Winners Club: Celtics Storm Back in Fourth Quarter to Steal Game 1 From Warriors

Plus, Avalanche take 2-0 lead in WCF, MLB futures update and more.

The Celtics went into the Chase Center on Thursday night, weathered the Warriors’ patented third-quarter run and then outdid that run in the fourth to steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Of course, there’s more to the story than that. There was Steph Curry’s electric first quarter, Jayson Tatum’s shooting struggles and his teammates’ ability to shoot Boston back into the game and then put it out of reach in the final frame.

We’ll get to how a historic series opener flipped the pre-series betting odds on their heads, plus a Stanley Cup playoffs update, a check-in with the MLB awards futures markets and what’s going on in the fantasy football world in today’s Winners Club.

Thanks for reading—here we go!

Boston’s Three-Point Barrage Sparks Comeback Win

The Celtics’ 120-108 win at the Chase Center was miraculous for a number of reasons.

Boston trailed by 12 points entering the fourth quarter, Tatum had his worst shooting performance of the playoffs and the Warriors had yet to lose a game at home this postseason. Then, the Celtics hit their first six threes of the fourth and went on a 17-0 run to outscore the Dubs 40-16 and flip a double-digit deficit into a convincing win.

The magic behind that comeback— and Boston keeping pace early in the game after Curry’s big first quarter—was the three-point shot. The Celtics connected on 21 of 41 and outshot the Warriors from deep, who finished 19 of 45.

It wasn’t even Tatum or Jaylen Brown who were locked in from outside. Rather, Al Horford, Derrick White and Marcus Smart combined for 15 threes, each one more backbreaking than the last. Tatum’s game-high 13 assists helped cover up for his 3-of-17 shooting and the C’s depth prevailed. Three players score 20-plus, including White off the bench, and just like that Boston is the new favorite to win the championship.

Jed Jacobsohn/AP

The odds on SI Sportsbook shifted from the Celtics being +145 to win the title to -175. The Warriors’ odds moved from -161 to +140. Golden State has historically gotten off to good starts to series under Steve Kerr—this was just their third Game 1 loss with him coaching. The most likely series outcome is now Boston winning, 4-2 (+300), followed by the Warriors winning, 4-3 (+350).

The story for Golden State was simply a fourth-quarter collapse of epic proportions. The Warriors outscored Boston 38-24 in the third and then didn’t have enough left in the final quarter to survive the many haymakers the C’s threw. Curry finished with a game-high 34 points and Andrew Wiggins added 20, but Draymond Green tallied four points on 2-of-12 shooting and fouled out and Klay Thompson had a pedestrian 15 points.

There was some help off the bench for the Warriors in the form of Otto Porter Jr. (4 of 5 from three) and Kevon Looney held his own on the boards with Boston’s bigs, but the big blow was Jordan Poole had just nine points, which made the non-Curry minutes difficult to survive.

Jed Jacobsohn/AP

Four stats that told the story of Game 1:

• Steph Curry made six threes in the first quarter, an NBA record. He made one for the remainder of the game.
• Al Horford set a career-high with six threes made, which was also an NBA record for most threes made in a Finals debut.
• The Celtics became the first team in Finals history to win a game by double digits after entering the fourth quarter trailing by double digits.
• Boston’s nine fourth-quarter threes tied Golden State’s 2017 Finals record for threes made in a quarter.

Sunday
8 p.m. ET (ABC): Celtics vs. Warriors (-4) | Boston leads series, 1-0

Lightning Look to Even up ECF at MSG

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is tonight between the Lightning and Rangers. The Rangers took Game 1 on Wednesday, 6-2. That was the most goals Tampa Bay allowed this postseason and a stark contrast from its dominant sweep of the Panthers.

The Rangers passed the Lightning in championship odds, but the Lightning are still favored on the road to knot the series at a game apiece.

The Avalanche continued their march through the playoffs Thursday with a 4-0 win against the Oilers. Colorado leads Edmonton, 2-0, in the series and has a 12-6 goal advantage. The Avalanche are favored on the road in Saturday’s game and are massive -150 favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Frank Franklin II/AP

Friday
8 p.m. ET (ESPN): Lightning (-133) vs. Rangers | Tampa Bay leads series, 1-0

Saturday
8 p.m. ET (TNT): Avalanche (-133) vs. Oilers | Colorado leads series, 2-0

Sunday
3 p.m. ET (ESPN): Rangers vs. Lightning | Game 3

MLB Futures Market Check-In

Most MLB teams are at or past the 50-game mark at the start of June, which makes this a perfect time to check in with the awards races.

Jen Piacenti wrote about the field for MVP, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young in the American League and National League. Below are the top three candidates for each award, along with a line from Piacenti about each race and the value she sees.

AL MVP Favorites:
Shohei Ohtani +220
Aaron Judge +333
Mike Trout +400

“Ohtani’s teammate Mike Trout is having a ‘slow’ start to the year, hitting ‘only’ 13 home runs with a .302 batting average. I like the +400 odds for the three-time MVP to make it four.”

AL ROY Favorites:
Julio Rodriguez +200
Jeremy Pena +240
Bobby Witt Jr. +650

“Pena leads all AL rookies in WAR (2.2) and is even above Francisco Lindor and Nolan Arenado. Pena is batting .281 with eight home runs and three stolen bases.”

AL Cy Young Favorites:
Justin Verlander +400
Kevin Gausman +500
Gerrit Cole +700

“Verlander, at +1600 odds, was my pick preseason and I hope you locked in that value. At +400 odds, however, I am staying away from the Astros’ ace.”

Ted S. Warren/AP

NL MVP Favorites:
Mookie Betts +320
Manny Machado +350
Paul Goldschmidt +650

“If you took Betts before the season, it looks like great value today. Betts is on pace for 54 home runs with a .306 batting average.”

NL ROY Favorites:
Seiya Suzuki +175
MacKenzie Gore +250
Nolan Gorman +300

“I also love Nolan Gorman’s chances with +300 odds. Gorman has been great in his first 36 plate appearances, with a .387 batting average and two home runs.”

NL Cy Young Favorites:
Corbin Burnes +350
Max Scherzer +500
Carlos Rodon +800

“Corbin Burnes, the reigning Cy Young winner, is proving last year wasn’t a fluke. He has pitched to a 1.95 ERA this year with a nearly 32% K rate. I am still in on the Brewer at +350 odds, though +700 preseason would have been much better.”

Fantasy Football Stalwarts Retire

Before getting into predictions and news for the coming fantasy season, let’s pay respect to two fantasy football legends in their own right who announced their retirements Thursday.

Frank Gore, a 16-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowler, finished his career as the third-leading rusher in NFL history. He eclipsed 1,000 yards nine times and was reliable as can be for fantasy managers for better than a decade.

For a 12-year stretch from 2006-17, Gore never finished outside of the top 20 running backs and finished as an RB1 seven times. He assembled his finest season his second year in the league with the 49ers, one of five teams he played for. Gore finished as the RB4 by eclipsing 2,000 total yards, racking up 61 catches and scoring nine touchdowns.

He will sign one-day contract to retire as a 49er and will go down as one of the best running backs in league history and a durable figure in fantasy football.

Ed Szczepanski/USA Today network

Ryan Fitzpatrick did not have quite the career Gore did. The journeyman gunslinger played for nine teams across his 17-year career and “Fitzmagic” became something of a folk hero along the way before he announced his retirement.

Fitzpatrick finished among the top 12 quarterbacks in fantasy twice: in 2011 with the Bills and in 2015 with the Jets. You weren’t building a winner around Fitzpatrick, you probably weren’t even drafting him, but he was often there for you on the waiver wire when you needed some magic.

And Fitzpatrick, who was never out of a job for long bouncing around the league, is reportedly already in talks to join Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football team.

Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports

Michael Fabiano compiled 32 facts—one for each team in the league—to help inform your decisions for next season.

Here’s some of the notable ones:

• No wide receiver in a Kevin Stefanski offense has finished better than WR20. Can Amari Cooper buck that trend in Year 1 with the Browns?
• Tight end has been a fantasy wasteland in the Jets’ offense. Will C.J. Uzomah help change that?
• Drew Lock’s top wide receiver averaged barely more than 10 fantasy points per game last year with the Broncos. Does that spell trouble for Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf?

To go along with his predictions for breakouts and busts, Fabiano put together a list of 10 fantasy sleepers for 2022. He believes there’s a lot of value to be found with this rookie class, dubbing Treylon Burks, Drake London and Dameon Pierce potential sleepers. Find out what he sees in each player and which round he’d be comfortable drafting each player.

In Other News

NBA Prospects Return to College: The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline passed at midnight Wednesday and a few big names elected to stay in school and forgo the draft, for now. See what names will be back for another run at March Madness and the 2023 draft a year from now.

Coco Gauff Reaches First Grand Slam Final: The 18-year-old phenom defeated Martina Trevisan in the semifinals at the French Open to set up a Saturday match with No. 1 Iga Swiatek for the championship, where she is +500 to win.

Gonzaga Lands Transfer Malachi Smith: The top player in the transfer portal announced his commitment to the Bulldogs via Instagram on Thursday. Smith was the Southern Conference Player of the Year and averaged close to 20 ppg last season. Gonzaga is No. 5 in SI’s Way-Too-Early Top 25; a transfer like Smith bolsters its case as one of the teams in the country.

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Thanks for reading Winners Club! Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll be back Monday morning.