Celtics Implode After Half, Drop Game 2 in Golden State
June 5, 2022
Going into these NBA Finals, it’s safe to say that most Celtics fans would have been happy to split the first two games on the road and head to Boston with the series tied 1-1. But the way things unfolded Sunday night in the Chase Center has to leave a bad taste in the mouth of Celtics nation. After winning game one in dramatic, comeback fashion, it was always going to be a tall task to defeat the three time champions in their own building again. In fact, only twice in NBA Finals history has the road team won both games one and two. So the odds were stacked against them, and in some ways it felt like they were playing with house money, having already stolen game one. But the Celtics have been better on the road than at home lately, and they had a real chance to take a stranglehold of these finals, and they completely collapsed. Following a tightly contested first half, Boston turned in yet another disastrous third quarter effort, losing the frame by 21 points, and causing Ime Udoka to waive the white flag with almost an entire quarter left as the Warriors back ups were able to coast to a comfortable 107-88 victory, tying the NBA finals at 1-1 as things head to Boston.
From the very first possession of the game it was clear that the Warriors had raised their intensity level and aggression, especially on the defensive end. The Celtics were able to get off to a hot start, mostly thanks to Jaylen Brown, but Golden State was able to punch back thanks to their relentless physicality. The entire first half was a back and forth slugfest without much separation either way. Brown cooled off considerably after his hot start, but Jayson Tatum caught fire finishing the first half with 21 points. The Celtics didn't have much going for them offensively outside of the Jays, but their scoring was enough to keep things close. Unfortunately for Boston, many of their worst habits were popping up, notably the turnovers. The Celtics couldn't’ hold onto the ball, gifting the Warriors fast breaks and transition opportunities left and right. The Warriors were definitely getting a more favorable whistle, but I thought for the most part the Celtics did a good job of playing through it in the first half and not letting it get to them.
But the script flipped in the third quarter. For the second straight game Boston seemed completely unprepared for the Warriors buzzsaw coming out of the locker room. The Celtics continued turning the ball over, yielded too many offensive rebounds, and had zero purpose on offense. The beautiful drive and kick actions and ball movement disappeared and everything stagnated for Boston. The officiating and physicality finally got to them and the team essentially collapsed, especially in the final four and a half minutes of the quarter as Golden State stretched a six point lead out to 23, capped off by a half court Jordan Poole dagger at the buzzer. Rather than playing their attacking offense and moving the ball, the Celtics seemed to be seeking out fouls and looking for a call rather than looking to score or find teammates. They generated nothing at all inside the paint and finished the quarter with just four made field goals and five turnovers; a complete disaster that saw the Warriors win the quarter 35-14, including a 19-2 run over the final 4:30 in which the Celtics did not make a field goal.
The Warriors defense was incredible all game and especially in the second half. They bodied up the Celtics, keeping them in front, which meant the off-ball defenders didn’t have to help off shooters, and the Celtics had no answers other than iso after iso and forcing up jump shots. Boston was 15/43 inside the arc on the night and just had zero rhythm at all outside of the first quarter. It’s fair to question the officiating in the game. There were a number of dubious calls and no-calls that seemed to favor the Warriors, and it was notable just how physical Golden State was allowed to be with their defending and screening on offense, especially Draymond Green, who set the tone by mauling his opponents up and down the court all night. The Celtics adjusted and played through it for most of the first half, but when the Warriors started making shots in the third everything spiraled out of control and frustrations spilled over, contributing heavily to the Celtics collapse, with Udoka even getting a technical foul for displaying his disgust with the officiating. There were clearly some bad calls. But at the end of the day, this is the NBA Finals and the Celtics had to expect a tough whistle on the road facing a desperate battle-tested, veteran squad. They need to be able to stand up to this kind of adversity and just play through it, controlling the things they can control and not letting the other things affect them. They largely did that in the first half, and thanks to some great shotmaking by Brown and Tatum they were able to keep pace despite the glaring free throw discrepancy and foul trouble. But in the second half they completely lost their composure and Udoka even noted that the team got away from running offense and tried to force contact and draw fouls - which the refs simply weren’t calling. The Celtics will hopefully get a more favorable whistle at home, but regardless, they need to be ready to handle in-game adversity much, much better. At the end of the day, the officiating was not the reason Boston lost game two.
The real reasons the Celtics lost were the same reasons that keep popping up in most of their losses. They turned the ball over 18 times which led to 33 Warriors points. They didn’t take care of the ball and that allowed Golden State to finally get going and find a rhythm offensively. The turnovers got them running and created good open looks for their shooters. Boston compounded the turnovers with generally bad offense in the half court, getting away from the repeated drive and kicks which have been a staple. Tatum was on from deep, connecting on 6/9 threes, but still ended up with only 28 points on 8/19 overall and only 3 assists after his 13 in game one. After Brown’s torrid start with 13 points in the opening minutes, he finished the game with just 17 points on 5/17, making just 1 of his final 11 attempts from the field. And beyond the Jays it was even uglier as the Celtics were unable to create any looks for their shooters and the role players just weren’t able to create anything against the Warriors defense. Marcus Smart and Al Horford combined to hit 10 threes in game one and scored 44 points. In game two the duo was held to just 4 points total. In fact the only other Celtic with more than 6 points was Derrick White, who played another solid game off the bench, but went cold, especially driving to the hoop, notching 12 points on 4/13 shooting. The Celtics need to do a better job of getting good looks for their complementary players, but these are good proven NBA players who need to contribute more in their own right. The Celtics learned early in the season that they can’t beat teams playing 2-on-5, but that seemed like the goal for much of the night.
Beyond the poor play across the board, there were some seemingly questionable decisions in schemes and rotations. Daniel Theis minutes continue to confuse me, as he had two brutal stretches, despite his best efforts. This is just not a good matchup for Theis and the Warriors are attacking him every single time with a high pick and roll that he cannot handle at all. I’ll be surprised (and a little disappointed) if Theis keeps getting meaningful minutes in these finals. If that means starting Grant Williams or White so that Robert Williams can be the backup center going forward, so be it. Preferably, the Celtics would simply lean into small ball more. The lineups with only one big on the floor were borderline dominant in game one for Boston, including the entire fourth quarter which was by far the best stretch of basketball they’ve put forth through two games. It felt like Boston had found something down the stretch, yet they barely used the tactic at all in game two. As long as Payton Pritchard can hold up defensively, the Celtics should only be playing Pritchard, White, and Grant Williams beyond the five starters. However Udoka has to figure out the lineups and rotations to make that work, he needs to do it. The team is hemorrhaging points and easy looks with Theis in the game, and they open things up much more on offense with four perimeter players and only one big (Al or Rob). Those are the only major adjustments that feel obvious and easily fixable, but there are plenty of little things that Udoka and his staff must respond to, especially on the offensive side of the ball, where Boston turned in arguably their worst performance of 2022.
As bad as the Celtics played, the Warriors deserve credit for playing well. They showed their resolve and the heart of a champion in this one. Draymond Green was as irritating as ever, and eventually succeeded in getting under the Celtics skin. He finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists on 2/3 from the field, but his impact goes far beyond that. His “screening” (it was more like lead blocking, frankly) and smothering defense made a huge difference and completely dragged Boston out of what they wanted to do. Stephen Curry was his usual brilliant self, leading the way with 29 points, getting free for 5 threes, and playing borderline elite defense, using his entire frame to body bigger players all night. Jordan Poole was also able to get going finally, adding 17 points off the bench on 5/9 from three. Kevon Looney was also a major difference maker for Golden State, adding 12 points and 7 rebounds on perfect 6/6 shooting. Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were both mostly inefficient scoring wise, but were able to each score 11 points and impact the game positively in many other ways. As devastating as the end of game one was for the Warriors, they have to be thrilled with the way they responded and the performances they got from the players up and down the roster. That includes the dramatic return of Gary Paton II, who missed over a month with an elbow injury, but finally was able to play and made his presence felt on defense while providing an emotional lift for the Chase Center crowd.
As ugly as this one was for the Celtics, and it was UGLY, it’s still only one loss. The Celtics have had some similar stinkers in these playoffs (game one versus Miami comes to mind), and have responded every single time, with an undefeated record following a loss. The goal was to go into Golden State and steal a game, and Boston did just that. Nobody was expecting a sweep. Now the Celtics need to bounce back. They took home court advantage in the series and they will need to defend that advantage, starting on Wednesday night in TD Garden. They need to put game two behind them, make the necessary adjustments, and come out looking like the team that we’ve come accustomed to seeing in 2022. If they can do that, as they have been able to do following every poor performance thus far, the Celtics should still have a great chance to be crowned champions.
Ben Handler