The first two games of the NBA finals have been close. A couple of second-half runs put the game out of reach for both the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics in the first and second games of the series. The Celtics are close to being down 2-0. They won the first game of the series by 12 after making five consecutive 3-point shots.
The Warriors would start with a run and the Celtics would close the gap. They answered a couple of Golden State threes that would have been backbreakers with threes of their own in the first game. After the Celtics cut the lead to six, the Warriors went on another run that would have them up 19 after just over a minute of fourth quarter action.
Even though the Celtics were able to win the first game, they won't be able to count on another shooting display like Game 1. They should not have to fight their way out of a deficit in the next two games. Changes need to be made for that to happen.
The Warriors have more rebounders than the Celts. Kevon has been doing his best Dennis Rodman imitation. The offensive boards are where they have to hold down everyone else. In the third and fourth quarters of the first and second games, the Warriors grabbed five offensive boards.
In the third quarter, three of the offensive boards came from Andrew. The Celtics only play him twice a year, so they shouldn't be used to him. They watched tape and saw that he is engaged on every play. He crashed the glass and drew an offensive foul even though he didn't get the offensive board. Even though he is a freak athlete, he has to be kept off of the offensive glass.
Two teams are turning the ball over a lot. The Celtics only committed one more turnover than the Warriors did in the second game, but that was the problem. The Warriors led by six points at the end of the third. The man answered with a three. Marcus Smart missed three and then dribbled into traffic twice. He couldn't get out of trouble the second time and forced a bad pass to Grant Williams, which was picked off. The Warriors knocked a miss out of bounds. White is called for traveling when he makes a chest pass to Horford. They went from down six to down fourteen after Stephen Curry hit a three.
The Celtics had two turnovers in the first two minutes of the third quarter. The Celtics turn the ball over on two of their next three possessions when they make crucial 3-pointers to stop the Warriors. The Celtics were lucky that Curry missed a step back three that would have cut the lead in half. One thing they can do is turn the ball over.
One of my favorite defensive possessions was with four minutes left in the third quarter of the first game. Horford turned off a pick. He was able to keep Curry in front of him, and also force Looney out of the play, keeping him from getting an easy basket. Staying in Curry's face is the only way to get a stick in the Warriors' offense.
The Warriors are running more pick and roll with him than they normally do. The big dropped when Curry came off the pick because they mistakenly thought he was Rajon Rondo. The Celtics made the same mistake in the third quarter of the second game as they did in the first. Draymond Green should have been called for an offensive foul for blocking Williams and White. White and Horford waited too long to get to Curry so Green could make contact with them. Curry pulled up from 30 feet after burying an open three. If it takes a fist fight to stay in front of Curry then so be it. They can't let him get off to a bad start.
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