The Golden State Warriors were overwhelming the Boston Celtics in many ways on Monday night.
From the very beginning of Game 5, you could tell that the Celtics were in trouble because the Warriors just wouldn’t let up.
They were all over the court, shutting down multiple attempts from Boston and making them look flat-footed and off their game.
Not only did the Warriors stop Boston’s offensive plans, but they also took advantage of their mistakes.
The Warriors scored 22 points off 18 Celtics' turnovers in Game 5.
The Warriors' 103 points off turnovers are the most by any team through the 1st 5 Finals games since the 1992 Bulls. h/t @EliasSports
Boston is 1-7 with 16+ TO in a game this postseason (13-2 in other games) pic.twitter.com/d9YAwisEgS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 14, 2022
The Warriors picked up 22 points off of 18 Celtics’ turnovers on Monday night.
That means they have scored 103 points off of turnovers through the first five games of the Finals.
That is the most by any team at this point in the Finals since the 1992 Chicago Bulls.
The Celtics are 1-7 with 16+ turnovers in a game this postseason.
In other words, they need to limit their turnovers if they hope to make it to Game 7.
Turnover Trouble
A turnover is a sign that the defense is forcing a team to make bad decisions.
You could see that was the case on Monday night.
Again and again, the Celtics were looking for help when feeling isolated and suffocated on the floor.
As the clock ticked down, they got sloppy and they gave up the ball.
And the Warriors capitalized on that and made a bunch of points because of Boston’s sloppiness.
Moving into Game 6, the Celtics will need to keep a much more solid grip on the ball – they simply cannot give it up as they did on Monday.
The good news for Boston is that they are usually a very adaptable team: they see what needs to be changed and they often make those alterations quickly.
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