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Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals is today! It's an exciting time to be a fan of basketball as two elite teams battle it out for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a prediction as to why the Boston Celtics have the best odds to win it all!
As it stands now, the Golden State Warriors are the favorite to win the series at (-160), according to FanDuel. However, with those odds, I would stay away from them as the payout won't be too exciting unless you are putting hundreds of dollars down.
The Boston Celtics are currently (+135) to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy. A team that is known for having the best defense in the NBA is not going to go down without a fight. Yes, the Warriors finished the season with a top-3 defense in the NBA as well, but the gap between the Dubs and the Celtics is rather large.
We will get into the specifics here in a bit, but first, let's once again show the 2022 NBA Finals odds FanDuel has provided.
2022 NBA Finals Odds: Celtics-Warriors
Celtics: (+135)
Warriors: (-160)
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Why The Celtics Have The Best Odds To Win 2022 NBA Finals
A majority of the bettors are putting their hard-earned money on the Warriors to win the series. As firm of a pick that is, I'm here to give you reasons as to why the Celtics have the better odds.
First and foremost, the Celtics are in the Finals because of their defense. Everything starts at that end of the floor for the Celtics. Boston ended the regular season with the top-ranked defense and allowed the fewest points per game at 104.5 on the season. The Warriors allowed just one point more at 105.5 on the season. In the postseason, the Celtics are second behind the Miami Heat as they allowed just 101 points per game so far.
The Warriors will have a tough time putting themselves in a position to score, despite dominating a very good Dallas Mavericks defense as well. Interestingly enough, the four teams who remained in the playoffs during the Conference Finals were the top-four defensive teams in the NBA this season. The Celtics have the edge because of a man named Marcus Smart, who won the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Smart was the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996. Smart will be facing Payton's son, Gary Payton II in these finals. Defense wins championships, even in the NBA. If the Celtics want to win this series, it will be because of their defensive efforts.
Now on to the offensive side for the Celtics. This is a complicated matter because we really saw two different Celtics offenses in the series against the Heat. We would either see a Celtics offense start out hot and keep it for the entire game, or we would see them start out flat as paper and struggle to score. Miami's defense was very good in the ECF, and they almost stole Game 7 because of it. The Celtics allowed a very late 11-0 run by the Heat that almost blew the game for the Celtics. Now, the Boston understands that they must play for the entire 48 minutes and can't ease up whatsoever.
Jayson Tatum is averaging 27 points per game this postseason which is the most out of any player remaining. Steph Curry is averaging 25.9 at the moment. Tatum will be tasked with having to lead the team because if he is not on his game, the Celtics will not compete in this series. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart need to create chances to score as well because Tatum will be the Warriors' focus every time down the floor.
If the Celtics play their style of basketball and are successful on the defensive end of the floor, how can they not win this series? This team took down the Brooklyn Nets in just four games. They took the defending champs to seven games as well as the No.1 seed in the NBA. The Celtics are still standing for a reason. Yes, the Warriors are the more experienced team and have won three rings in the last eight seasons. However, this Celtics team is fierce and has proved all the doubters wrong to this point.
