Getty Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors and Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics.
After the Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks to advance to their sixth finals in the last eight years, Draymond Green went on TNT’s postgame show to discuss his thoughts after the game. Not too long into the segment, Shaquille O’Neal asked Green who he wanted to see in the finals.
Draymond did not answer O’Neal’s question directly. Instead, he told both O’Neal and the rest of the TNT crew who he thought was going to meet the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals.
“I think both teams are tough,” Green said. “Boston has caused us problems, especially offensively. Their defense is incredible. If you’re asking me who I want to play, I’m going to tell you who I think we’re going to play. We’re going to play Boston.”
There it is. Whether it’s in six or seven games, Green believes that the Boston Celtics will emerge victorious over the Miami Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. Judging by how bluntly he put it, Green believes that Boston is the better team between the two.
Of course, for his prediction to come true, Boston will have to win one more game to put the Heat away and have two chances to do it.
Boston’s History With 3-2 Leads
After the Celtics defeated the Heat on May 25 to take a 3-2 lead in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, Adam Kaufman of Celtics Beat reported Boston’s record when being up 3-2 in a playoff series.
The #Celtics are 40-4 when leading a series 3-2
For context, the four playoff series that the Celtics have lost while being up 3-2 are in the following order, according to Basketball-Reference:
–2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic
–2010 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers
–2012 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat
–2018 Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers
To add even more context, Boston did not have their whole squad when they lost those series.
-In 2009, Kevin Garnett did not play because of a mid-season knee injury.
-In 2010, Kendrick Perkins tore his ACL shortly after Game 6 of the finals started.
-In 2012, Avery Bradley needed surgery to repair both of his separated shoulders during the previous series.
-In 2018, Gordon Hayward was out for the season because of a broken leg while Kyrie Irving was out recovering from season-ending knee surgery.
Now, what’s done is done, and no matter what, Boston lost those series and they can’t change that. However, it’s fair to say that they didn’t have their full squad in any of them.
The Celtics are in a good spot right now, but this series isn’t over until they win that fourth and final game.
Boston’s Last 10 Games Against Golden State
Boston has fared very well against Golden State in the last 10 games they have faced off against each other.
According to StatMuse, the Celtics have gone 7-3 in the last 10 games they have faced the Warriors. That includes a five-game winning streak that spanned from March 3, 2019 to April 17, 2021.
For context, the Warriors did not have All-Star Klay Thompson for four of those games because he was recovering from a torn ACL and then a torn Achilles in that timespan.
In the 2021-22 season, the Celtics split the season series with Golden State 1-1 with the away team winning in each contest. Boston won their most recent matchup, winning 110-88. Boston did this while Stephen Curry had to leave mid-game because of a foot injury.
If Boston and Golden State were to meet up in the 2022 NBA Finals, it would make for one fantastic series knowing their history in recent years.