misevaluated that

Quarter 3

·         You’d think by now that the Celtics would know that the Warriors are going to set screens for Curry and that you can’t leave him open on these screens.  How about not dropping on the screens?

·         That was a bad 4^th foul by Curry.  I’m surprised they deemed it shooting, but a nice play by Smart

·         That was a nice heads up play by Horford and Brown to realize the Warriors were still in dismay about the out of bounds call and not paying attention to the play, resulting in an open transition dunk

·         For some reason I feel like Draymond shooting a wide open 3 was not what the Warriors had in mind after the timeout

·         Horford has been much more aggressive on mismatches in the paint this game, which Boston absolutely needs

·         I don’t know the stats about this yet, but it feels like there have been so many offensive fouls this game

·         That flagrant foul might be a game changer

·         Why does Marcus Smart thing he’s an elite offensive player, especially in isolation?

·         Celtics big men:  stop dropping on Steph Curry off screens.  I know it’s tough to understand, but he’s elite shooter off the dribble who will make shots when a screen is set for him

·         I think it’s safe to say that Klay Thompson is alive again

·         I think it’s interesting that the Warriors are still trying to get Jordan Poole going by giving him a bunch of time without Steph Curry.  He has struggled mightily this series and might get going with the ball more in his hands

Quarter 4

·         The fact that Robert Williams has been able to do what he’s been able to do given what his knees are like at this point

·         Tatum’s bucket there looked so difficult prior to the timeout, I have no idea how he made that, but it was amazing

·         The Celtics are playing up on screens again and now Curry won’t shoot after the screens.  That is why you don’t drop on Curry after a screen

·         The Celtics have had a bunch of amazing defensive possessions.  Jaylen Brown’s block on Thompson was beautiful

·         Oh no, even though I’m a Celtics fan I really hope Curry isn’t seriously injured on that play.  It might be the strangest play, practically everyone diving for the ball, never a situation where there was a jump ball, a foul ended the play instead

·         Normally I would say that Draymond fouling out is massive for the Celtics, but I forgot he was even on the court

·         This garbage time has been abysmal.  I know it doesn’t matter at this point but still, several sloppy plays

·         Another game that was close either at the half or at the end of 3 and another game that ended as a blowout.  This series has been so strange

·         Ultimately, the Celtics changed their style offensively to focus more on driving into the paint and Golden State really did a poor job defending it.  They will need to do better with rim protection, but I’m not sure it will be as easy unless they play Kevon Looney more (which might be wiser)

What did you think about this game?  What adjustments do you think the Warriors can make, or do you think the series is the Celtics'?  Let me know in the comments!