Boston Celtics: 3 advantages Cs have over Warriors in NBA Finals

Boston Celtics advantage No. 3: A slight edge in bench depth

It is worth mentioning that while Boston may have a slight advantage in overall bench depth, Golden State has the best bench player in Jordan Poole. Poole is averaging 18.4 points on shooting splits of 53.1/39.3/91.7 percent. An impressive stat line for someone who was playing in the G League a season ago.

Outside of Poole, Golden State doesn’t get significant production from anyone else. Gary Payton II would be their next biggest contributor as another ball handler and a pesky defender but his injury status is still uncertain and even if he plays, there is no telling how effective he’ll be.

Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter were full participants in practice and look to be ready for their returns. They can both provide a bit of punch off the bench on both sides of the ball, but their health will be a concern moving forward.

Nemanja Bjelica, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga will get some minutes but just don’t have enough opportunities to crack into the lineups consistently.

The Celtics on the other hand, have a couple more reliable options off their bench. The main two guys off the bench is Derrick White and Grant Williams.

White has fit in perfectly on defense with this Boston team and played his best basketball of the season during the Eastern Conference Finals. He has begun to rediscover his shooting stroke, knocking down six of his last 10 three-pointers against Miami.

Williams brings elite three-point shooting and defense to the table. His shooting will be important but his main role lies on the defensive end. The Warriors have popularized the small-ball lineup with Draymond Green at the five, and not many teams can match it. The Celtics are one of the few teams who can match it and Grant Williams makes for a great small-ball center in an attempt to neutralize Green.

Another pair of players to keep an eye out for are Payton Pritchard and Daniel Theis. Pritchard and Theis have been limited in the playoffs but they have a chance to step up in these NBA Finals.

Pritchard provides the Celtics with another ball handler who can create his own shots and knock down his triples. Theis was unable to match both Milwaukee’s and Miami’s physical play, which kept him out of games, but he will have the opportunity to get some minutes when the Warriors go smaller. He can make defensive plays at the rim and could provide much needed relief to the hobbled Robert Williams.

As mentioned previously, the Celtics have a slight advantage in overall bench depth but an advantage nonetheless.