The NBA finals are finally here

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The moment you’ve all been waiting for: On June 2, 2022, game one of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors begins at 8:00 p.m. CDT (9:00 p.m. EST) on ABC.

The Celtics and the Warriors have met twice in the regular season, splitting the series one game apiece. In the first game, the Warriors won 111-107 in Boston, while the Celtics took the second game, 110-88.

During the second quarter of the second game, guard Steph Curry went down with a left foot injury after Boston guard Marcus Smart landed on him when diving for a loose ball.

Now that we know how the teams past two matchups have ended, let’s recap their journeys through the playoffs.

NBA Finals: Boston Celtics

The Celtics entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 51-31. They are led by first time NBA head coach Ime Udoka and the Kia All-NBA First Team Forward Jayson Tatum.

The first matchup for the Celtics was against Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics swept the Nets in four games, being the only team to sweep a series so far in the playoffs. In this series, the Celtics held KD to his third-worst effective field goal percentage of 42.8% in his 30 career playoff series.

In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics beat the reigning NBA Champions the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games (4-3). The Celtics would win game seven at home 109-81.

Finally in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics beat the Miami Heat 4-3 in seven games. Tatum became the first ever Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP, as the team beat Miami 100-96 in game seven.

Throughout the 2022 playoffs, the Celtics have never lost two games back-to-back. If the Celtics win the NBA Championship this year, they will no longer be tied with the Lakers and will lead the NBA in most titles won (17).

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference with a 53-29 record. They are led by Head coach Steve Kerr and Kia All-NBA Second Team Guard Steph Curry.

According to NBA.com, this season, Steph Curry led the league in 3-pointers made with 285. He became the NBA all-time leader in 3-pointers made (3,117).

The first series the Warriors played was against the now back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Because of the injury sustained against the Celtics, Curry would play the Nuggets as the teams sixth man and was on a minute’s restriction. Despite this, he was able to lead the Warriors past Denver wining the series 4-1 in five games.

In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 4-2 in six games. The series was a physical one with Warriors guard Jordan Poole causing Memphis star Ja Morant to re-injure his knee and Memphis guard Dillon Brooks having a controversial flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II which left Payton II sidelined.

Finally in the Western Conference Finals, Golden State would beat the Dallas Mavericks. Steph Curry became the first ever Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP. The warriors beat the Mavs 4-1 in five games closing it out at home with a 120-110 win.

This will be the Warriors sixth Finals appearance in eight years. If the Warriors were to win the NBA Championship this year it will be their seventh in franchise history, which would break their tie for third place with the Chicago Bulls. If the Warriors do win the Championship, look for Steph Curry to win his first NBA Finals MVP.