With the exception of a few transcendental individual performances and team outbursts, the 2022 Finals was a tough, defensive affair. In the 5th game, both teams executed their defensive plans skillfully, if not perfectly. Golden State sold out and relied on their superb defense defense, while the Celtics tried to turn the Warriors’ shooters into guides, offering controversial long-range shots when the Warriors were content. Having taken a lead in the fourth quarter in the 4th game and the opportunity to claim the lead 3-1 in a row, the Celtics won the possession 18 times – the margin of error in a game 5 in which both teams struggled to maintain a solid attack. The defeat also wasted something the Celtics’s fans were looking for in their superstar – a Jayson Tatum game. 2 About The top of the first All-NBA team led all scorers with 27 points in his most dominant performance in the series. To add to the misery, Stephen Curry made one of his smallest appearances, showing another opening for the Celtics to capitalize on. For the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins’s maturity was one of the few offensive bright spots on a night when Curry lost 15 of his 22 attempts off the pitch, including a painful 0-for-9 night behind the 3-point line. . Wiggins continues to be a revelation for Golden State. For all the Warriors’ attractive attacking style, they have limited individual dribbling, especially after the departure of Kevin Durant after the 2018-19 season. While it is unreasonable to expect Wiggins to fill the void left by Durant, it is fascinating for the Warriors to watch him attack the paint and smash the boards. Wiggins finished with 26 points in a 12 to 23 shot from the field and zero reversals. He also played great for the Warriors, securing 13 rebounds. In a postseason when he has taken over the main defense from Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), the Wiggins can claim another stamp in his passport as one of the outstanding individual defenders of the postseason. Once again, he lifted most of the load against Tatum, forcing the Celtics star into a series of difficult struggles. One of Wiggins’ characteristic sequences came in the middle of the fourth quarter, when he pushed an air ball from Tatum, then took a pass from Curry to the left wing and drove to his right for a floater over the big Celtics man, Al Horford who extended the Warriors’ lead. to 11. Next, Wiggins created the dagger with just over two minutes left with an emphatic run over the Celtics’ Derrick White. I am playing 0:30 Andrew Wiggins goes hard on the edge and throws a huge dunk to put the game away from the Warriors. Having spent much of the series in an emotional spiral playing some of the least effective basketballs of his post-season career, Draymond Green is back in form as one of the game’s most impressive, creative players. He shook his aggressive lethargy early with a few buckets in the first five minutes. From there, Green performed his usual functions as an attacking mediator and general in defense. Interested parties will probably be able to hear a more detailed analysis in the Green podcast. But for a few hours during the live action, Green focused exclusively on his work and gave great results. The Celtics made it 1-to-10 when Green was the opposing defender. He fouled in the last minutes of the match with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 35 minutes. Throughout the season, the Warriors have emphasized that their team is different from those that won three titles during Curry’s youthful heyday. This has proven to be true in this series of tractors. However, despite all the aesthetic flaws and ugly offensive efforts, this Warriors team still has one thing in common with its previous incarnations: the ability to win high-stakes games in any way. Another victory in any way on Thursday night and these differences become irrelevant.
