With the start of the 2022 NBA Finals just a day away, the series predictions continue to roll in.
Whether the Warriors or Boston Celtics will hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy remains to be seen, but NBA analyst Ryen Russillo recently made his pick, albeit begrudgingly.
“So the public likes Golden State, but the analytics love the Celtics,” Russillo said Tuesday on his podcast. “I think this is a really tough series to figure out.”
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Boston poses plenty of problems for the Warriors and vice versa, he pointed out, from the Celtics’ imposing size to Golden State’s wide array of more-than-capable playmakers.
Russillo figures Kevon Looney’s importance to be at an all-time high this series as the Warriors’ only true threat on the size front, and he also believes Marcus Smart matches up against Steph Curry much better than he did with Jimmy Butler against the Miami Heat.
“On the other side for Golden State, Boston hasn’t seen an offense like this that keeps playing the entire time,” Russillo added. “As overwhelming as Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is, you know what’s coming. As great as Jimmy Butler was, you knew what was coming. These are predictable things, where with Golden State … you understand they’re attacking you from different angles and they play out the entire possession.
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“It’s not facing one guy with the basketball wondering how you can build a wall against him.”
Russillo also worried about Boston’s turnovers -- something the Warriors also struggled greatly with earlier in the playoffs but have since turned around.
Measuring up the two teams' previous opponents during their respective postseason runs can also prove to be an effective assessment, but not for Russillo.
“It turns into a college football argument,” he said. “... So it’s fair, and it’s also unfair when it’s really hard. It’s still hard to get to the NBA Finals.”
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And with that, Russillo made his pick after quite the difficult analysis.
“My pick is Golden State, and I hate it,” he said.
With Game 1 of the Finals tipping off on Thursday at Chase Center, Dub Nation certainly doesn’t hate Russillo’s pick.