A lot of things went wrong for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Aside from getting into the head of their opponents, though, Draymond Green thinks one key adjustment helped the Dubs take the series.
Speaking with JJ Redick during the crossover of their respective podcasts, Green highlighted how forcing the Celtics to drive left instead of going right changed the tide for the Warriors. Boston clearly favored scoring from the right during the series, and all the Dubs needed to do was make life hard a little difficult for them on that end.
As Todd Whitehead of Synergy Sports tweeted, during Games 1 to 3, the Warriors allowed the Celtics to score 0.93 points per possession when driving right–all while they attacked that part 61 percent of the time. Boston won 2-1 in that same span.
In Games 4 to 6 when the Warriors won three straight, however, they pushed Boston to drive to the left more (53 percent) compare to going to the right (47 percent). In return, the Celtics scored just 0.57 point per possession when going left and just 0.71 when going right.
Interesting nugget from Draymond's appearance on Old Man and the Three: he credits Warriors turnaround to an emphasis on forcing Boston's ball handlers to drive left. pic.twitter.com/6Of0QvthQi
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) June 29, 2022
The Warriors certainly did really well in making that adjustment, and clearly, it paid off big time as they were able to win their fourth ring in eight years.
For the Celtics, it's certainly an extremely learning moment which they can use to improve the team. They were so close to winning it all, and if they can build on their recent success, they should be able to do better next time around.
Of course Draymond Green and the Warriors will be ready for the challenge and make adjustments when needed.
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