Hoops for Nerds

The Celtics will now face their fourth elimination game these playoffs after losing Game 5  94-104  to the Warriors at Chase Center. After a slow offensive start, the Celtics had a Warriors-esque third quarter fueled by six threes, turning a 12-point deficit into a 5-point lead with 3:55 left in the quarter. But the Warriors responded dropping in four threes of their own, two each from Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole (including the  banked buzzer-beater ) to eke out a 1-point lead. Having eaten Boston's biggest punch, Golden State ran out to a quick 10-0 run to open the fourth and cruised to a comfortable victory.  Looking forward to game 6, the Celtics are 3-0 in closeout games in these playoffs, winning Games 6 and 7 versus Milwaukee in the ECSF and another Game 7 versus Miami in the ECF. On the other hand, the Warriors are 0-3 in road elimination games these playoffs, dropping one game in each prior playoff round....

Through four games of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors, we've seen miraculous comebacks, expected and unexpected heroes, and some questionable defensive coverages. With the series tied 2-2, Game 5 at Chase Center is crucial to either team's hope to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. Historically speaking, this is the 31st time the NBA Finals have been tied 2-2; the winner of Game 5 in the previous 30 went on to win the series 73.3% (22-8) of the time. While Vegas has the Warriors as a 4-point favorite at home, ESPN's BPI and  FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR currently predict the Celtics to have a 52% and 53% chance of winning respectively. Let's take a look through some of the key storylines in this series: (Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports) 1. The Ever-Combustible Steph Curry Where do I even start? Through four games, Steph has scored over 30 in eve...