Game 1:
I couldn't watch the game as it aired but caught it later on NBA.com. The problem is that the site plasters the final score everywhere. So I knew how it ended before I watched. And it was a Warriors L, at home. Not a confidence-shaking L, though. All went right for three quarters. Steph Curry started the night making history. Jayson Tatum was largely held in check offensively. But the Celtics came back in the 4th quarter, their role players hitting 3 after 3. Down by double digits, they ended up winning by double digits. Mark Jackson, part of the play-by-play crew, had the key comment of the night. Marcus Smart is filmed coaching his teammates on the sideline. Jackson applauds his leadership and advice. As a coach he'd heard other players attempt to do the same and was forced to step in: "Forget everything he just said." How are the Warriors going to respond?
Game 2:
In the run-up to the game, photos appear online of trash cans outside Chase Center outfitted with cutouts of hall-of-famer, analyst, and Warriors hater, I guess, Charles Barkley's face, his mouth the hole. They read: "Chuck It." 8 pm, game time: I was able to secure the TV. Miguel joined me, providing some good D against our rampaging baby nephew, Emiliano, so I could eat and drink undisturbed and get some open looks. Hours before I accidentally left the beer out. Would it be cold by tipoff? And who are you going to stop? The stars or the role players? The Warriors forced turnovers and shut down those role players. Jayson Tatum got his offense going, at least from 3, but it wasn't enough. Gary Payton II made his return after a 10-game absence due to an arm injury. Play of the night: Jordan Poole following up a 3 with a buzzer-beating halfcourt 3. ("OOOH!" We clapped and threw a blanket over the baby.) The response to game 1 was a near-blowout W. Three Celtics starters combined for 6 points. The momentum of the series has shifted, those Barkley trash cans are overflowing. We're tied up heading East, to Boston.
Game 3:
Jayson Tatum played through an arm injury, which flared up early on, and still got his star numbers. Jaylen Brown got his star numbers. The greenhaired Marcus Smart made up for a bad game 2 with a good game 3. The Warriors had to play catch up. And they did. The 3rd quarter Warriors made their predicted push and took the lead. Briefly. As experts raised doubts, Klay Thompson had a big night. Once more Steph Curry played like the soon-to-be Finals MVP. Then came the 4th quarter. Turnover after turnover - the phrase "dangerous pass" stung me - the Celtics kept getting second and third chances. And Curry, chasing down a loose ball, hurt his foot after Al Horford landed on top of it. (And the Celtics got that loose ball!) I've become a connoisseur of the slow zoom-in on sadness and defeat at the end of NBA games, typically of the bench realizing that an L is imminent. Unfortunately it was the Warriors who got the slow zoom-in. On the other side: An ear-to-ear grin on Jayson Tatum's face. I choose to forget the statistic presented at the end of the game of how many teams go on to win it all after winning game 3. Steph Curry says he's playing in game 4. But I anticipate his support will have to fill the void. Let's go, Warriors.
Game 4:
Or Steph Curry can go for 40-plus points and make more history. Robert Williams III is the biggest man on the court and plays like it - blocks and lobs, blocks and lobs. Health doesn't seem to be holding him back now. I groaned as the Celtics got to the free throw line possession after possession. The team looked steady if not scary (except perhaps in the 4th quarter, when there were signs of desperation after minutes without a single basket). Even that seems like too much to say about the green guys. This was Curry's game. Miguel doesn't watch basketball but by the end he was standing too. At one point he asked: "How does he do that? That step back?" I had no explanation but: "That's what he does. He's the greatest 3-point shooter of all time." Inwardly I reminded myself: that's not hyperbole. I've already been satisfied with how he's played. Recovering from injury, there was uncertainty about whether the kitchen would be open. He answered by serving dinner, seconds, dessert. My personal favorite play of the night: Curry dropping Marcus Smart, dancing around Williams III to make the floater. Klay Thompson had another good game, Miguel rightly impressed by that catch-and-shoot. On defense and offense, Andrew Wiggins has been a relief (a double-double, with a career-high in rebounds). ...Even Draymond Green's mom went public on his practically nonexistent offense. What's important is that Celtics fans started filing out of the arena early and the series is tied at 2 apiece as we head back West. The Warriors have an excellent record at home, home court advantage, and Steph Curry. And I watched every minute of his game as it happened, kids.
Game 5:
Okay, this is more like what I thought would happen to Curry in game 4. Changing shoes at halftime had no effect. 0 of 9 on 3s, which ends his 133 playoff game streak of hitting at least one. Modest scoring overall, for him. Damn. We got served a snack for dinner. And yet the Warriors got another W, comfortably, at home. Let's keep those sweet Boston turnovers coming. Tatum and Brown have had good games but no great games. Fittingly, my favorite plays came from three different Warriors: Three seconds left before the end of the 3rd quarter. Jordan Poole makes another buzzer-beating 3, getting the ball out of his hand with .1 seconds left on the clock. Golden State takes the lead. Klay Thompson sees an opportunity to create some space by launching Marcus Smart across the floor and makes a 3. And Andrew Wiggins, hero of the game, with the dunk. Also, his defense isn't necessarily the kind of thing that fits easily on the highlight reel but his tenacity, contests, right on Tatum without fouling, were on display all night, as they have been throughout the series. His time with the Timberwolves is often mentioned (and criticized) but it makes hardly any impression on me. I've only known him as a Warrior. Now he and the rest of the team are one win away....
A noteworthy detail about our time in between the action (baby): I'm watching the playoffs on television. There are commercials for Pizza Hut, commercials for All State Insurance. The usual. Then there are various commercials promoting cryptocurrency. For a while I've made it a point to learn very little about it. Always sounds like a hustle. My bet was that if I held out long enough, maybe it'd go away soon and cease taking up what scant mental space it already does. The reason it matters now - besides the recent crash that wiped out $2 trillion dollars of its value, besides the fact that crypto money is being poured into elections (one more special interest cutting checks in exchange for favorable legislation), besides the warnings about its environmental impact (something that affects everyone, investor or not) - is that some of the most famous basketball players, Curry included, have appeared in them, giving their endorsement. Did they get paid in crypto or US dollars? Anyway, as another one of these commercials urged viewers to take part in the revolution, I looked up from Montaigne, Miguel opened his eyes, and we laughed. You want to stick to basketball but then you get sold a revolution in losing your shirt by the stars of that sport.
Turn on the TV at the start of Game 6: crypto!
Game 6:
Steph Curry makes a 3. The Celtics call time out. Mark Jackson narrates as Curry points to his finger for a now humbled Boston crowd: "Steph Curry says: 'Put a ring on it.'" Before the game, ESPN analyst and former Celtics player Kendrick Perkins predicted Curry would be made a non-factor. He goes for 30-plus points (with crucial steals and blocks thrown in for good measure). Al Horford, after successive games without much to offer on offense, got hot in the 3rd quarter. Robert Williams III continued to devastate with blocks. Jaylen Brown had 30-plus points himself, albeit quietly. But otherwise, the Celtics didn't look nearly aggressive enough to force a game 7. And the flopping was egregious at times. Meanwhile, the Warriors made a run that hasn't been achieved in 50 years (21-0) and never relinquished control of the game. Those sweet turnovers did in fact keep coming. And I enjoyed every single one. Part of me thought the Warriors would get the final W of the series at home. But around the 3rd quarter I decided they were going to close out tonight. Again: Boston fans could be seen filing out early. And again: I enjoyed it. After the game ended, I told Miguel about the player, Kent Bazemore, who declined more money from the Warriors this season to join the Lakers. His reason: a chance to win a ring. This Warriors dynasty now has its fourth championship. Coach Steve Kerr now has 9 in total, as a player and coach. Curry has a Finals MVP to add to his résumé. Dancing, hugging, tears, photos, a crowded stage, shouting, champagne, "holy cannoli!," a Mexican flag, a Canadian flag, gold, champagne, goggles, night night....
My 2021-2022 postseason journey has ended in thee W. Feeling a little sore, actually. Congratulations, Warriors. WOO!
