The NBA Finals matchup is finally set and I believe it’ll be a competitive one. After the first round of the playoffs, I predicted this Finals matchup. One side is a revamped Golden State Warriors with tons of young talent and good pieces. Led by Stephen Curry the Warriors have had an amazing run and are starting to look like their old dynasty after missing 2 years of Finals appearances.  The other side are the Boston Celtics led by a young duo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have finally made it over the Eastern Conference Finals hump and are looking to take it all this year. A championship would solidify Jayson Tatum as a top 5 player in the league and put all doubts of if Jayson and Jaylen would work together to rest. With an amazing rookie head coach in Ime Udoka, who’s by far my favorite coach in the NBA, the Celtics are looking to start their own era. Or will the Warriors pick up where they left off?

Both teams will be going into this series a bit banged up. The Warriors have Gary Payton II returning from a broken elbow and Otto Porter Jr which are two key pieces that they’ll need to be healthy to lighten the load on the Golden State stars. On the Celtics, they have 2 starters in Marcus Smart and Robert Williams that have had their own injuries. The Celtics are worn out after back to back 7 game series and by far have had the toughest road to the finals. They are going to be facing their biggest challenge yet against a rested Golden State team. For that reason, I believe the Warriors will win it in 7 games in a very defensive series.  The reasoning I have for this prediction is because I believe if the Warriors can’t put it away on the road at game 6, they’ll for sure get the job done at home because they play so well at home.

This is the schedule for the 2022 NBA Finals

· Game 1 – Thursday 6/2 at Golden State – 9:00 PM ET – ABC

· Game 2 – Sunday 6/5 at Golden State – 8:00 PM ET – ABC

· Game 3 – Wednesday 6/8 at Boston – 9:00 PM ET – ABC

· Game 4 – Friday 6/10 at Boston – 9:00 PM ET – ABC

· Game 5* – Monday 6/13 at Golden State – 9:00 PM ET – ABC *if necessary

· Game 6* – Thursday 6/16 at Boston – 9:00 PM ET – ABC *if necessary

· Game 7* – Sunday 6/19 at Golden State– 8:00 PM ET – ABC – ESPN *if necessary