The Golden State Warriors made the finals pretty effortlessly, beating the Nuggets in 5 games in the first round, beating the Grizzlies in 6 games in the Western Conference semifinal, and beating the Mavericks in 5 games in the Western Conference final. The Celtics had more of a hard fought journey to the finals than the Warriors, beating the Nets in 4 games in the first round, beating the Bucks in 7 games in the Eastern Conference semifinal, and beating the Heat in 7 games in the Eastern Conference finals. Both the Celtics and the Warriors have been fairly healthy during this playoffs. The Celtics were faced with injuries for Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart, but those injuries were not severe. An injury that the Warriors were faced with was an elbow injury for Gary Payton II, that left him out for the entire Western Conference finals series. Both opponents of the Celtics and of the Warriors were faced with injuries. Ja Morant was injured for the Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals against the Warriors. Khris Middleton was injured for the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics, and Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry all faced injuries during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. Both the Warriors and Heat have X-factors coming off the bench for them, with the Celtics being Grant Williams and Derrick White, and with the Warriors being Gary Payton II. Both the Celtics and the Warriors also have some of the premier defensive players in the NBA, with the Celtics having 2021 defensive player of the year award winner, Marcus Smart, and with the Warriors former defensive player of the year, Draymond Green. Both Draymond Green and Marcus could defend all 5 positions at a pretty high level. Both Smart and Green will have their hands full, as they have to guard two of the premier offensive players in the NBA, as Marcus Smart will have his hands full with All-NBA second team member Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green will have his hands full with All-NBA first team member Jayson Tatum. The Celtics and the Warriors also have top second options in the NBA with the Warriors having top 3 point shooter Klay Thompson, and with the Celtics having great shot creator Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have shown that they can come back from being down, as the Celtics were 23-24 in the middle of January, but they ended the season with a record of 51-31. Both the Celtics and the Warriors have great coaching, as both Ime Udoka and Steve Kerr seem to make most of the right adjustments at the right times. Both the Celtics and the Warriors stack up to each other equally.
Prediction: Celtics in 7
Finals MVP: Jayson Tatum