Former NBA Champion John Salley picks Celtics over Warriors due to his past experiences in Boston

The NBA Finals have taken a very thrilling turn as the Boston Celtics have managed to win Game 3, their first game in this finals at the TD Garden. After splitting the series 1-1 from San Francisco, the Celtics delivered another solid performance in Game 3 with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and company turning up with big numbers after a blowout defeat in Game 2.

While experts are in split with their predictions for the finals, former NBA Champion with the Detroit Piston John Salley has chosen old foes Boston Celtics to wrap up the series and lift their 18th Championship this season.

Salley was a member of the legendary Pistons side who were known for their infamous rough play and had the nickname of ‘Bad Boys’. However, Salley and the Pistons would have won more titles in the 80s if not for the Celtics and Larry Bird.

When NBA expert Stephen A Smith asked Salley to pick a team in the NBA Finals, Salley was pretty much sure of his choice. He expects Ime Udoka’s men to finish it off in six matches. He shared his decision is because of his past experience with the Celtics in Boston in the NBA Finals. He even shared that he had nightmares playing Boston in June.

“I got Boston in six… It’s this thing about Boston in June. I still have nightmares about Boston in June… Every hour we were there, the fire alarm in the hotel went off. There was no sleeping for 12 hours,” the NBA Champion shared.

Apart from his past experience, John Salley also added how he was very impressed with the Game 1 attitude of the Boston Celtics which made him pick Jayson Tatum and his men over the Golden State Warriors.

He highlights how the Warriors are the favourites in this finals so picking them is easy for everyone but he saw the nothing to lose mentality in Game 1 and has felt that the Celtics can be a handful in this finals.

“I’m always going with the underdog… When I watched the first game, I realized they were playing with nothing to lose, and that’s a dangerous person to play. When somebody is playing with nothing to lose and having fun, that is a dangerous combination,” Salley added.

The Warriors have a lot of NBA Finals experience and in comparison none of the Celtics players have featured in a title clash before this. Even the veteran Al Horford made it to the finals for the first time this year. So they are truly underdogs but they have shown great fight against the Warriors and are currently holding a 2-1 lead.