We are shipping up to Boston for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

After a three-day break, the Finals resume tonight tied at 1-1 after Golden State smoked Boston in Game 2. The Celtics have been impressive in this series, but they are so damn lucky they are not down 2-0. This is only the second time this Warriors team has lost one of the first two games when they open the Finals at home (2015 against Cleveland).

By the way, as a fellow East Coast, Beast Coast resident, why in the hell is this game tipping off at 9:00 p.m.??? I get that it is a weekday, and the people out west need to be home in time for the game, but we need to sit down as a society and figure this scheduling stuff out. If you live out west and your favorite team is playing in a Championship game on a weekday, you should get off work an hour early, just for my benefit. I am sick and tired of having the NBA Finals end after midnight.

Anyway, enough about my rant about time zones sucking, let's talk some round ball. We would love for you to tail our picks, we just ask that you do so responsibly.

*Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Where In The World Is Klay Thompson?

The Warriors bounced back in a big way in Game 2 as they crushed the Celtics to tie this series up at 1-1. Stephen Curry, who broke an NBA Finals scoring record for a quarter in Game 1 followed that up with 29 points in Game 2 on 5-12 shooting from deep.

Curry has been great, and if Golden State can find a way to win the Finals, he almost certainly will get that Finals MVP that NBA Twitter decided he absolutely needs. I mean, he should have won it in 2015, but Andre Iguodala stopped LeBron James from averaging 100/75/50 in that series, so apparently, he deserved it more than Curry.

Anyway, while Curry has been awesome, those around him have struggled on the offensive side of the court, especially his splash-brother. Klay Thompson has not looked like himself in his first season back since 2019, which gives Boston a real advantage in this series. A lot of the Warriors' success throughout the Steve Kerr era can be pointed toward the depth around Curry. Besides Kevin Durant, Thompson has been the second option to Curry for many years, and they have had some obvious success.

However, Thompson is only putting up 13 points per game in this series, and he is shooting just 30% from the floor, and just 26.7% from deep. I find it hard to believe that Thompson will be this bad for the entire series, but all his shooting numbers are down this season, and Boston's defense is not a good matchup for a struggling shooter.

Golden State also needs more help from Draymond Green on offense. His impact on the court will always be positive, but he is only putting up 6.5 points on 26.7% shooting from the field, and he has yet to hit a shot from three in this series. Green is not a great three-point shooter, but he is capable enough to take wide-open threes when needed.

Luckily, Jordan Poole, Otto Porter Jr., and Andrew Wiggins have all picked up the slack, and they were huge in the Game 2 victory. The recipe is pretty simple for Golden State. We know that Curry is going to get his own, but he cannot do it all by himself. If Golden State wants to avoid going down 3-1 after these next two games in Boston, Thomspon and Green need to pick it up on offense.

The 85' Bears' Defense, But The Basketball Version:

Boston's identity is their defense, but they are a deep-offensive team. Throughout the first two games of the series, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both averaging over 20 points per game, and while the shooting percentages are not overly great, Tatum has knocked down half of his 14 three-point attempts in the Finals, and Brown continues to have a positive impact on both sides of the court.

Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Derrick White are all averaging over 10 points per game, and Horford was the Game 1 hero as he went ballistic from deep in the second half of that game. If the Celtics are getting that type of production from their role players, there is not much Golden State can do.

The Celtics have a defensive rating of 112.6 in the Finals, which is pretty remarkable considering they have gotten blitzed in the third quarter for the first two games. Golden State has dominated teams in the third quarter for years now, and this series is no different.

However, with this game being in Boston, and the Celtics having one of the best home-court advantages in the NBA, I think this is the game where the Celtics come out and play dominating defense for all four quarters. That does not necessarily mean I think they will win, but I highly doubt the Warriors will go bananas in the third quarter at the Boston Garden. 

The question is, can the offense keep pace?

The Pick:

I have said it a lot this postseason, but the Celtics have become one of my favorite teams to bet on. Even though I have bet on the Warriors in both games so far, Boston is 31-19-2 ATS at home, and when playing as the favorite, the Celtics are 56-22.

On the other side, Golden State is an incredible 34-18 ATS on the road, but they are only 12-18 when playing as a dog. However, Boston is only 5-4 SU at home in the playoffs, and the only time they won their first game at home in a series this postseason was when they swept Brooklyn out of the first round.

The Pickwatch experts are heavy on the Celtics tonight, but I am once again going to be riding with the Dubs. They have been so damn good on the road, and outside of Thompson and Green, their role players have shined. If one, or both of those guys shows up for Game 3, Golden State is GOING to win.

Getting the most profitable road team at +3.5 seems like a safe bet to me.

Pick: Warriors +3.5 (-114)

Photo: Getty Images