3 things that will help the Boston Celtics win the NBA finals

No. 3: Boston Celtics have a better playoff rotation

A playoff rotation in the NBA consists of anywhere from seven to nine guys being played meaningful minutes in the game. Ime Udoka has been playing this type of shortened rotation all year long to adequately prepare for postseason basketball.

The Warriors may hold the ability to go deeper, but the style conducive to any sustained success says a eight man rotation is best. Should the C’s encounter any injuries, this may come to be a disadvantage down the road.

Right now, each team is foreseeably entering the finals mostly as full bills of health. When each team is fully healthy, there is no team with a better shortened lineup than Boston. They have built continuity with this set team of eight guys all season long and it has continued in the postseason.

Boston’s bench holds a slightly better net rating on both ends of the floor than Golden State’s bench at 2.2 to two. It makes sense with high caliber of two-way players like Grant Williams, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard coming off the pine. Even Daniel Theis who functions as a ninth man or Aaron Nesmith are not weak defensively.

The Cs will force the Warriors to play the same style of rotation and this will lead to some questionable cuts for a generally deep ball club to make. Miami had to stop playing guys like Dewayne Dedmon and Duncan Robinson as the series went forward, even cutting Caleb Martin’s minutes completely.

On the Dubs bench, there is a question mark lingering around Otto Porter’s availability to start the series, but its been known for a while. He functioned as the seventh man in their rotation and they are trying to bring Gary Payton II back into the fold who was sidelined for most of the Memphis series and all of the Dallas series.

Deeper down in the rotation forces Golden State to depend on inexperience with rookies such as Moses Moody or Jonathan Kuminga — or dusting off the old legs of Andre Iguodala who is a far cry from his days of being Finals MVP in 2015. Maybe, they will turn to a small ball center lineup featuring the slow footed, Nemanja Bjelica. Celtics frontcourt would have a ST Patricks’ Day style feast if they do this.

Game 1 tips at 9pm EST in Golden State on ABC on Thursday night.