After an exceptional year celebrating the Golden State Warriors' diamond season, their finals matchup will include a fellow diamond franchise in the Boston Celtics. With the last meeting between Golden State and Boston at the height of the Celtics dynasty in 1964, the tables have turned in today's meeting. As the Warriors look to continue writing their dynasty in the history books with their fourth title in eight years, the Celtics are making their first finals appearance since 2010. They are looking to win their first title since 2008.

ROAD TO THE FINALS
WARRIORS: 4-1 vs #6 Denver Nuggets / 4-2 vs #2 Memphis Grizzlies / 4-1 vs #4 Dallas Mavericks
CELTICS: 4-0 vs #7 Brooklyn Nets / 4-3 vs #3 Milwaukee Bucks / 4-3 vs #1 Miami Heat

 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES: SERIES SPLIT 1-1

GAME 1, December 17th, 2021: Warriors def. Celtics 111-107 in Boston
Despite game 1 being down to the wire, the Warriors were missing key players– Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. As we knew not to expect Klay until his eventual return in January against the Cleveland Cavaliers, there was a void you felt throughout the first half of the season without Klay. The Warriors felt that void in this first game against Boston. Jordan Poole was out due to COVID protocols, and James Wiseman, who eventually was ruled out for the season later in March, was still in the midst of rehab.

It was also an unusual night for the Celtics and their roster situation. In the 24 hours before the December 17th matchup, Boston placed five players in COVID protocols, including Al Horford and Grant Williams. Former Point Guard Dennis Schroder was also out with a non-COVID illness.

The Warriors would ultimately take this game after a 30-ball with five 3's from Stephen Curry and an additional 27 points from Andrew Wiggins.

At this point of the NBA season, Golden State, after the win, was in sole possession of the best record in the league at 24-5. On the other hand, Boston continued in a downwards spiral and went to 14-15.

GAME 2, March 14th, 2022: Celtics def. Warriors 110-88 in San Francisco
Both teams were in entirely different positions after the first game ahead of the second game. To put it into perspective, The teams switched places in how they were playing.

Boston put the league on notice and was the hottest team in the NBA once the calendar hit 2022. Boston eventually would carry this hot play through the rest of the regular season and stormed into the #2 seed heading into the postseason. On the other hand, Golden State was what felt like one of the league's worst teams. The Dubs were 4-5 in their last nine before the game, including a five-game losing streak. At this moment in time, fans began to question whether the Warriors were equipped to be considered championship contenders.

The Celtics, at full force, put on a show at Chase and showed why they were the hottest team. Boston had complete control throughout the game and finished with three 20+ point scorers for the night. The Warriors put up a dud and had one of their worst shooting nights in the regular season, putting together a season-low of 32 points at halftime.

The troubles in this game didn't end at just a poor shooting night. This game sent Stephen Curry to the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season after a collision for a loose ball with Marcus Smart. Draymond was playing under minutes restrictions as it was his first game back after missing close to two months of play due to his back injury. Last but not least, Andrew Wiggins and Nemanja Bjelica were out with non-COVID illnesses.

The only bright spot in this game for the Warriors was Jordan Poole dropping 30 and continuing his eventual 17-game 20+ point streak.

WARRIORS' MATCHUP VS CELTICS:
Neither one of the two regular-season games accurately represented this series. After what we have seen from both teams throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs, we can be assured that this will be one helluva series.

Opponent-wise, the Warriors will be looking at their most challenging opponent this postseason. They will be seeing similar defensive pressure and athleticism as the Memphis Grizzlies, except with more length, better inside presences, and discipline. Led by the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, Boston's defense tied a league-best 106.9 defensive rating with Golden State. Boston is one of the best teams at creating turnovers and one of the best transitions teams in the league. Because of Boston's transition ability, the Warriors will have to keep their turnovers under control. 

This is the first series that they will take on not one but two 20+ PPG scorers in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Both can catch fire at any time, and both have proved their ability to score in crucial moments in tight games. We rarely see both have an off night on the same night, and with just one of them, Boston can stay close in any game. Their eight-man rotation is consistent with what a typical basketball rotation would look like, and it's proven to win.

As stated before, this will be the Warriors' most difficult series of the postseason. It should be; it's the NBA finals. With all due respect to Boston, as they have played incredibly this postseason, this is no battle the Warriors can't handle. This Warriors team is also a team, unlike any team Boston has seen this postseason.

People are considering Boston to be a matchup nightmare for Golden State. In one game, yes– Boston appears to be a bad matchup. For a seven-game series, that's where the tide turns.

In the point guard battle, Stephen Curry will have to deal with the peskiness of Marcus Smart following him all game long, yet it's how he's played every night. Steph knows how to create on and off-ball, and to play as intense as Smart does every night on someone who moves as much as Curry does, the fatigue will eventually set in. 

It's the battle of two-way players at the shooting guard and small forward positions. Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson both stand close to or as tall are Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Wiggins has guarded the best player for a substantial amount of time in every series. Klay's lateral quickness looks better than it ever has. While Brown attacks more in a forward-backward direction, Klay can turn Brown on the drives and force him into the help and more difficult shots.

The Warriors will look for Wiggins to continue to play like he has all postseason, and Klay is bound to find his groove on the offensive end. The lights will shine their brightest all series long, and Klay always plays his best basketball when the lights shine their brightest. 

With Boston not being the same threat from deep as Dallas and Draymond's matchup most likely being Robert Williams, Draymond's defense job will be easier in specific ways. Green will have more opportunities to help off of his man and rush Boston into a trap, whether it be on a ball screen or in a scatter.

Since Boston is not as much of a three-point threat either, there will be more opportunities to bring out the zone. Boston has tendencies to get out of control and settle for ISO ball. While the zone will keep Boston out on the perimeter, it'll be tough for Boston to settle for those ISO opportunities since you'll have two guys collapsing on a drive.

The biggest reason why Golden State will be looking at a matchup advantage against Boston is their depth. While Boston runs a typical 7-8 man rotation, the Warriors can run an entire roster deep. There may be moments when Kerr's rotation comes into question, but if there is any series to the Warriors need to run all 15 deep if possible, it's this one.

The Warriors are going into Game 1 with six days of rest compared to Boston's three days. The Eastern Conference Finals were also the Celtics' second series that they played the full scheduled seven games.

With this type of depth, Golden State must look to take advantage and control the game's tempo both in the half-court and in transition. And as some coaches would say, when you have a deeper team, Golden State needs to "keep their foot on Boston's necks" and not give them any breaks throughout this series. It will be challenging series, but it's more than capable of winning.

Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals will be Thursday, June 2nd, in San Francisco. Tip-off is set for 6 PM Pacific Time and broadcasted on ABC and ESPN Radio.

(Photo credit: Mary Schwalm / Associated Press)