Getty Stephen Curry #30, Golden State Warriors, Derrick White #9, Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White went on former NBA player JJ Redick’s podcast, “Old Man and Three,” to discuss various topics. Among them was the Celtics’ matchup in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. More specifically, White was asked about Stephen Curry‘s performance in Game 4. White praised Curry for his performance knowing what the stakes were.
“Steph was special. He was special that whole series, but especially that game trying to will them to that victory. We win that game, I think we win the series for sure. We were winning the whole game, doing what we needed to do, then having a couple moments at the end of the game that cost us. I wouldn’t say it broke us, but we never really bounced back from that,” White said.
White added that both Curry and the Warriors’ experience in the finals helped them a lot when facing the inexperienced Celtic in their matchup.
“(Curry’s) consistency throughout the whole finals impressive to me,” White said. “He’s been on that stage. He’s done that before and none of us had ever done that before or been on stage before. That experience, that familiarity they had was a big advantage for them that we all learned from. I think we all grew from this.”
Curry put up a statline of 43 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, but his performance is known best for the shots he hit in crunchtime to tie the series at two games apiece.
Jayson Tatum Details Heartbreak Over Finals Loss
In an interview with SLAM Magazine, Tatum detailed how hard it was for him after losing in the finals.
“I was miserable,” Tatum said. “I got home, I didn’t want to eat. I was mad. I was upset. I was exhausted, and literally, I just stared at the ceiling for hours until I fell asleep. I worked so hard. The kind of up and down season that we had to turn it around and be one of the best teams and get to the finals and not get over that hump.”
Tatum compared losing in the NBA Finals to a living nightmare.
“The day after you wake up, it’s like waking up from a bad dream and realizing that you’re not dreaming. That you actually lost. That night the next day, waking up like, ‘Damn, we really lost the championship.’ That was the worst period of it.”
Marcus Smart Says Steph Curry Was In His Head ‘All Summer’
Celtics guard Marcus Smart caught up with Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett to talk about his thought process after losing to the Warriors. Smart admitted that Curry was on his mind through the offseason.
“I was thinking about him all summer when I was going through my workouts. I was thinking about what I have to do against him. And that’s good. It just gives me more ways, more things to add to my game on both ends — defensively and offensively — when you’ve got a great player that you’re going up against.”
Smart detailed the measures one has to take when taking on someone like Curry.
“He challenges you with how great he is on offense, and you have to be able to challenge him right back on the other end. But with the way he is on offense, you have to add to your repertoire, add to your wardrobe, because of all the things he throws at you that you have to see that you’ve probably never seen before.”