The 2021/22 NBA Finals are all set to tip off as the Golden State Warriors take on the Boston Celtics. The best four-out-of-seven series gets underway Thursday, June 2nd with the Warriors having home-court advantage.
For the Warriors, it’s their sixth appearance in the Finals in eight seasons, which ties an NBA record previously set by the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
Golden State downed the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Final while Boston edged out the Miami Heat in seven in the Eastern Conference Final. The Warriors took care of the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the playoffs and then handled the Memphis Grizzlies in six in the second round. Boston swept the Brooklyn Nets in four straight in the first round before going the full seven games to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.
The Boston Celtics are appearing in their 22nd championship series after winning the title 17 times before and finishing as runners-up on four occasions. A victory would set a new league record with 18 titles. However, it’s their first appearance since 2010. For the Warriors, this is their 12th time in the Final as they’ve been crowned champions six times and finished as runners up five times.
Golden State has gone 12-4 in this year’s postseason while the Celtics are 12-6. During the regular season, the Warriors were tied with the Miami Heat for the league’s third-best record at 53-29 while the Celtics went 51-31 to tie for the fourth-best mark with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston and Golden State met twice during the campaign with each club winning on the road. The Warriors triumphed 111-107 on December 17th with the Celtics emerging as 110-88 victors on March 16th.
The teams have played a total of 23 playoff games against each other in the past with the Celtics holding a 16-7 edge. They met in the 1962 East Division Final when the Warriors franchise was based in Philadelphia with Boston winning the series in five games.
They met again in the East Division Final in 1960 with Boston taking the set in six games and Boston also winning in seven games in the 1962 East Division Final. The last time the clubs faced off in the playoffs was back in the Championship Series in 1964 when Golden State were the San Francisco Warriors. Boston also won that series, this time in five games.
Boston hasn’t lost back-to-back contests in this year’s playoffs while Golden State haven’t been beaten at home in this year’s postseason. On the other hand, the Celtics have won seven of their road games.
The oddsmakers at bet365 currently list Golden State as the favorites to win the series at -155 with Boston at +135. Don’t forget you can also wager on the individual games and live in-play betting is also available. Other popular bets include the series MVP, total games, the correct score and most points in the series etc.