By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist
There are all kinds of statistical factors that can help to explain what is going on in these NBA Finals – and why the Golden State Warriors might be about to win them.
The Celtics’ offensive efficiency is out of whack, rising all the way to 125.5 points per 100 possessions in their victories, compared to 95.5 in their losses.
Draymond Green, despite some wobbles, is getting players he defends to shoot at 18.9 percent worse than they normally would.
Boston, on a whopping 17.2 percent of its offensive possessions, has turned the ball over, and Golden State averages 1.12 points on all possessions that begin with a defensive rebound, free-throw shooting has been a thing, and so on. But that’s enough number-crunching.
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Despite Steph Curry snapping his streak of 233 consecutive games with a three-pointer and shooting 22.5 percent from behind the arc and Jayson Tatum’s 27 points, the Celtics could not get the job done.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a data hater or stat skeptic. Heck, analytics and their interpretation have been some of the biggest developments in basketball — and all sports across the past decade and change.
Yet it should also be remembered that this is not a game played by robots. Mentality, psychology, and tiny, real-world factors — such as whether a key player got a good night’s sleep or not — play a monumental role in the destiny of a series such as this.
If there is one observation to be made after five games, it is that the Warriors, possibly because they’ve been here before, are a little more open to the outside noise. Laser-focused is not exactly the right definition for them. In fact, it would be a better descriptor for the Celtics, who seemed intent on blocking everything else out and remaining in the moment.
For the Warriors, there is full concentration, but also a willingness to accommodate some of the surrounding circus and use it for fuel.
In their media availability sessions, there are no “no comments.” Golden State hears and sees what is going on and is embracing it. Players know it’s a series filled with some spice, punch, cross-country snark — and they’re OK with it.
When a Boston bar put up a sign criticizing Curry’s wife’s cooking abilities (Ayesha Curry is a bestselling cookbook author), the Warriors’ sharp-shooting talisman didn’t take the high road, he clapped back in a very public…
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