Game Time: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, June 16th, 2022 

Venue:  TD Garden Boston Celtics  

Where to Watch:  ABC

DraftKings:  Celtics -4; O/U 210.5

Fanduel:  Celtics -3.5; O/U 210

BetMGM:  Celtics -3.5; O/U 210.5

Warriors: 53-29, 3rd place Western Conference

Celtics: 51-31, 2nd place Eastern Conference

The NBA Finals have rolled into a Game 6.  The Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics have given us a good show… but now all the marbles are up for grabs and it could all end.  The Warriors lead the series 3-2.  Game 6 will be an elimination game for the Boston Celtics.  The numbers have been confusing at best… Steph Curry did not make a single 3-point shot in Game 5 of the Finals and the Warriors won!  The Boston Celtics held the Warriors to 104 points and still LOST!  The reason is simple.  The Celtics are having a ton of trouble scoring.  They are shooting poorly.  The Celtics have the #1 defense in the league and still do… The Warriors have the #3 defense in the league and they still do.  If the Celtics can’t find a way to score? The series is OVER.  IF they can?... The Celtics will roll through Game 6 with a big win.  

The Golden State Warriors became the first team in the 2022 postseason to beat the Boston Celtics two games in a row.  It was sort of a magical result given that Warriors PG Steph Curry only scored 16 points and went 0 for 9 from 3-point range.  Steph got a lot of help from SF Andrew Wiggins.  The Kansas product was thought of as a “bust” after being the #1 pick in his draft… he was traded away from the Timberwolves to the Warriors and has found a home.  Wiggins had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists.  He also made a case to get a few MVP points if the series finishes with a Warriors win.  The next game or two will be a big deal when we talk about Andrew Wiggins in the future.  It could be “Andrew Wiggins 2022 NBA Finals MVP”.  PF Draymond Green had a bounce back game at home in Game 5 with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.  It was overdue for Draymond to simply play like Draymond.  Klay Thompson had 21 points, Jordan Poole had 14 points in key minutes, and defensive guard Gary Payton II had 15 points with 3 steals and 5 rebounds.  Gary Payton II is a guy that bounced around the G-League for 5 seasons getting the occasional 10 day contract and summer league invite.  Gary’s performance this postseason after returning from injury will keep him employed in the NBA full time over the next 5 seasons.  

The Boston Celtics have reached “panic time”... It is very unfortunate since SF Jayson Tatum has been panicked for the entire Finals.  Head Coach Ime Udoka might want to get in this kid’s grill!  Seriously, Jayson will set an all-time Finals turnover record with his first turnover in the next game.  There will be a next game.  The problem is twofold.  The Celtics can not sit Jayson for long stretches because he is great on defense and he WILL score sometimes no matter how ugly.  If I was Ime Udoka I would run alley-oop action for Jayson to simply force the action.  Not halfcourt sets, but quick alley-oop foul-drawing looks.  Jayson needs to see the ball go through the basket like he did in the 3rd quarter of Game 5… all of a sudden the poor shooting Celticas hit everything to come back from 12 points down to 3 points up.  The lesson is that Jayson will get out of his head if he gets a few baskets.  Sf Jayson Tatum had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists… in s lightly better but still embarrassing shooting game.  Marcus Smart gad 20 points, Jaylen Brown lost his chance at an MVP award by only getting 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists… This game was Jaylen Brown’s chance for immortality and he let it slip through his fingers.  The big absence was PF’s Al Horford and Grant Williams who only combined for 12 points and didn’t play the type of defense that we have gotten used to from them.  

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The Warriors are 66-35 on the season, 53-46-4 ATS.  Going 47-54-2 O/U.  They are 41-11 in home games.  

Boston is 65-39 on the season, 58-45-2 ATS.  Ging 50-53-2 O/U.  

The Warriors are 15th in scoring with 111 points per game, 7th in rebounds with 45.5 per game, and 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  The Warriors are no slouches on defense either, ranking 3rd while holding opponents to 105.5 ppg.  They are 2nd in FG% defense and 3rd in 3pt FG% defense.

Boston is 12th in scoring with 111.8 ppg, 5th in rebounds with 46.1 per game, 11th in AST/TO ratio.  Defense is where they shine… They rank first in the NBA while holding opponents to 104 points per game.  They are 2nd in blocked shots with lots of size and length all over the starting five. They are 1st in defensive FG% percentage and in defensive 3 pt FG%.

Our prediction for Thursday, June 16th is…..   Celtics 118 - Warriors 99

The Celtics at home, with a well rested Robert Williams III, the Green may finally hit a shot.  Not Hitting shots is why they have 3 losses in this series.  The Celtics defense has been good enough in EVERY game. It’s the offense that has let everyone down.  Specifically the offense of Jayson Tatum.  I know that he is scoring in every game, but the pressure of the Finals has caused him to catch a bad case of Alligator arms.  The man misses layups.  The man misses jump shots.  The team feels the pressure and they miss foul shots.  So why bet on the Celtics?... because they are do or die in front of their home crowd.  While sleeping in their own beds. They will play their best game of the series in Game 6.  All bets are off for Game 7… no matter what you see.  

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Golden State is 10-3 ATS in the sixth game of a playoff series since 1996.

Boston is 17-4 ATS after a road loss of 10 points or more the last 3 seasons.

Boston is 29-14 ATS after a game when they failed to cover the spread this season.  

Golden State: Everyone is available

Boston:  Everyone is available

Everyone will be able to play… If someone is hobbled they will play less or sit.  But no one of significance will land in the injury list.  They will simply try to get minutes.

Warriors: SF Klay Thompson, PF Andrew Wiggins, C Draymond Green, SG Jordan Poole, PG Stephen Curry

Celtics: SF Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III, SFG Jaylen Brown, PG Marcus Smart

Warriors: Steve “Another season, another Finals” Kerr

Boston:  Ime “We have to handle the pressure” Udoka