What a fourth quarter in game one, going from 12 down to 12 up on the road in game 1 is what the Celtics did shocking the sports world. With the 12 point lead going into the fourth the game was at a point where most thought it was over. For the Warriors what happened to start with was the start of Curry’s bench time, something that as an NBA fan has caused me wonder several times, “is playing the whole 3rd quarter and resting at the start of the 4th the best substitution pattern.” However Steve Kerr has so many rings between coaching and playing that really no one has any place in second guessing him. (Last year when Curry was sitting out 6 minutes instead of the 3 now they were losing control of most games during his downtime in the 4th). However after winning the 3rd by 14 they lost the 4th by 24 so they may have to find some answer to not have that discrepancy.
With all the talk of Tatum game 1 he wasn’t the big scorer, only 12 points, but 13 assist does jump off the stat sheet. However +/- for Tatum was +16 and +22 for Brown. The Celtics starting lineup is filled with top 10 draft picks, so its not a surprise that Horford, who has been the best player on several mediocre teams, was the one to step up hitting 6 of 8 from 3.
The Warriors 4th quarter collapse was historic, but for all that they have to let it go and focus on what is in front of them. A loss in game two would seal them in a hole that seems unclimbable, down 0-2 with 3 games to come in Boston. For gamblers this is a situation that you look for, an isolated game where the all signs point to the Warriors. Nothing is guaranteed and to anyone who followed and lost in game 1 well, that is why they play the game, and when you wager on sports you can yell, scream, throw your remote and cuss but you still can’t change what’s happening on the court. That being said my picks for game 2 are a re-run of my game 1 picks, Warriors -4 and Warriors -175.