Do-or-die for the Celtics!
Boston Celtics host the Golden State Warriors for Game 6 of the NBA Finals. If the visitors win, the series will be decided in favour of the Californians and they would be celebrating their fourth title in back-to-back eight seasons!
If the home side instead want to force a deciding game with a win, they will have to improve, especially offensively: In the past two duels, they only ever recorded a double-digit point output.
Boston Celtics – Statistics & current form
The record champions now have their backs against the wall. After Boston had a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, this advantage was squandered by two recent defeats. One reason for the defeats was, as already mentioned, the lacklustre offensive performance.
Against the admittedly very good defence of the Warriors, the Celtics recently only found a limited answer. This is especially true for the bench players. They only scored ten points in the last match-up, while their opponents scored 31 points with their second suit.
No more than 106 points by the home side?
With this in mind, betting on less than 10.6.5 points by the hosts in the upcoming Game 6 clash between Boston and the Warriors also suggests itself.
This is also supported by the fact that the home side have already failed to reach 100 points in three of the five final games they have played. The home side’s offence has therefore had problems with their opponents’ defence since the start of the NBA Finals.
No home bonus for the “Imps “
Head coach Ime Udoka further cannot count on a home advantage at TD Garden: Not more than half of the past six home games against the six-time champions have been victorious.
However, Robert Williams III continues to perform reliably: Although the centre suffered an injury to his already damaged knee in the fourth game, the injury seems to be less severe.
In the last game, the “Big Man” already recorded eight boards and ten points again, whereby he only just missed a double-double on the side of the basketball players from the East.
Predicted Boston Celtics line-up:
Tatum – Brown – Horford – Williams III – Smart
Golden State Warriors – Statistics & current form
Head Coach Steve Kerr’s team won the most recent game, although this time Stephen Curry was exceptionally less strong than before.
The game was even historically bad from the “Chef’s” point of view: For the first time in 233 games, the best three-point shooter in NBA history did not record a shot from downtown!
The last time the 34-year-old recorded such a zero was in November 2018 against the still reigning champions from Milwaukee! In general, the Warriors have been unusually inaccurate from outside recently: Only nine of Downtown’s 40 attempts have gone through the net successfully.
Wiggins is blossoming more and more
The fact that the Kerr squad still won was due to a very strong defensive performance, as described, and the fact that the offence was solid despite the problems of Curry and other players from outside. Andrew Wiggins, in particular, deserves a positive mention.
The Canadian is already in his eighth season in the NBA, but for a long time he was considered a perennial talent. The praise was very high in 2014 when the small forward was selected as the first pick in the draft.
Although he won the title of best rookie in 2015, his career in Minnesota with the Timberwolves remained rather pale. Now, however, he is on the verge of his first title and the move to the Warriors in 2019 seems to be paying off as the right step in his career.
Wiggins scored 26 points in the last game, the best scoring output on the visitors’ side, and was also convincing on the defensive end. For the second time in a row, he managed a double-digit balance on the boards and a double-double.
Next double-double by the “Maple Jordan”?
In light of his currently very good form, the prediction of another double-double by Wiggins in the clash between the Celtics and Warriors seems additionally profitable.
Predicted Golden State Warriors line-up:
Thompson – Green – Curry – Wiggins – Looney
Boston Celtics – Golden State Warriors Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Warriors have won the past two duels and are 3-2 in the 2022 NBA Finals
Boston Celtics – Golden State Warriors Tip
The last time the “Dubs” won even on a Stephen Curry “day off” was due to an otherwise very good cohesive team performance. Veterans like Draymond Green or Klay Thompson successfully stepped into the breach instead.
For the showdown between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals, however, the forecast now offers fair odds on more than 7.5 rebounds by Andrew Wiggins on the side of the visitors.
The Canadian, unlike the aforementioned veterans of the Warriors, does not yet have a championship ring on his hand and is appearing in an NBA Finals for the first time.
This season, the forward was also named an All-Star for the first time, so it’s quickly becoming clear that this season could be Wiggins’ breakthrough. Especially his work under the boards turns out to be very efficient in the current finals against Boston.
He recorded no less than 29 rebounds in the review of the past two finals games. Not a new pattern in the postseason: compared to the regular season, Wiggins increased his average value by almost three boards to 7.3 in the 2022 NBA Playoffs and against Boston it is a whopping 9.4 so far! Therefore, we focus on the corresponding betting odds of 1.64 in the game Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors.
