NBA Finals 2022, Game 5 on Tuesday, 14.06.2022
Basketball fans get the exciting NBA Finals they were promised, and for experts and bookmakers alike, the guesswork continues! The series between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics remains a closed book!
One could easily fall prey to the impression that in the end, the team that starts as the underdog on the respective matchday always wins.
In my Warriors Celtics tip for Game 5, I’m going to break out of that pattern and make the only player bet that’s actually a possibility for me tonight!
I have to say in all honesty that I’ve burned my fingers pretty badly on this series and would recommend anyone who isn’t really well versed in the NBA – or can predict the future – to steer clear of a 1X2 tip.
After all, the exact opposite of what a healthy analysis of the previous game would suggest always happens. The best example of the arbitrariness with which both franchises are playing out this final series is provided by the last two firefights so far.
For the Bostonians simply flattened the Californians in the penultimate match in the battle for the zone! With twice as many points from the paint and sixteen more rebounds, Golden State had absolutely nothing to do in the immediate vicinity of the basket “at first”.
But right afterwards, when there was also the suspicion that Warriors icon Stephen Curry was even carrying an injury, the Yellow and Blue suddenly exploded in exactly the areas where you would have least expected it.
Cue zone! Their own centre Draymond Green again made a subterranean game in Game 4 – nothing new so far – but his teammates managed to win this time even despite his lapses and even took some of the work off him.
Because suddenly the Warriors dominated both the rebounding and points-from-the-paint duels with 55:42 and 38:32!
A decisive performance improvement on the part of the Warriors, which also set the course for the victory, concerned the two superstars Andrew Wiggins and the supposedly injured Stephen Curry!
No way! Curry scored 43 points and thus broke the 40-point mark for the second time in this final! With this moment of success and the home court advantage behind him, I remain confident that the three-point king will be able to build on this performance tonight.
Whether the Warriors will then win again, however, is written in the stars. Because Andrew Wiggins had possibly his best playoff game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, but “consistency” hasn’t exactly been one of the first-round pick’s strengths during this postseason!
Basically, I would steer clear of a win bet just as I would an over/under bet. The only player bet I’d even consider with any confidence would be – as noted – one on Stephen Curry.
After all, the Warriors’ three-peat king is the only one with any consistency! On the other side, meanwhile, there are also some top stars such as Jaysom Tatum, but the Californians are getting a better grip on him.
Tatum’s power forays into the zone are having less and less effect and his scoring output is also decreasing – even though he is being given more and more playing time by his coach! His output in the first three Finals games: 28, 26, 23.
This time it’s suddenly the Warriors again, who are the favourites to win with odds of around 1.65 on the markets. In any case, this exact same payout level did not bring the Celtics any luck in the last game!
Boston’s 97-107 defeat the day before yesterday and their upcoming trip to the West Coast mean that they are going into Game 5 with comparatively higher odds of 2.30, which by no means make them the glaring underdogs – especially if the Warriors should weaken again.
Conclusion: This series remains unpredictable and is dependent on too many constantly changing variables to throw a Warriors Celtics tip out there that I would 100% back.
When it comes to rebounds, the Celtics just can’t seem to hold their own over the long haul, while Andrew Wiggins just helped the Californians win, but still looks like he can fall back into his old pattern at any time.
The only consistent player who I trust to deliver another strong performance due to his consistency and experience is Stephen Curry, who could break the 40-point mark for the third time in these NBA Finals.
My Warriors Celtics pick: Stephen Curry over 30 points!
