After a crushing loss in game 6 of the NBA Finals for the Celtics—the Warriors are now back at the mountain top. As for the Celtics, there were a few mistakes and unfortunate elements out of their control that forced them to go back to the drawing board.

Too many game 7’s 

Want to know the benefit from being in NBA Finals multiple times? You know when to end a series. That’s what the Warriors did throughout the playoffs. They never saw a game 7 in any series this year. As for the Celtics, they had back-to-back playoff series that went 7games. That’s way too many minutes for a ball club that doesn’t have a scorer coming off the bench. That’s too many minutes for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to be playing. They simply ran out of gas. 

Fell in love with the 3 ball

This is also part of fatigue and running out of gas. However, the Celtics settled way too many times. Too many times they didn’t try to get the ball in the paint and actually finish. The C’s fell in love with driving and kicking, hoping a shot will fall in. Honestly, if Al Horford didn’t get hot in game 1, this series may have been over quicker. 

The flaws of the Celtics were exploited 

Aside from turnovers, the Celtics have no consistent scorer aside from Brown and Tatum. No fault to the Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart, he had a tough assignment guarding Steph Curry. But there wasn’t a single other player that can even possibly go for 30 points. That’s a huge problem. The Warriors have that with Jordan Poole. Unfortunately, that was the biggest exploitation in the C’s game—and Golden State knew that. They forced Tatum to shoot 3-pointers, let Brown score IF he chooses to be aggressive, and see if anyone else on that team steps up. No Celtics player did that after game 1. 

Robert Williams was never fully healthy

Al Horford is a reliable veteran, but he’s not in his prime anymore. Robert Williams was the guy to possibly take them over the hump. Without James Wiseman, the Warriors were at a serious disadvantage on the boards and in the paint. But with Time Lord never having the same hops we’re accustomed to seeing, Warriors took full advantage by playing physical in the paint. This one was out of their control. 

Inexperience 

Might seem like a cop out but it’s the truth. Experience played a major factor. The Warriors didn’t even think to let the series go to 7 games. That’s what the Celtics did in the conference finals agains the Heat, and they almost lost it. The Warriors didn’t panic after game 3. That’s something only previous champions do.