Enjoy Basketball: Warriors even series at 1-1, Quin Snyder steps down in Utah

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Welcome back to another edition of Enjoy Basketball!

The NBA Finals have taken center stage, but at the same time, the NBA Draft is less than three weeks away. This is a great time to be an NBA fan, no matter what team you’re supporting.

If you’re a Boston Celtics or Golden State Warriors fan, you’re rooting on your favorite team in the NBA Championship. If you’re an Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, or Houston Rockets fan, you’re waiting on Jabari Smith Jr., Chet Holmgren, or Paolo Banchero to help save the franchise. And if you’re a fan of the other 25 teams, you’re hoping that your team picks this draft’s version of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic.

The excitement of the offseason is right around the corner, but at the same time, there is still some high-level basketball being played.

Let’s get into last night’s action.

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Warriors stomp Celtics, tie series 1-1

This is why the Warriors have been to six NBA Finals in eight years. They got punked in the fourth quarter of Game 1, but in Game 1, they responded in a big-time way, earning a 19-point win. Golden State was up by as much as 29 points in a game where the Celtics looked lost.

Draymond Green was the most impactful player on the court. Stephen Curry put up the most points, Jordan Poole hit some big shots, but Green was the guy making things happen. The energetic forward has made a career of antagonizing the opponent, and he did just that in Game 2. Boston fell right into his trap, and in turn, he was able to control the pace of the game.

Clearly, Jaylen Brown wasn't a fan of Green's tactics...

Curry’s and Poole’s red-hot shooting made up for a poor performance from Klay Thompson. The former two combined to shoot 10-of-29 from three-point range, while Thompson went just 1-for-8. But Thompson’s struggles didn’t matter, as the Celtics gifted Golden State the points to make up for it.

The Celtics ended the night with 19 turnovers, on which the Warriors were able to score 33 points. That’s been the story of the playoffs for Boston, as they’ve struggled to take care of the ball all postseason. Some Celtics fans were upset with the referees, but when the Celtics turn the ball over that many times and get outscored by 21 points in the third quarter, the refs become a non-factor.

This is a series now. Boston stole one on the road, and it’s now up to them to protect their homecourt. TD Garden will undoubtedly be rocking, but the Celtics haven’t played particularly well there in the playoffs thus far. We’ll see if that changes on Wednesday night.

Quin Snyder steps down as Jazz head coach

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Quin Snyder has stepped down as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. Rumors had been spreading that Utah was attempting to convince him to stay, but he’s decided to depart from the organization. He spent eight years in Utah, making the playoffs in six of them.

Following Wojnarowski’s report, Shams Charania of The Athletic noted that several initial candidates have emerged as potential Snyder replacements. Those candidates are New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, Celtics assistant Will Hardy, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, and Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young.

Donovan Mitchell is ‘unsettled’

Following the news about Snyder, a rumor has emerged that Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is feeling “unsettled” about his future in Utah. Wojnarowski noted that, after Snyder’s departure, Mitchell was described as “unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future.”

Reports of Mitchell potentially wanting out of Utah have surfaced in the past, and with Snyder gone, it’s looking like they could begin to ramp back up again. Mitchell has been connected to teams such as the Knicks and Miami Heat, and with this new information, those teams could begin to form trade packages in an attempt to snag the unsettled star.

Three teams eyeing Collin Sexton

Collin Sexton is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, and while the Cleveland Cavaliers would like to bring him back, other teams around the league will undoubtedly be looking to steal him away. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, three teams that have emerged as potential landing spots are the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Indiana Pacers.

The latter of those two teams would have enough cap space to sign him outright, but the Wizards would need to make use of a sign-and-trade. Fedor also noted that Sexton’s team’s price was roughly $20 million last offseason, but the final offer was just below that, stalling negotiations. It will be interesting to see what offers the star receives after a season-ending knee surgery.

Why Celtics big Al Horford embraced 3-point shooting for career longevity - Chris Haynes (Yahoo! Sports)

How Klay Thompson’s brother Mychel quietly joined Warriors’ staff in unique role - Ann Killion (San Francisco Chronicle)

Derrick White started as the ultimate underdog in his journey to the NBA Finals - Marc J. Spears (Andscape)

When Jaylen Brown locks in, proceed with caution - Will Bjarnar (CelticsBlog)

Ranking the 5 best NBA Finals performances of all-time - Drew Maresca (Basketball News)

Game 3 will get covered in Wednesday’s newsletter as well, but since Game 2 is still fresh in all of our minds, here is one thing that each team needs to improve upon in the next one.

Golden State Warriors: Not slowing down

There’s not much the Dubs could have done better in Game 2, but they cannot fall into that trap. TD Garden is a madhouse, and if they rest on their laurels for even a second, the Celtics are talented enough to take advantage. If the Warriors want to head back to The Bay tied 2-2 (or better), they need to keep their foot on the gas.

Boston Celtics: Offensive flow

Yes, the turnovers were awful, but Boston's stagnant offense was a big part of that. There was no ball movement, no cutting, and no drive-and-kicks. When the Celtics are driving and kicking the ball out to shooters, that’s when they’re at their best. That needs to be their focus if they want to bounce back in Game 3.

The NBA Finals are getting juicy. Golden State bounced back in a big way, and now it’s looking like we could get a very entertaining series. So far, during the postseason, the Celtics have responded well after games where they turned the ball over a bunch. But whether or not they can do that against an offense as potent as the Warriors’ is yet to be seen.

It’s become evident that this is the best team both sides have played in the playoffs. Boston has gone through more battles, but the Warriors are the most talented. Meanwhile, the Warriors made the West look like a cakewalk.

Neither of these teams will go down without a fight, and that’s going to make for some very entertaining basketball. So, enjoy it.

That'll be it for us. Thanks for reading. See y'all next time.

- Jack Simone

Last Trivia Answer: Darko Milicic was the answer to Friday’s trivia question. He may have been picked over some future Hall-of-Famers, but he also won a title in his first season with the Detroit Pistons, appearing in an NBA Finals game at the youngest age anyone ever has. So, who’s the real winner here?

Trivia Question: Al Horford became the first Dominican-born NBA player to appear in the NBA Finals this year. While Karl-Anthony Towns is Dominican, he was not born there. There is only one other player currently in the NBA who was born in the Dominican Republic. (And he was born in the same city as Horford.) Who is it?