on June 11, 2022

This Finals Will Be Decided By Role Players

With the Series tied at 2 and on its way back to the Bay, The Warriors are in prime position to snatch this series from Boston. Despite the amazing 43 point performance by none other than the Chef himself, and his +32ppg over the course of the series, This series hasn’t been about the stars. This series has been and will be about the role players.

Game 1: Horford and White

You would be lying if you say you knew that Al Horford and Derek White would have played the games of their careers in game 1 on the road. No one saw it coming, especially the Warriors. Horford we 9-12 from the field and 6-8 from 3, putting up 26 points, while White went 5-8 from 3 with 21 points. They played out of their minds for that game. Jordan Poole only had 9 points and Otto Porter had 12 for the Warriors. Sadly for Boston fans, they were brought back to earth in game 2 when Horford, Williams III, and Smart had 2 points each, Pritchard had 4, and White had 12.

Game 2: Poole Party

Game 2 was much different for Jordan Poole. After only scoring 9 in game 1, he made his presence felt with 17, including back-to-back threes with the latter being a buzzer beater from half court to end the 3rd Quarter. As stated in the last paragraph, the Celtics role players absolutely underperformed.

Game 3: Boston Strikes Back

Boston played their hearts out in the first game of the series on the East Coast, with Smart scoring 24, Horford putting up 11, and Robert Williams III recording 4 blocks. On the other hand, The Warriors bench scored 18 combined points. Not gonna get the job done.

Game 4: Chefs Kiss

Despite Derrick White scoring 16, Horford and Williams III only scored 15 combined. Poole Scored 14 for the Warriors but its hard to lose when Steph Curry takes over a game and goes off for 43.

The rest of the series will trend the same way. Whichever teams bench/role players can have better games overall (barring a star going ballistic like game 4), they will win the game, and the series. With the fact that role players play better at home, and just because I think they are the better bench, I have the Warriors winning the battle of the benches, and in turn, the series.

Key player to watch: Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins is playing really well this postseason, with 16 rebounds last night and some great offensive and defensive games, He is proving himself to be a very valuable player for this Warriors team. Will Steph get robbed of another FMVP?