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The NBA Finals is heading into Game 5 and the stakes couldn’t be much higher for the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. The two teams have taken turns winning through the first four games of the series. Game 5 will likely show who’s going to be the likely winner of the Finals – history shows that over 80 percent of the time, teams that win the fifth game of a best-of-seven series, and tied at 2-2, usually end up with the championship rings.
The Warriors will need the other guys to step up and help Steph Curry, who has been nothing but phenomenal throughout the series. His 43-point performance in Game 4? A masterpiece! But others need to do more – specifically Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole – if they want to secure their fourth championship under coach Steve Kerr.
The ability to slow Curry down is instrumental to the Celtics’ success. They haven’t done it so far, but perhaps they may eventually accomplish that if they trap Curry and force the ball out of his hands. It’s definitely worth a shot.
The experts at CBS each gave their two-cents on who will win Game 5.
For Bill Reiter, it’s going to be the Warriors, just plainly because they have Steph Curry.
Pick: Golden State -3.5 | Warriors 112, Celtics 107
“The Celtics are younger, more athletic, deeper, better on defense and on a remarkable run of resilience and top-notch basketball since turning their season around toward the end of January. But they don’t have Stephen Curry. And, as we saw in Game 4, nor can they stop him. Klay Thompson has somewhat found his footing, Kevon Looney has been quietly excellent late in games in these Finals, and there’s still time for Draymond Green to have the impact we all expected. But that’s just noise serving as the background music to the fact that Curry is a historically great player, and, like in Boston a few nights ago, he’s not going to let his team lose Game 5, regardless of his supporting cast.”
Brad Botkin is betting on the Celtics to win in seven, but the team won’t win Game 5.
Pick: Golden State -3.5 | Warriors 102, Celtics 95
“Curry is too hot, and I think Klay, who has had stretches in which he’s looked about ready to detonate, gets going back home. Draymond has to be better. I’m banking on that. At this point in the series, I don’t think adjustments make that big a difference. Few surprises remain. I’m curious just how long Boston is going to keep dropping (even if they’re efforting to start higher) on Curry, but if that changes up, it could ignite Green as the 4-on-3 playmaker, which could in turn fire him up defensively. That’s something to watch. Anyway, I think Golden State wins this one. Curry is too much right now.”
For James Herbert, Boston’s the pick.
Pick: Boston +3.5 | Celtics 114, Warriors 103
“This team bounces back every time it loses, and, more specifically, it bounces back on offense. I expect this to look more like Game 3 than Game 4, especially when it comes to Jayson Tatum’s playmaking. (If I’m wrong because Steph goes wild again, awesome!)”
Michael Kaskey-Blomain picks Boston too.
Pick: Boston +3.5 | Celtics 106, Warriors 100
“It’s really tough to pick against Steph Curry given how well he’s played in the series, but his supporting cast has been inconsistent to say the least. Curry can only do so much, especially if Boston alters its defense to try to force the ball out of Curry’s hands, and it’s tough to trust the guys around him to get the job done at this point. Plus, Boston has been stellar coming off a loss this postseason as it’s gone 7-0 in such situations. Jayson Tatum, in particular, has stepped his game up following Boston losses, and he can be expected to do the same in Game 5.”
For Sam Quinn, Boston can’t do anything to stop Stephen Curry.
Pick: Golden State -3.5 | Warriors 110, Celtics 101
“We’ve reached the point in the series where both teams know each other. We know what the rotations will look like. They’ve learned each other’s playbooks. There aren’t many surprises left here. Here’s the one thing we know somewhat emphatically: Golden State can limit Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown … but Boston can’t do anything to stop Stephen Curry. Plenty of other things can swing a game. Maybe one team’s role players make significantly more shots. Maybe one team gets to the line more often. There are no guarantees in the NBA Finals, but with four games in the books, I’m taking the only constant this series has given us: Curry.”
For Colin Ward-Henninger, Golden State knows how important it is to win this game heading back to Boston.
Pick: Golden State -3.5 | Golden State 109, Boston 105
“Usually at this point in a Finals series, you can start to throw tactics and adjustments out the window, but that’s not necessarily the case here. Steve Kerr is still playing with rotations, and his choice to separate Draymond Green and Kevon Looney proved useful in Game 4. The Warriors’ half-court offense hasn’t been good, even with Steph Curry’s exploits, but Jordan Poole appears to be turning a corner and they’ll likely get more from Otto Porter in Game 5. The Celtics have played well on the road and after losses, but Golden State knows how important it is to win this game heading back to Boston. Give me the Warriors.”
For Jasmyn Wimbish, he trusts the Celtics a bit more right now.
Pick: Boston +3.5 | Celtics 110, Warriors 105
Steph Curry was electric in Game 4, but the Warriors needed his absolute best to win. The production Golden State has gotten out of guys like Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins has been so inconsistent, and despite it being at Chase Center I still trust the Celtics a bit more right now. I’m going with them to get the win.
