DRaymond Green had already guessed it. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think we’ll play the Boston Celtics,” the charismatic star of the Golden State Warriors recently predicted in a conversation with the US sports broadcaster “TNT”. Boston will be the opponent, he repeated with conviction.
The statements drew a lot of criticism from Green, who is notorious for his provocations on and off the basketball court. Udonis Haslem complained that he had violated the “code”.
What bothered the eternal power forward of the Miami Heat so badly: Green had decided before the decisive seventh game in the semifinals between Boston and Miami. In fact, one can take this prophecy as disrespectful.
Draymond Green is the emotional leader of the Golden State Warriors
Source: dpa / Jeff Chiu
But Green was right. The Celtics are in the NBA championship finals for the first time since 2010. There they meet the Warriors around Green and his congenial partners Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It’s a duel of generations. Experience against youth, rousing offensive against rock-hard defence.
Boston’s coach delivered packages
The architect of the Boston success, which many did not expect so (early) is Ime Udoka. “The boys can celebrate briefly, but they also have to look ahead quickly,” emphasized the 44-year-old, who reached the final in his first season as head coach after the narrow win in the decider against Miami.
Boston coach Ime Udoka (centre) with his young stars Jayson Tatum (No. 0) and Jaylen Brown. Your goal is the title
Source: AP / Lynne Sweet
Udoka stands for hard work. “We were poor. There was no family vacation. There was only basketball,” Boston’s coach recalled his childhood a few months ago in the Boston Globe. His career as a professional basketball player was just as difficult. Several knee injuries prevented the breakthrough, meanwhile Udoka loaded packages into FedEx trucks at night to make ends meet. But his love of basketball remained unshakable.
In the service of the San Antonio Spurs, Udoka discovered his passion for coaching under Gregg Popovich. After his playing career, he was hired as an assistant to the legendary coach – and left a lasting impression. “Ime has had a difficult time in many ways. I’m overjoyed for him,” said Popovich after Udoka, after a total of nine years as assistant coach, opened up as head coach in Boston before the current season: “He can talk to people.”
Celtics talented but inexperienced
Udoka’s talent as a communicator is extremely important for the young Celtics team. Because in the play-offs and especially in the final series, experience is of fundamental importance for success. But Boston lacks that. Al Horford, the veteran in the team, has played 141 games in the play-offs but has never been in the final.
The core of the Celtics consists of three talented but young players. Jaylen Brown, 25, Marcus Smart, 28, and Jayson Tatum, 24. The youngest in particular is under tremendous pressure. In Game 7 against Miami, Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and was subsequently named the Eastern Series Finals MVP. “It was the biggest game of the season and of my career so far,” emphasized Tatum, who had failed several times in the play-offs with the Celtics in recent years.
Daniel Theis is the third German ever to play for the championship in the NBA
Source: dpa/Nam Y. Huh
Now the Celtics against Golden State have the chance to become the sole record holder again. They are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 trophies won. A historic opportunity for Daniel Theis too. The 30-year-old power forward is only the third German after Detlef Schrempf (1996 with the Seattle Supersonics) and Dirk Nowitzki (2006 and 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks) in the NBA final series. But the enemy seems overwhelming.
Warrior’s dynasty continues
At least since the successful return of Thompson, who sunk three after three in the basket after tearing the cruciate ligament and Achilles tendon, Golden State has been in attack mode. For the sixth time in the past eight years, Steve Kerr’s team has qualified for the finals; three times Green, Curry and Thompson won the title. The Chicago Bulls around icon Michael Jordan last recorded such a run in the league between 1991 and 1998.
Correspondingly self-confident, Curry appeared in front of the media at the beginning of the week. “We like the matchup. We go in confident because we know we can win,” the 34-year-old superstar said at a news conference. He is full of anticipation. In order not to motivate the opponent unnecessarily, Curry also expressed his appreciation for the Celtics: “Of course we have a lot of respect for what makes them a team.” Above all, the physical way of playing basketball is impressive. “But we are used to that, we will be ready for it. There were always big battles between these two teams,” Curry alluded to heated duels during the regular season.
In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info, the Celtics are the only team in the NBA to have a positive record against Kerr’s Warriors (9-7). “They won a couple of times,” Curry also admitted: “But in a play-off series with the many adjustments before and during the games, that’s a completely different thing.”
Final tickets from $700
The first final game will take place on Thursday night (3:00 a.m. CEST) in San Francisco. The interest in the duel is huge. Top tier tickets cost just under $700 for the opening game. The hype will be just as great in sports-mad Boston, Curry suspects: “Boston has a unique atmosphere, it will be fun. It’s a franchise steeped in tradition, you just have to look under the hall ceiling with all the names hanging there. It’s certainly something very special for this city to be back in the finals.”
Basketball superstars in a direct duel: Stephen Curry (Golden State) throws the ball over Boston’s Jayson Tatum
Quelle: Getty Images
In addition to their experience, the Warriors have another advantage that should not be underestimated. Because Kerr’s players knocked out the Dallas Mavericks after five games in the West Finals, Golden States coaches were able to give them a break. “We gave our boys two whole days off, which you don’t really get, neither in the regular season nor in the playoffs,” explained Kerr. “It was a great opportunity to relax. A finals run is a two-month journey of stress and fatigue. If you can build in a little break there, that’s very significant.”
The Celtics, on the other hand, had to fight for their final ticket over seven games against Miami and now have significantly less time to gather new strength. In addition, Golden State has the slightest hope of being able to use some injured players in the finals: Andre Iguodala (neck), Gary Payton II (elbow) and Otto Porter Jr. (foot) recently took part in training again – albeit with restrictions .
Imke Udoka is only interested in all of this to a limited extent. “It would all have been for nothing,” explained Boston’s coach, “if we fail in the final.”
