In terms of upsets, it would probably be as big or even bigger than the Cavaliers beating the Warriors in 2016. Kawhi will probably be the best player on the court, but the next 3 or 4 best players will be Curry, Durant, Green, Thompson. The Raptors have a chance but the role players have to come through. Lowry has to play like an all star, and you have to get good play out of Gasol, Siakam, etc. Also as far as Kawhi staying or leaving, leading up to the playoffs, everyone said he was leaving, but now with what's transpired, it probably affects his decision making. I think it would be easier for him to leave if they won the finals, than if they lost it, but why leave if you have just won the whole thing? The amount of support he is getting from Toronto is a lot, that building was shaking last night, and on the streets, it was flooded with people. Also its possible that players start going to Toronto, I wouldn't rule anything out.
Somebody get this guy on the Knicks!! All this talk about KD and Kyrie. I'd rather have Leonard than either one.
I'm not ruling out the Raptors yet, but their chances aren't great. I think it depends on Durant. If he plays and is healthy, it will be too much for the Raptors to overcome. If he's out they have a solid chance. Since midway through the season I thought the Sixers and Raptors had the best upset chances. Hopefully they pull it out. I didn't expect 4 wins in a row against the Bucks. It could be more competitive than people think. I wonder if Francessa said the Raptors had no chance after being down 2-0 to Milwaukee.
Dennis Smith Jr would be 6th man in my opinion. Find another shooter to start. Maybe put Kawhi at the 2, Durant at the 3.
The Knicks have a chance to get him, I agree its unlikely but I do believe everything is still completely up in the air. From what I understand, Kawhi wants to be the man on his team, which is why he isn't going to the Lakers. The Clippers are apparently the team he is eyeing but I think he has everything he wants in Toronto. Even if they lose the finals, he could come back, the Warriors are going to go through some changes potentially so they are likely to get weaker next season. I will say this, if Kevin and Kawhi teamed up they would be an unstoppable force, I think they both want to prove they are the man though.
It was a win the Raptors had to have, Warriors played sloppy and just never really seemed to go on any sort of run. I would expect the Warriors to win the next game, but if they don't, they will have to play perfect at home the rest of the series.
The Raptors, unlike the Blazers were able to maintain the frantic game pace for 48 minutes. For the first time GS actually looked tired down the stretch. Leonard was a turnover machine and even with that the Raptors were plus 11 with him on the court. They defended the Warriors motion game brilliantly.
I think what is becoming evident to is that the Raptors have a solid supporting cast, these are solid players, props to the Raptors front office, they did a solid job building this roster.
Its because of Toronto's offense which is why almost everything you say is true. Unlike Portland and especially unlike Houston, they didn't take any bad shots. They mostly used the entire shot clock and played like a football team focused on time of possession. By not taking bad shots it hurt Golden State's transition game. That was just devastating for Houston, they jacked up quick garbage 3s, long rebound, easy open three for GS all game. Toronto took a playbook from how the LA Clippers were able to steal a couple games from GS . But- I still think that's all it is, enough to steal a couple games but not enough to win the series, especially with Durant rumored to be returning. GS isn't the same on the wing without him
Cant watch the game tonight for the most part....I expect the Warriors to come back and win this tonight. I see this series going back and forth until game 7. IF Toronto does manage to win tonight, its a real possibility they could win the whole thing in 5, which would be absolutely stunning obviously but it does seem like 3-peat attempts have gone down in flames of recently (Lakers swept by Mavs, Spurs over the Heat in 5 games with the biggest point differential in finals history).
How so? I only was able to catch the 3rd quarter, which was brutal for the raptors, I was pretty suprised they did have a chance to win at the end of the game. For games 3 and 4, I expect a split.
I'll pick Toronto to win tonight, with the Warriors injury woes, the pressure is on Toronto to win this game. Outside of 1 brutal quarter, the Raptors have played better, I expect it to continue.
Yes, this game is practically a must win for the Raptors with Thompson possibly being out and KD looming on the horizon. Steal one on the road and anything can happen.
