The Boston Celtics are young and inexperienced in the postseason. Does that mean that the Golden State Warriors have the NBA Finals in the bag as they look for their fourth championship with their core?
Let’s see what the NBA odds tell us at the top sportsbooks!
Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors
Thursday, June 02, 2022 – 09:00 PM EDT at Chase Center
2022 NBA Finals Preview
The NBA finally has its two finalists for the NBA Finals. It’s going to be the Golden State Warriors against the Boston Celtics.
The Warriors had to deal with many injuries in the last couple of seasons while the Celtics grew and learned from their mistakes in the last couple of seasons.
However, both teams are now fighting for a championship. The Warriors’ core would be looking at their fourth championship in six appearances while the Celtics’ core has never made the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals Price Analysis
If you like to experience, the Warriors is your team. But it’s not nearly as simple as that.
The Celtics match up well against the Warriors and could give Golden State a run for their money. Let’s talk about it.
Celtics vs. Warriors NBA Finals Odds
The Golden State Warriors are -150 to win the NBA Championship while the Boston Celtics are underdogs and sitting at +130 at most outlets.
The Warriors have the experience and the public backing. Golden State making the NBA Finals isn’t anything new.
Celtics vs. Warriors Preview Analysis
Therefore, the Warriors will certainly get more tickets and be favorites. However, the Celtics match up well against the Warriors when looking at the depth chart and kind of have some value at +130.
But if you think the Warriors end up winning Game 1, at home, and still want to bet on the Celtics, it’s not a bad idea to wait to bet on the Celtics and get a better price.
Of course, there’s no guarantee you can get a better price, especially if the Celtics end up winning the first game of the series. But that’s a gamble you can make.
2022 NBA Finals Matchups
- Marcus Smart will defend Stephen Curry
- Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will take on Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins
- Draymond Green will match up with Al Horford
- Kevon Looney will take on Robert Williams
Those are some intriguing matchups, but you can give reasoning why one is better than the other in every position, for both teams. It seems like an even matchup.
The Warriors have Jordan Poole making massive contributions off the bench, but so is Derrick White, who became a huge factor in the latter portion of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Celtics vs. Warriors Regular Season Performance
In the regular season, the Celtics and Warriors were the two top defenses in the league when it came to points per 100 possessions.
- The Warriors allowed 107.6 points per 100 possessions while the Celtics allowed just 106.9 points per 100 possessions.
- The Celtics also held teams to a 50.4% effective field goal percentage.
- Golden State turned the ball over 15.2% of the time this season, rarely got to the foul line, and never dominated the offensive glass.
The Warriors are usually getting extremely good looks from the floor, but if the Celtics keep that quality looks down, the Warriors could struggle.
Without good looks, the offense isn’t that terrific. The Celtics, on the other hand, are a much more balanced offense.
They scored more points per 100 possessions and got to the line more while earning more offensive rebounds. Of course, the Celtics also limited turnovers more frequently as well.
2022 NBA Finals Pick and Prediction
The Celtics at +130 is juicy. The Warriors are a terrific ball club, but the Celtics probably don’t get enough credit for what they’ve accomplished this season.
The Celtics went through the Nets, Bucks, and Heat to make it to the NBA Finals.
Meanwhile, the Warriors had their moments of struggle too, losing to the Grizzlies multiple times by double digits and also lost to the Mavericks by double digits in the lone loss in that series. When shots aren’t falling and turnovers are high, the Warriors are absolute toast.
2022 NBA Finals: Who to Bet On?
The Celtics have the more consistent offense. They’ll get to the line more often, earn more rebounds on the offensive end and probably end up getting more shots off in most games in this series.
For my NBA picks, I’ll take the Celtics at +130 to win the series. If you think the Warriors win Game 1 due to the Celtics being fatigued, you can wait it out one game and then bet it.
NBA Pick: Celtics (+130) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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