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On Thursday night, Stephen Curry broke all sorts of records after a mind-blowing first quarter that saw him drain no less than six 3-pointers. The Golden State Warriors superstar finished the game with seven made treys, which incidentally, is just one more than Al Horford's six triples. As it turns out, this was one of the main reasons behind the Boston Celtic's amazing 120-108 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
For reasons unknown, the Warriors left Horford open all night long. The Celtics veteran made them pay as he shot 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from distance en route to a team-high 26 points. If it was Golden State's gameplan to encourage Horford to take shots from deep then it is clear that this tactic backfired on them (h/t Anthony Slater of The Athletic):
Four of Al Horford's six made 3s were basically uncontested. Two had a late contest. Horford is making 46.3 percent of his 3s in the playoffs.
Four of Al Horford's six made 3s were basically uncontested. Two had a late contest. Horford is making 46.3 percent of his 3s in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/oH36eyZEEP
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 3, 2022
The fact that Horford is shooting close to 50 percent on his 3-point attempts throughout the playoffs is stunning. However, even more surprising is the fact that the Warriors weren't able to close down the Celtics big man time and time again. If this was intentional, then coach Steve Kerr might want to rethink his approach for Game 2. If it was not, then this was just a case of poor defense from Golden State.
