A Thursday night Celtics blitzing opened the NBA Finals, but three days later, the Warriors proved they were not shell shocked.
The tit-for-tat, elastic nature remained in a series that is quickly becoming a case study for Newton’s third law. There were few moments of respite for either side as the league’s two best defenses continued to wreak havoc. The difference on Sunday night was that Boston didn’t make every single shot they took from 3.
Golden State leveled the series with a far more even performance in a 107-88 win.
Jordan Poole disasterclass turned explosion
Jordan Poole was putrid in the first half (and in Game 1). There’s not really any other way to put it.
It was a disasterclass rivaled by only by Damion Lee’s five-minute implosion against Dallas in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Poole did almost everything wrong, and it’s not necessarily a surprise. He’s struggled against physical, defense-oriented teams with switchable, lengthy wings, and that’s the entire identity of the Boston Celtics.
But unlike Lee, Poole is, well, capable of some pretty incredible things.
With 1:19 left in the third quarter and the Warriors rolling, Steve Kerr gave Poole a “go get em’ kid” stint that amounted to a cheap dice roll to see if he could verify the microwave scorer status he’s built up this season.
It wasn’t just a nice stint. Poole went thermonuclear.
He came in and hit Kevon Looney for a deft layup, then called his own number on the next possession for a stepback three.
What followed was an, er, “GFY” three launched from a cool 38 feet to close out the quarter with a 35-14 Warriors advantage.
Poole finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and 5-of-9 from 3.
You’ll notice above that Gary Payton II is directing from the sidelines. Let’s talk about him for a moment.
Gary Payton II is that guy
How effective do you think you could be on a basketball court with a broken elbow? For Gary Payton II, the answer, apparently, is extremely effective.
He didn’t play a second in Game 1, but after that loss, it was evident the Warriors could not afford to go another game without his impact.
The real question was, how much could he actually do? In warmups before Game 1 and in the days leading up to this one, Payton II was barely using his favored left arm, practicing off balance shots with his right arm which did not look superb.
He played a whopping 25 minutes and aside from a couple missed free throws and some tentativeness to pull the trigger, he didn’t show too many signs of a man with a bum elbow.
His impact, as has always been the case, was clear as day. He was a menace in the passing lanes, caused issues on drives and gave the Warriors the ability to switch everything.
One of the many examples available came at the start of the fourth.
After the 21-point blowout in the previous quarter, Payton II ensured there was no let off. On the very first play, he grabbed a steal from Al Horford, led the fast break, then recovered an offensive rebound for a two-handed dunk.
In that video above, Payton II can be seen encouraging and directing Poole just before that near half-court shot. But moments before, he was standing next to Kerr, nearly stepping on his toes in order to direct Poole, who could see Payton II just behind his matchup.
Payton II was urging Poole to guard his man out well past the three-point line and get his hands up. Poole obliged, the Celtics missed and he came down the other end with the game-defining exclamation.
He finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, no turnovers and hit a corner 3 to just about everyone’s surprise. His impact may well have changed the complexion of this series.
Defensive improvement
What was evident in Game 1 was that, yes, the Celtics shot the ball at an untenably efficient rate. They made 21 of their 41 threes. Some of that is just a team getting hot.
But it was also apparent that the Warriors were not at their defensive best. They had some extremely lax defensive possessions, especially when Poole was on the floor, when it seemed they were always leaving a Boston shooter wide open.
Playing that 3-2 zone that became de facto with Poole on the floor was simply not viable, and the free looks continued even when the Warriors played man.
They didn’t come with the requisite attention to detail or effort on that end to switch and close out effectively.
But that changed on Sunday.
Draymond Green, who wasn’t at his best, was much improved and in the sweet spot of his right-on-the-edge style where he picked up a technical foul and continually threatened to pick up another.
He was an agitator early and was much more conservative with his shot attempts, too, going 2-of-3 instead of the horrific 2-of-12 mark in Game 1. He had 9 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, a block and just one turnover.
Stephen Curry was magnificent again, tallying 29 points (9-of-21, 5-of-12 from deep), 4 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Warriors forced 19 turnovers from Boston, compared to 12 of their own, and consistently gave them problems moving the ball.
In addition to Payton II’s effort, Nemanja Bjelica was outrageously impactful, too. He wreaked havoc on Al Horford in particular, and had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes.
After shooting over 50 percent from the field and from deep in Game 1, Boston shot 37.5 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from deep in Game 2. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined to go 13-of-36 from the field (36 percent).
The defensive effort and persistence was there in an outsized way on Sunday night, and that’s what propelled them to an easy win.