Thursday Night is game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. This will be the Raptors first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history. The Warriors on the other hand have been here 5 years in a row and will be looking to 3-peat as NBA Champions and win their 4th Championship in their last 5 tries. Incidentally this will be the first NBA Finals without Lebron James since 2010 a magnificent 8 year run between his stints with the Heat and Cavs.
The Raptors come in having won 4 games in a row against a very talented Bucks team. They have home court advantage in this series but are anywhere to 2.5 - 3 to 1 underdogs in the series overall. Kawhi Leonard is playing out of his mind and the role players on the Raptors are stepping up big time on offense and on the defensive side of the ball. It will be interesting to see how Kawhi is used on defense, whether they put him on Steph Curry or Klay Thompson or utilize him in some other way. He will also be asked to carry the scoring load and facilitate the offense so keeping him fresh for the end of the game should be a priority.
The Warriors swept the Trailblazers to secure their spot in the NBA Finals. Steph Curry has found his game once again averaging 36.5 points in their last 4 wins, all without Durant on the floor. They will also be without Durant for at least part of this series, it will be interesting to see if Durant is able to come back at all. With the firepower they have on offense they may not need Durant but they would be that much more dangerous with him healthy and available. Klay Thompson has been solid as a secondary option on offense and Steph returning to MVP form has no doubt helped give Klay better scoring opportunities. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala will likely share the task of defending Kawhi Leonard and they will likely need all that and more to try and slow him down.
The line for game 1 opened with the Warriors favored by 1 point and that has since moved to the Raptors favored by 1 on the news that Durant is still a no go for at least game 1 of the Finals. The Raptors won both regular season games between these teams. However Both teams had stars missing in both matchups. The last time Kawhi faced the Warriors in the playoffs he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs and in game 1 in Golden State had the Spurs up 20 points in the 3rd quarter before he left the game with an injury and never returned in the series. The Warriors came back and won game 1 then ended up sweeping the Spurs.
This is a very interesting Finals matchup, on paper you would have to pick the Warriors, they still have a super talented team even without Durant and they've been here the past 5 years. However, this Raptors team with Kawhi and his dual threat on offense and shut down defense will give them at least a fighting chance. As for game 1, I think the Warriors will come out with something to prove playing without Durant and they will take game 1. I also believe the Warriors will ultimately win their 3rd championship in a row and this series will go 6 games.
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