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The Golden State Warriors are now trailing the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals. After taking a 116-100 loss, they are facing a 1-2 deficit.
In Game 3, Stephen Curry led all scorers with 31 points while Klay Thompson scored 25 points and Andre Wiggins recorded 18 points. The Celtics got 27 points from Jaylen Brown, 26 from Jayson Tatum and 24 from Marcus Smart. The Warriors got outrebounded by 16, including nine on the offensive glass while the Celtics' 52 points in the paint doubled that of the Dubs.
As the Warriors keep blowing chances late in the game and Draymond Green keeps bickering with fans and contributing next to nothing on the court, they have to figure out something. They should start with these three adjustments.
3 key adjustments Warriors must make after losing Game 3 of 2022 NBA Finals to Celtics
3. Keep the offense going in the 4th quarter
The Warriors always have the juice for the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics by 43 points in the period across the three contests. However, it always evaporates too quickly for them to keep it up. Boston has owned the fourth quarter in Games 1 and 3, the two games that were close after three quarters.
The Warriors being outscored 40-16 in Game 1's fourth quarter was an epic collapse. After a Game 2 blowout win that rendered the fourth quarter worthless, Golden State mustered up only 11 points in Game 3's final period. They had five field goals and eight turnovers. The Dubs can't let this trend continue.
Curry followed up his 15-point third quarter with a miss and three turnovers out of the gate in the final period. He shot just 1-4 in the fourth quarter while Thompson went scoreless, shooting 0-3. After carrying such a massive scoring load all game long, they couldn't keep it up and no one else could cover for them. The Warriors are doomed if they can't keep up down the stretch of games.
2. Help Stephen Curry on defense
The Celtics had great success in Game 3 when they targeted Curry, shooting 10-16 overall on shots he defended. They targeted Curry no matter who was on him. They out-muscled him in the post, got the step on him to drive to the hoop and targeted him off the ball.
Obviously, Curry is way too valuable for the Warriors' offense for him to play fewer minutes. So, Steve Kerr has to figure out a game plan to make sure he can stay on the floor. This task is made extra tough by the Celtics' ability to beat zone defenses with ease.
Curry got put in a pickle early when he picked up two fouls in the first quarter. He will always be the target for the Celtics simply because he is the smallest player in their lineup. When he plays his best on that end, he can certainly be a positive. But he's going to need more than his best.
1. Keep Andrew Wiggins going on offense
The Warriors have often relied on Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole to be key supporting scorers alongside Curry. Thompson just had his first good game and Poole, aside from his amazing Game 2 stretch, has not been that good. Wiggins, on the other hand, has looked very solid.
Andrew Wiggins finds a lane to the hole 💥pic.twitter.com/RKMovUBI8r
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 9, 2022
Wiggins has the bounce and determination to finish strong through Boston's tough defense. He scored 18 points on 7-16 shooting in Game 3 and is third on the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game. Coupled with his ability to make a big impact on defense, the Warriors should embolden him to keep thriving and make him a key part of their game plan.
Golden State's hopes cannot lie on the shoulders of Curry and Thompson. The Dubs need someone else to step up. Their trust in Wiggins has paid off tremendously and they should continue to look his way.
