2022 NBA Finals: Why The Warriors Will Close Out This Series In Six Games

Beating the Boston Celtics 104-94 on Monday night in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors are now one win away from yet another championship.

Down 2-1 in the NBA Finals after Game 3, many were quick to write off the Golden State Warriors and their chances to win three more games against the Boston Celtics.

While this series is not yet over, the Warriors have completely flipped the script and are now up 3-2 on the Celtics after taking Game 4 on the road and recently defeating Boston 104-94 in Game 5 on Monday night.

Overall, the Celtics defense looked really strong in this game, as they held the Warriors under 30 points in every single quarter and really made Stephen Curry a non-factor after his historic 43-point performance in Game 4.

In Game 5, Curry had just 16 points on 7-22 shooting, 0-9 from three-point range. This ended his streak of 233 consecutive games with a three-pointer and Boston’s game plan to face guard Curry and take him out of the equation worked.

However, in doing so, the rest of the Golden State Warriors’ roster really found their groove and elevated the team to a win.

Other than the third quarter, the Warriors’ defense looked impenetrable and if it was not for Boston’s heroics shooting three-pointers to begin the second-half, they may have lost this game by 20-plus points!

Everything about Game 5 worked out in favor of the Warriors and now leading 3-2 heading back to Boston, Golden State is looking very good in terms of closing out this series in six games.

Not only will Stephen Curry bounce back and look like himself in Game 6 as he hunts for his first Finals MVP award, but a guy named Klay Thompson, you may know him as “Game 6 Klay,” is expected to show up in a big way.

After scoring a combined 26 points on 10-33 shooting, 4-15 from three-point range through the first two games of the NBA Finals, Thompson has averaged 21.3 points and has shot 41.2% from three-point range over the last three games.

In his career, Thompson has averaged 20.7 points on 44.6% shooting from the field and 49.5% from three-point range in 12 total Game 6’s. His shooting percentages in these games is what makes him lethal and it just feels like we are destined for a 30-point game from Thompson, especially since he has had at least one 30-point game in each of the last four playoff series he has been a part of dating back to the 2019 NBA Finals.

Building off of the success in Game 5, the Warriors also have unleashed Andrew Wiggins as a multi-purpose factor on either end of the floor and while he has been bashed a lot at times, Draymond Green has played his role defensively and as a main facilitator to perfection. His eight points in Game 5 was an added bonus that really helped the Warriors pull away from the Celtics.

Everything is clicking for the Warriors right now and Golden State's leader does not seem to be phased about the opportunity presenting itself ahead of Game 6 in Boston.

“We understand what we need to do. It's just about going out and executing, trying to bottle up your emotions, knowing how hard a close-out game is,” Steph Curry said in his postgame remarks on Monday. “We've had opportunities in prior series, that first time, to try to close a series out and struggled a little bit… I think our energy, and especially these last two games, has been amazing on both ends of the floor.

“You can talk about it, embrace the challenge and a lot of the guys in our locker room have been here before, but just got to go do it.”

With the Celtics struggling to figure out a plan to stop the Warriors on the interior, as well as Golden State’s offense clicking at all the right times, Game 6 presents a chance for the Warriors to prove that they are back.

Injuries derailed things for two years and many began to question if Golden State would get back to the NBA Finals.

They are in the Finals now and just one game away from a championship, the Warriors have everything they need to close out this series in Game 6 and begin yet another celebration in the “City by the Bay.”

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