Why the Celtics Match Up Favorably Against the Warriors | The Bill Simmons Podcast

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo discuss why they like how the Boston Celtics match up against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

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[skooch]

This podcast felt like an hour or so of two boston fans talking themselves into Boston winning

[micahkiyimba]

The disrespect for GS, Curry and Kerr from NBA media been crazy..I hope GS proves you wrong..again.
First off... I would throw out the regular season matchup records. Both teams are different BEASTS right now compared to when they met in the regular season..Boston seem to have figured out their identity and playstyle as the season went on..GS was not whole the entire regular season.
Secondly, GS already faced a similar-ish defensive scheme that Boston runs in form of Memphis.
Memphis "Matched up well" to GS apparently so did Dallas. Luka was ungurdab;le and all that and Dallas had shut down the #1 seed Phoenix and all that talk.
2 key stats to look at..GS is 9-0 at home so far in the playoffs and has won at least 1 road playoff game in 25 straight series.
At first when GS was labeled the Favourite after game 1 in rd 1 vs Denver, I was also surprised..but the experience and talent is undeniable and they have seemed to get better each rd tbh..the Celtics have been regressing with each series...going 7 with teams they SHOULD have beat in 5 games at most
This series is a fresh start..whatever we've seen in regular season don't matter. This is the Finals
I got GS in 7. However if Smart and Williams III are not 100%..it will end in 6.

[kevink]

I like Bill and Ryen but they've been wrong almost every step of the way this postseason.

[northside]

Imagine what this take is gonna look like in three weeks

[mazzb]

I bet Bill was 💩 bricks when Jimmy went up for that last 3 😂😂😂

[mrpogz]

Celtics built this team when the Warriors were dominating the league. It's not a surprise they are built to primarily beat the Dubs... 👀👀👀

[discomastergg]

Before the WCF: Mavs in 5! Who’s gonna guard Luka?

After the WCF: Luka has no help. Warriors are stacked.

I’ll assume it will be the same narrative for this series if Golden State wins.

[JayyBanks]

I’m assuming this Podcast is 2 Boston fans telling us that Boston is gonna win.

[jordancarlin]

Boston got taken to 7 by Jimmy, Bam and a collection of injured or undrafted players. not sure why theyre so bullish on celtics

[TheMuzzTV]

Love Bill but he didn’t mention a single thing positive or good about the Warriors or the way they matchup against Boston. Boston probably is the best team they’ve played but they also take games off play hella weird and Marcus Smart does Marcus Smart stuff.

[subjectM]

I really don’t get why he even pretends to be objective. His bias is so obvious. GS has only played depleted teams??? Milwaukee without Middleton and Miami with every key player on one leg… and they barely got by them. Apologies for questioning how Tatum and Brown handle the pressure of being in the finals against the most accomplished team of this generation.

GS in 5

[BiRuhBiDem]

That stat he referenced regarding the Celtics winning record is so misleading. These two teams are not the same team as previous iterations. Bill is a homer which is fine, just got to take his takes regarding the Celtics with a grain of salt.

[ren]

I can see Boston's length being a problem as well as their defense. That being said, I feel the Warriors experience, depth and style of play is at a slightly better level. They've been incredible on both ends of the floor and the skill level is off the charts.

[calebm]

1:13 u can say the same for Boston. They went thru a Nets team without Ben, Bucks w no Khris and Herro injured w Heat. Not discrediting jus saying both teams facing the best version of themselves

[Asushlo]

Lol at putting Horford and Draymond in the same breath.

[milesh]

I get the feeling this Bill fella might be a Celtics fan?

[fighterck]

The warriors lost 3 of 4 against every team they've beaten in the playoffs and nearly all their losses came after Draymond's injury.

[RicardoMils]

On paper, this finals matchup is about as even as it can be on a talent standpoint with 2 stylistically different teams.

The Boston Celtics have the 2 Jay's as their centerpieces with Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Derrick White, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams to orbit around the 2 stars. While the team has gotten better with their offensive chemistry from where they were at the start of the season, they still rely pretty heavily on isolation plays from the 2 Jay's, especially Tatum (the mamba mentality can both be a blessing and a curse). This is also the first Finals berth for them and playing in the Finals is a completely different stage compared to the previous rounds. And especially so with the opponent they are facing, who has been pretty well rested btw.

The Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, is a team that lives and breathes ball AND player movement through their famous motion offense. And this is all possible through Stephen Curry and his intangible gravity that influences the flow of the game beyond the counting stats and numbers. Then you have Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Gary Payton II (hopefully), and Nemanja Bjelica. While Curry, Poole, and Thompson can get a bucket in an isolation, the fact that the Warriors don't rely as heavily on the isolation as the Celtics could be a factor that leans in the favor of the Warriors.

Both teams are excellent at defense, no question about it. There's nothing more to add, other than theorizing what the matchups will be like. And there are a lot of different ways the teams can match up with who will be guarding who. And as the saying goes, "no defense, no rings."

All I can hope for is that both teams stay healthy (or as much as they can) and for the refs to not be complete ass trash. Seriously, these refs need to stop power tripping and just let the players play basketball.


edit: Spelling
edit 2: Forgot to mention the rookies, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Both of them have been surprisingly good in the minutes that they played, especially Kuminga.

[tribalypredisposed]

It is important that the Celtics have seven road wins in the playoffs, but it would have been fair to mention that the Warriors have zero losses at home in the playoffs along with that. But no, instead you stretch to criticize the Warriors new arena for somehow making the Warriors less likely to win at home? This is called "confirmation bias" in science, where you have a belief and look for all the evidence to confirm it and none of the evidence to falsify it.

[k_hack]

So no one wanted to mention how passive Tatum was during game 7? If not for a couple poor shots falling in, Tatum looked completely overwhelmed. It was Smart and Brown attacking and carrying this team most of the way.