Trent Reinsmith
- Date & Location: Thursday, June 16, at TD Garden in Boston, MA
- Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ABC
The Golden State Warriors are one win away from winning their fourth NBA Championship title in the past eight seasons. On Monday night, the Warriors went up three games to two against the Boston Celtics. They accomplished that by winning Game 5 by a score of 104-94. The clubs head back to Boston for Thursday night’s Game 6.
Boston and Golden State alternated wins over the first four games of the series. However, the Warriors went back-to-back with victories in games 4 and 5 to end the stretch of back-and-forth triumphs. Boston won the opening game 120-108. The Warriors evened the series in Game 2 with a 107-88 win. The Celtics pulled ahead by winning Game 3 at home 116-100. Golden State evened things up with a 107-97 win in Game 4 in Boston.
Before we look at 2022 NBA Finals Picks, odds and predictions, check out our guide for betting on the 2022 NBA Playoffs and our tips for betting on the NBA.
2022 NBA Finals Game 6 picks
| To Win NBA Championship Finals Game 6 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Golden State Warriors | +139 | +145 | +145 | +145 | +145 |
| Boston Celtics | -159 | -170 | -170 | -170 | -170 |
Golden State Warriors breakdown and analysis
There were a few shocking developments in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Championship Finals. First, there was Steph Curry scoring just 16 points. Second was that Curry’s run of hitting at least one 3-point shot ended on Monday night after 132 playoff games and 233 consecutive games. The third was that despite Curry’s bad night, the Warriors defeated the Celtics and put Boston on the brink of elimination.
Curry’s off night was not a surprise after his 43 point and 10 rebound game in Game 4. With Curry running on fumes, Andrew Wiggins picked up the slack. Wiggins had his best game of the Finals in Game 5. He scored 26 points and added 13 rebounds on 43 minutes of court time. In his best game of the 2022 postseason, which was Game 3 of the conference finals, Wiggins scored 27 points and added 11 rebounds in 40 minutes.
Wiggins has not been consistent this postseason. He followed his 27 point outing with a 13-point night in the next game. The Warriors need a rested and ready Curry for Thursday’s elimination game.
Statistically, elimination games have not been great for Golden State this season. The team has failed on its first attempt to put its opponent away in each of the three previous series.
Boston Celtics breakdown and analysis
The Celtics were close to taking control of Game 5 in the third quarter. They took their first lead of the game with 6:27 left in the third stanza, but after Jordan Poole hit a shot at the buzzer to put the Warriors up 75-74 to start the fourth quarter, the Celtics fell apart.
Boston had four turnovers, shot 26.7 percent from the field and hit 25 percent from deep and the Warriors outscored them 15-0 in the final five minutes of the game.
On a positive note, Jayson Tatum heads into Game 6 on the strength of hitting 50 percent of his field goals in Game 5. Tatum’s shooting percentage in this series is still below any other series of this postseason, but that 50 percent is an improvement over the 39.1 and 34.8 percent he shot in Games 3 and 4.
Statistically, the Boston Celtics are 3-0 in elimination games this season.
Our pick
Boston is in a do-or-die situation and coming home to TD Garden with back-to-back losses. A loss in Game 6 won’t be a complete collapse for the team, but it will leave the Celtics franchise feeling like it missed an opportunity to make history. I think we see a performance from the Celtics similar to what they delivered in Game 3 at home, where they won 116-100.
Pick: Boston Celtics to beat Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Championship Finals.
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