well Jerry....you forgot one thing in your take away.........Steph lit them up in the second half. To me Steph is the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA It is now a best of 3 seriesThe difference makers? In my mind:
Boston turnovers.
The Warriors increased defensive pressure in the second half.
Warriors offensive rebounds.
Some questionable shot selection by the Celtics. Especially Marcus Smart.
That's an interesting stat.and of course the Celtics turnovers doomed them...
Turnovers doom Celtics once again in Game 4 loss to Warriors
The Celtics are now 1-6 this postseason when committing 16 or more turnovers. When they commit 15 or fewer, they are 13-2.
Turnovers doom Celtics once again in Game 4 loss to Warriors | NBA.com
The Celtics are now 1-6 this postseason when committing 16 or more turnovers. When they commit 15 or fewer, they are 13-2.www.nba.com
At this point of the series, I cannot help but think about the stat that was talked about at the beginning of this matchup but no one in the shows have hence spoken about. That the Warrior players have logged in 123 games in the Finals, while the C's have zero. So these mistakes of the C's, specially I read mostly hurled on Tatum even by the diehard C's fans in the forums and social media sites, I would attribute to the zero experience in the big stage. The ball handling and the bad passes has been spotty, and in this Finals, his long shots have not been falling as they had in the Bucks and Heat series - some call it a slump. In contrast, Curry is now on his sixth finals, and throwing those 2 meters behind the arc 3 balls is like shooting a foul shot for him. He's really confident and best of all for his team and him, these incredibly long shots are falling in at a consistent rate. Luka, Trey Young, or Ja Morant, with all their equally long range, have not done it consistently, in the playoffs. I cannot think of any other way to slow down Curry except if there are 3 players on rotation doing a full court press on him from the other side of the court.The player who really surprises me as to how good he is , is Robert Williams lll. He is sone big player who reminds me of Joel Embiid. He comes out of nowhere to block shots. He looked like he sustained a foot injury in the last game. I hope he plays at 100% in game 5
I also like Jalen Brown as MVP should the Celts win. If MVP was determined by only the first half of every game then Jason Tatum would be a shoe in. Tatum has to up his game in the second half as that lack of play on his part has cost the Celts......
The player who really surprises me as to how good he is , is Robert Williams lll.
3rd year man. Has knee issues from draft day and missed some time in his young career as a Celtic. He's actually my favorite player as I like big men.I'm struggling to find anyone with his combination of timing, athleticism, length, to block shots this consistently.
His block of Steph's runner was impossible.
Is he in his third year?
Hoping he continues his off-season improvement to become more of an offensive threat from 12-15'.
Imagine if he started hitting from the knuckle.
A left/right layup slipping past the help when he rolls or slips a screen.
Perhaps a push shot from the roll as well?
Well, even before the Finals begun, Vegas has him the favorite to win it.Win or lose, I'd be happy for Steph Curry to get MVP if he continues.
Agree with the out of bounds review. And I'd like to see the no talking to the refs implemented. I thought there was such a rule before, automatic T if you talk to the refs. After all, the refs are not going to change their calls by such 'talks'.I have a rule change for next season.
1. Obviously, I agree with changing the 'take foul,' which the league is in the process of doing.
Note: International FIBA rules have an unsportsmanlike foul, and a disqualification foul, similar to Flagrant 1 and 2.
One of the criteria for an unsportsmanlike foul is not attempting to play the ball.
Often take fouls do not play the ball in any way.
2. Teams allowed to review one out of bounds call per game within the last 5 mins of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Another idea I had, was every four years change the conferences to North/South.
Changing the matchups would be exciting.
Imagine the Kings and Golden State in the northern conference.
The Bulls would still have had to get past the Pistons, and we still would have had Magic v Bird.
It doesn't have to though.Well the MVP only goes to a member of the winning team. I agree with Brown ahead of Tatum
I'd like to see the no talking to the refs implemented. I thought there was such a rule before, automatic T if you talk to the refs. After all, the refs are not going to change their calls by such 'talks'.