NBA Finals 2019- Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors (May 30-June 16)
While one of the teams competing in the NBA Finals will come as no surprise, the Toronto Raptors are ready to compete in their first Finals of franchise history.
As the image above may indicate, Kawhi Leonard has been a huge part of the successes that the Raptors have been able to put together in 2019, but this could be a one and done deal for him in Toronto. With impending Free Agency due to begin, Toronto could be losing their star player and it could be argued that only a NBA Finals win could potentially change his mind.
Usually I think Kevin Durant would be the man on the other side of the poster, but his injury leaves him a doubt for the early portion of the NBA Finals. Maybe we will finally see a dominant Finals from Steph Curry in a Finals that is more competitive than some may have indicated.
We are going to be opening up with two games in Canada before shifting to California for two games next week. You have to think Toronto need to make a positive start to the Finals with the two games here coming up and I am also hoping for a much better set of Picks for the NBA Finals than I had for the Conference Finals.
Thursday 30th May
Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors Game 1 Pick: Kawhi Leonard has been huge for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA PlayOffs and has taken over from Kevin Durant as the best performer in the post-season. Much is going to depend on Leonard again as Toronto look for their first NBA Championship in franchise history, but standing in front of them is the defending Champions Golden State Warriors who are going for a three-peat as Champions.
The Warriors closed the door on the Portland Trail Blazers in a sweep during the Western Conference Finals and that means they have had a few more days to rest. It hasn't helped enough to get Kevin Durant back who is now going to have missed six games in a row in the PlayOffs as speculation about his future continues to swirl.
Golden State have won all five games they have played without Durant in the starting line up as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have gotten hot from the field. The only concern for the Warriors has to be the big holes they have found themselves in during the last three games against Portland Trail Blazers, even though rallying for wins in each of those will give this veteran group of players plenty of confidence.
However starting slowly is not really a plan for the NBA Finals as Golden State will be looking to show the Raptors what they have learned during their four previous years of reaching the Finals. On the other hand only a couple of the Toronto players have had the experience of reaching the NBA Finals, although in Leonard they have someone who stopped the Miami Heat winning a third straight NBA Championship when finishing as Finals MVP as a San Antonio Spurs player.
Leonard looks like he could be feeling much better after being slowed by a leg injury in the Eastern Conference Finals win over the Milwaukee Bucks. His team-mates also stepped up their play to not only become the first team to beat the Bucks three times in a row this season, but they completed a run of four straight wins over the team with the Number 1 record in the NBA.
Toronto also have the knowledge of beating Golden State twice in the regular season and they are a team that will cause some real problems for the Warriors. The big men should have a real edge over the Warriors and Toronto have been shooting the three ball well enough to believe they can counter anything Curry and Klay Thompson can produce after the Splash Brothers hammered the Trail Blazers in the Conference Finals.
The layers are finding it very difficult to split these teams in Game 1 and the potential of a returning DeMarcus Cousins does give the Warriors the chance to offer a different look to the Raptors. Kevin Durant's continued absence is still hurting the Warriors, but they have shown they can perform very well without him and I think this is going to be a game that goes down to the wire with both teams having a chance to win it.
Being able to back Golden State as the underdog is very tempting as I do think they are going to leave Toronto with a split of the first two games, but I am slightly concerned that there could be rustiness from their long lay off. Toronto have also had a few days to digest what they have accomplished so far this season, but they will need to ensure they are continuing to knock down their three pointers to keep ahead of the Warriors and also make sure they are playing the kind of Defense which stifled the Bucks in the Conference Finals.
The poor record in Game 1s held by the Raptors is troublesome when it comes to the spread, but I am going to look for the two Offenses to perhaps need some time to get going in this Series. If the Raptors are going to win they are going to need to be as active Defensively as they have been in the last couple of Series, while Golden State have also showed they can lock down on that side of the court when they need to.
Games between the Raptors and Warriors have leant towards the high total and this one is not a big one if I am being honest. However I am going to be looking for a game in which the teams don't have a perfect rhythm from an Offensive standpoint and I will look for both Defenses to get the better of things in the opener.
The refs can play a huge part in the totals if they get a little whistle happy, but both teams can be very strong Defensively and my first selection in the NBA Finals will be this game failing to reach the total set.
Sunday 2nd June
Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors Game 2 Pick: At the end of the first quarter it looked like the rustiness of the two teams was going to produce a low scoring game as I had predicted in Game 1. However there was some frustration that the teams decided to fall in love with the three ball and also manage to grab a whistle happy crew to see the teams go into overdrive in the middle two quarters either side of half time.
Frustration aside, it was a big game for the Toronto Raptors who held off any rally the Golden State Warriors were able to make and extend their streak to five straight wins in the PlayOffs. Canada is expectant and there is a real belief that the Raptors are ready to bring home the NBA Championship.
But hold your horses.
This is the defending NBA Champions looking for a three-peat and I am expecting a big response from the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant continues to sit out, but I know this Warriors team are better than what they showed in Game 1 when Toronto were able to do what they wanted from the field and Pascal Siakam was able to dominate the third quarter.
Some soul searching would have been done the last couple of days but the Warriors won't have been panicking even if they have lost three straight games to Toronto in the 2018/19 season. Adjustments will be made by a team who have been as successful as Golden State have been in the post-season and I do think they can show considerable fight in Game 2.
Before the Series began I felt the Warriors would be returning home with a 1-1 scoreline and Golden State are 11-2 following a straight up loss since the All Star Game. They have also gone 3-1 after a defeat in the PlayOffs and I do think there is going to be a game soon where the Toronto role players are simply not making the shots they have been over the last two weeks.
The Raptors are being favoured again at home, but I like the underdogs to show why they have been the team to beat in the NBA. By the time the Series shifts back to the Oracle Arena we could see Kevin Durant ready to go and I think the Warriors can begin to shift the momentum back towards them with a vital road win in a pivotal Game 2.
Wednesday 5th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 3 Pick: It needed the Toronto Raptors to go cold out of half time to allow the Golden State Warriors to recover and steal Game 2 from the Eastern Conference Champions. Even then it went right down to the wire and the Raptors will be kicking themselves for some of the wide open misses they were guilty of throughout the second half.
Now the NBA Finals shift to the Oracle Arena for two games and the Golden State Warriors are favoured by a much healthier margin than the Toronto Raptors were for either game they hosted. On the face of things you can understand that, but I am finding it much more difficult to be confident in the Warriors when you think of the injuries they are dealing with.
Klay Thompson will suit up by all accounts, but he is not going to be anywhere near 100%, while Kevin Durant remains sidelined. Kevon Looney has been ruled out and is unlikely to return before the end of this season and all in all you have to figure the Raptors are not going to have a better chance to win a road game in this passionate Arena as what they have in Game 3.
They will have to weather a storm at some point and Toronto have not been as good on the road as they have been in front of their own rabid fanbase. Kawhi Leonard is clearly not at 100% himself, but he remains strong enough from the field to keep providing space for the role players and this is really going to come down to which of those players step up the best for either team.
The underdog has now covered in five of the last six games and the Warriors are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven at home. I have no doubt that Toronto have not been as strong on the road as they have at home which is a concern, but I don't expect the Raptors to be as loose with their open shots as they were in Game 2 and that should allow them to keep this competitive and I do think they have every chance to stealing home court back from the Warriors.
We have seen teams rally together when they are facing the kind of adversity that the Warriors are dealing with from an injury front so I would not be surprised if Golden State did find a way to win this. But a blow out of the Raptors would be unexpected and might be the start of a very short Series if that happens with Golden State looking like they could be much healthier by the time Game 4 swings around.
Friday 7th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 4 Pick: There are going to be a lot of questions for Steve Kerr to answer if the Golden State Warriors lose the NBA Finals because of the decisions made for Game 3. Klay Thompson was kept out of Game 3 to avoid aggravating the hamstring injury he picked up in Game 2, but the Golden State Warriors dropped the game and have given back home court.
To be fair to the Toronto Raptors they took the opportunity to win the game with a heavy dose of three pointers and making sure they answered every time the Warriors rallied. Ultimately the Warriors didn't have enough at either end of the court and they are now in a 'desperate' position to win Game 4 and at least head to Toronto avoiding facing an elimination game.
The Raptors have to keep going as they are with the role players stepping up. Barring a terrible third quarter in Game 2, Toronto could have found themselves 3-0 up in the NBA Finals and they are getting plenty out of players other than Kawhi Leonard which is keeping the Warriors off balance.
Thompson's return will give Golden State an Offensive boost to go with Steph Curry, but it is the impact he can have on the Defensive side of the court which may be most important. The hope for the Warriors is that the two days between Game 3 and Game 4 will have really helped get Klay Thompson close to 100% for this one, especially with Kevin Durant seemingly ruled out for another game.
We see the spread at the same mark as it was in Game 3 and that was one that was led by the Raptors from wire to wire. I will make the same point that the Raptors are a little erratic on the road and this time the presence of Klay Thompson will have me going the other way and looking for the Warriors to win and cover.
Other players have to step up, but having Thompson out there does provide another scorer outside of Curry. The pressure is on the Warriors, but they have a lot of experience of being up and down in the NBA Finals and I think that will keep them focused on the task at hand.
Golden State have been a miserable team to back on the spread all season as they tend to be overrated by the layers who know they will be backed. However the Warriors are 8-3 against the spread in their last eleven off a loss and if the Raptors are slightly off with their shooting for any stretch of time like they were in Game 2 then I do think the Warriors can pull away for the win before the Finals shift back to Canada.
It might look a poor pick deep into this game, but I do expect to see a reaction from the Warriors and they can play with the urgency and experience of Champions to edge out the Raptors as they pull away in the fourth quarter.
Monday 10th June
Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors Game 5 Pick: In the last couple of years we have heard the Golden State Warriors being compared to the great Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls team and a number of other teams that have become dynasties in the NBA. Winning a third NBA Championship in a row would have backed up those who put the Golden State Warriors up alongside the very best teams in NBA history, but a 3-2 record in the NBA Finals doesn't look nearly as good.
The Warriors would have won four in a row heading into the 2018/19 season if it wasn't for a collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers when leading the 2016 NBA Finals 3-1. They became the first NBA team to blow that lead in a best of seven game Finals, but now the Warriors are hoping for some redemption after dropping both games at home in the NBA Finals.
Being 3-1 down and with all the momentum going to the Toronto Raptors looks to be a long path back for Golden State. Injuries have hurt them at the wrong time, but both Kevan Looney and Klay Thompson played on Friday and have had a couple of days to rest and get ready for this one.
The biggest news could be the impending return of Kevin Durant whose stock has risen significantly during the NBA Finals without taking to the court for one game. Durant practiced on Sunday and the feeling is that he will be suited up for Game 5, although how much anyone can impact a game when coming back after almost a month on the sidelines is up in the air.
At the very least Durant will perhaps open things up for the Warriors Offensively having seen the team struggle outside of the Splash Brothers for scoring. Steph Curry and Thompson will need to be efficient from the field and hope someone else can step up for them, especially if Toronto continue to find and knock down the open shots as they have been doing.
Toronto have loved playing at home and I think they are going to be very confident they can close out this Finals even if Durant is available to play. Kawhi Leonard is almost certainly finishing as MVP, but he has been well supported through the likes of Danny Green, Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet who are playing at a high level Offensively and Defensively.
Since the news of Durant broke the spread is almost dropping to a pick 'em line and my lean is perhaps with the Raptors after winning both games at the Oracle Arena. It is definitely hard to oppose them, but I have to think Golden State bounce back from a sub-par Offensive showing and that could help Game 5 of the NBA Finals surpass the total points line set for the game.
The 'over' has a strong trend when you see the Warriors playing on the road and the two days of rest between games should help them on that side of the court too. Even a rusty Durant will help open things up as the Raptors will have to respect the shooting of the best player in the NBA and that should also help the Warriors in finding some success.
It has also been the play in recent Toronto games and I don't think this team is going to suddenly move off the three point line which has been a key weapon for them in the PlayOffs. Relying on the three ball can be difficult for teams when the rhythm is slightly off, but I think Toronto are in form and they can contribute to what should be a high-scoring Game 5 with so much on the line for both teams and their potential futures.
Thursday 13th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 6 Pick: Where else can you possibly start than with Kevin Durant? It was awful seeing him going down with what was a ruptured Achilles tendon that leaves his availability for the 2019/20 season up in the air.
Seeing one of the best players in the world go down and look like he is going to miss a prime year of his career is hard and I agreed with Jalen Rose and his assessment of things. In fact I had said the same things to friends in the aftermath of Game 5 in that Durant was in a lose-lose situation and he should never have risked his own health for the benefit of those who have wanted to write negative stories about him ever since he signed with the Golden State Warriors.
If he hadn't played we would have heard more reports from sources that Durant is being questioned by team-mates, as we did after Game 4, and if he had scored 50 points and lasted through Game 5 I am sure there would have been articles questioning why he didn't come back sooner.
For the narrative the injury was perhaps the best thing that happened, but you would have to be one cold hearted piece of work to think this is best for Durant. In a year when he was the Number 1 Free Agent heading to the market, this is a tragedy not just for those fanbases who though they could entice Durant to their teams, but for the whole NBA and anyone who enjoys watching the best play the best.
The Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors have no choice but to head to Game 6 and let the Durant issue move to the back of the mind. Golden State barely were able to do that in Game 5 as they won for the second time on the road in the Finals, although it does mean only Game 1 has been won by the hosts.
Now we are back at the Oracle Arena for the last time no matter what happens and the Warriors have to use the emotion of the scenario to help them find a way to force a Game 7. Once again the issue is whether they have enough scoring avenues to overcome the loss of Durant and the slow down in Game 5 suggests it is not going to be easy for them.
There is some pressure on the Raptors too who will feel they have done enough to win the Finals already, yet here they are facing a Game 6 in a hostile environment. Toronto have won twice here already in the Finals and once in the regular season so I do think they are capable of getting things done on Thursday, but the pressure of expectation could be having an impact on them.
Three point shooting is obviously very important for the Warriors, but they have to find a way to make things easier for themselves by attacking the rim too. Getting into the bonus has been something the Raptors have been able to do with consistency success, but the Warriors need to find all avenues of scoring if they are going to force a Game 7 back on the road.
The Raptors have been able to produce some consistency Offensively and they should have their own successes here. There is more depth to their rotation and the Raptors will know how to win here which makes them very dangerous and closing out the Series and the Finals would not be a huge surprise.
I don't think the Warriors will go away quietly even being short-handed and I am still a little irritated Game 5 ended up with an 'under' considering where the game was at half time. It is a concern that the home team don't have enough to break down the Raptors in this one, but I am going to make the same play and look for the teams to actually foul down the stretch to give themselves a chance to help climb over the total points line set.
Sunday 2nd June
Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors Game 2 Pick: At the end of the first quarter it looked like the rustiness of the two teams was going to produce a low scoring game as I had predicted in Game 1. However there was some frustration that the teams decided to fall in love with the three ball and also manage to grab a whistle happy crew to see the teams go into overdrive in the middle two quarters either side of half time.
Frustration aside, it was a big game for the Toronto Raptors who held off any rally the Golden State Warriors were able to make and extend their streak to five straight wins in the PlayOffs. Canada is expectant and there is a real belief that the Raptors are ready to bring home the NBA Championship.
But hold your horses.
This is the defending NBA Champions looking for a three-peat and I am expecting a big response from the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant continues to sit out, but I know this Warriors team are better than what they showed in Game 1 when Toronto were able to do what they wanted from the field and Pascal Siakam was able to dominate the third quarter.
Some soul searching would have been done the last couple of days but the Warriors won't have been panicking even if they have lost three straight games to Toronto in the 2018/19 season. Adjustments will be made by a team who have been as successful as Golden State have been in the post-season and I do think they can show considerable fight in Game 2.
Before the Series began I felt the Warriors would be returning home with a 1-1 scoreline and Golden State are 11-2 following a straight up loss since the All Star Game. They have also gone 3-1 after a defeat in the PlayOffs and I do think there is going to be a game soon where the Toronto role players are simply not making the shots they have been over the last two weeks.
The Raptors are being favoured again at home, but I like the underdogs to show why they have been the team to beat in the NBA. By the time the Series shifts back to the Oracle Arena we could see Kevin Durant ready to go and I think the Warriors can begin to shift the momentum back towards them with a vital road win in a pivotal Game 2.
Wednesday 5th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 3 Pick: It needed the Toronto Raptors to go cold out of half time to allow the Golden State Warriors to recover and steal Game 2 from the Eastern Conference Champions. Even then it went right down to the wire and the Raptors will be kicking themselves for some of the wide open misses they were guilty of throughout the second half.
Now the NBA Finals shift to the Oracle Arena for two games and the Golden State Warriors are favoured by a much healthier margin than the Toronto Raptors were for either game they hosted. On the face of things you can understand that, but I am finding it much more difficult to be confident in the Warriors when you think of the injuries they are dealing with.
Klay Thompson will suit up by all accounts, but he is not going to be anywhere near 100%, while Kevin Durant remains sidelined. Kevon Looney has been ruled out and is unlikely to return before the end of this season and all in all you have to figure the Raptors are not going to have a better chance to win a road game in this passionate Arena as what they have in Game 3.
They will have to weather a storm at some point and Toronto have not been as good on the road as they have been in front of their own rabid fanbase. Kawhi Leonard is clearly not at 100% himself, but he remains strong enough from the field to keep providing space for the role players and this is really going to come down to which of those players step up the best for either team.
The underdog has now covered in five of the last six games and the Warriors are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven at home. I have no doubt that Toronto have not been as strong on the road as they have at home which is a concern, but I don't expect the Raptors to be as loose with their open shots as they were in Game 2 and that should allow them to keep this competitive and I do think they have every chance to stealing home court back from the Warriors.
We have seen teams rally together when they are facing the kind of adversity that the Warriors are dealing with from an injury front so I would not be surprised if Golden State did find a way to win this. But a blow out of the Raptors would be unexpected and might be the start of a very short Series if that happens with Golden State looking like they could be much healthier by the time Game 4 swings around.
Friday 7th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 4 Pick: There are going to be a lot of questions for Steve Kerr to answer if the Golden State Warriors lose the NBA Finals because of the decisions made for Game 3. Klay Thompson was kept out of Game 3 to avoid aggravating the hamstring injury he picked up in Game 2, but the Golden State Warriors dropped the game and have given back home court.
To be fair to the Toronto Raptors they took the opportunity to win the game with a heavy dose of three pointers and making sure they answered every time the Warriors rallied. Ultimately the Warriors didn't have enough at either end of the court and they are now in a 'desperate' position to win Game 4 and at least head to Toronto avoiding facing an elimination game.
The Raptors have to keep going as they are with the role players stepping up. Barring a terrible third quarter in Game 2, Toronto could have found themselves 3-0 up in the NBA Finals and they are getting plenty out of players other than Kawhi Leonard which is keeping the Warriors off balance.
Thompson's return will give Golden State an Offensive boost to go with Steph Curry, but it is the impact he can have on the Defensive side of the court which may be most important. The hope for the Warriors is that the two days between Game 3 and Game 4 will have really helped get Klay Thompson close to 100% for this one, especially with Kevin Durant seemingly ruled out for another game.
We see the spread at the same mark as it was in Game 3 and that was one that was led by the Raptors from wire to wire. I will make the same point that the Raptors are a little erratic on the road and this time the presence of Klay Thompson will have me going the other way and looking for the Warriors to win and cover.
Other players have to step up, but having Thompson out there does provide another scorer outside of Curry. The pressure is on the Warriors, but they have a lot of experience of being up and down in the NBA Finals and I think that will keep them focused on the task at hand.
Golden State have been a miserable team to back on the spread all season as they tend to be overrated by the layers who know they will be backed. However the Warriors are 8-3 against the spread in their last eleven off a loss and if the Raptors are slightly off with their shooting for any stretch of time like they were in Game 2 then I do think the Warriors can pull away for the win before the Finals shift back to Canada.
It might look a poor pick deep into this game, but I do expect to see a reaction from the Warriors and they can play with the urgency and experience of Champions to edge out the Raptors as they pull away in the fourth quarter.
Monday 10th June
Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors Game 5 Pick: In the last couple of years we have heard the Golden State Warriors being compared to the great Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls team and a number of other teams that have become dynasties in the NBA. Winning a third NBA Championship in a row would have backed up those who put the Golden State Warriors up alongside the very best teams in NBA history, but a 3-2 record in the NBA Finals doesn't look nearly as good.
The Warriors would have won four in a row heading into the 2018/19 season if it wasn't for a collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers when leading the 2016 NBA Finals 3-1. They became the first NBA team to blow that lead in a best of seven game Finals, but now the Warriors are hoping for some redemption after dropping both games at home in the NBA Finals.
Being 3-1 down and with all the momentum going to the Toronto Raptors looks to be a long path back for Golden State. Injuries have hurt them at the wrong time, but both Kevan Looney and Klay Thompson played on Friday and have had a couple of days to rest and get ready for this one.
The biggest news could be the impending return of Kevin Durant whose stock has risen significantly during the NBA Finals without taking to the court for one game. Durant practiced on Sunday and the feeling is that he will be suited up for Game 5, although how much anyone can impact a game when coming back after almost a month on the sidelines is up in the air.
At the very least Durant will perhaps open things up for the Warriors Offensively having seen the team struggle outside of the Splash Brothers for scoring. Steph Curry and Thompson will need to be efficient from the field and hope someone else can step up for them, especially if Toronto continue to find and knock down the open shots as they have been doing.
Toronto have loved playing at home and I think they are going to be very confident they can close out this Finals even if Durant is available to play. Kawhi Leonard is almost certainly finishing as MVP, but he has been well supported through the likes of Danny Green, Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet who are playing at a high level Offensively and Defensively.
Since the news of Durant broke the spread is almost dropping to a pick 'em line and my lean is perhaps with the Raptors after winning both games at the Oracle Arena. It is definitely hard to oppose them, but I have to think Golden State bounce back from a sub-par Offensive showing and that could help Game 5 of the NBA Finals surpass the total points line set for the game.
The 'over' has a strong trend when you see the Warriors playing on the road and the two days of rest between games should help them on that side of the court too. Even a rusty Durant will help open things up as the Raptors will have to respect the shooting of the best player in the NBA and that should also help the Warriors in finding some success.
It has also been the play in recent Toronto games and I don't think this team is going to suddenly move off the three point line which has been a key weapon for them in the PlayOffs. Relying on the three ball can be difficult for teams when the rhythm is slightly off, but I think Toronto are in form and they can contribute to what should be a high-scoring Game 5 with so much on the line for both teams and their potential futures.
Thursday 13th June
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors Game 6 Pick: Where else can you possibly start than with Kevin Durant? It was awful seeing him going down with what was a ruptured Achilles tendon that leaves his availability for the 2019/20 season up in the air.
Seeing one of the best players in the world go down and look like he is going to miss a prime year of his career is hard and I agreed with Jalen Rose and his assessment of things. In fact I had said the same things to friends in the aftermath of Game 5 in that Durant was in a lose-lose situation and he should never have risked his own health for the benefit of those who have wanted to write negative stories about him ever since he signed with the Golden State Warriors.
If he hadn't played we would have heard more reports from sources that Durant is being questioned by team-mates, as we did after Game 4, and if he had scored 50 points and lasted through Game 5 I am sure there would have been articles questioning why he didn't come back sooner.
For the narrative the injury was perhaps the best thing that happened, but you would have to be one cold hearted piece of work to think this is best for Durant. In a year when he was the Number 1 Free Agent heading to the market, this is a tragedy not just for those fanbases who though they could entice Durant to their teams, but for the whole NBA and anyone who enjoys watching the best play the best.
The Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors have no choice but to head to Game 6 and let the Durant issue move to the back of the mind. Golden State barely were able to do that in Game 5 as they won for the second time on the road in the Finals, although it does mean only Game 1 has been won by the hosts.
Now we are back at the Oracle Arena for the last time no matter what happens and the Warriors have to use the emotion of the scenario to help them find a way to force a Game 7. Once again the issue is whether they have enough scoring avenues to overcome the loss of Durant and the slow down in Game 5 suggests it is not going to be easy for them.
There is some pressure on the Raptors too who will feel they have done enough to win the Finals already, yet here they are facing a Game 6 in a hostile environment. Toronto have won twice here already in the Finals and once in the regular season so I do think they are capable of getting things done on Thursday, but the pressure of expectation could be having an impact on them.
Three point shooting is obviously very important for the Warriors, but they have to find a way to make things easier for themselves by attacking the rim too. Getting into the bonus has been something the Raptors have been able to do with consistency success, but the Warriors need to find all avenues of scoring if they are going to force a Game 7 back on the road.
The Raptors have been able to produce some consistency Offensively and they should have their own successes here. There is more depth to their rotation and the Raptors will know how to win here which makes them very dangerous and closing out the Series and the Finals would not be a huge surprise.
I don't think the Warriors will go away quietly even being short-handed and I am still a little irritated Game 5 ended up with an 'under' considering where the game was at half time. It is a concern that the home team don't have enough to break down the Raptors in this one, but I am going to make the same play and look for the teams to actually foul down the stretch to give themselves a chance to help climb over the total points line set.
MY PICKS: 30/05 Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors Under 214 Points @ 2.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
02/06 Golden State Warriors @ 2.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)
05/06 Toronto Raptors + 4.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
07/06 Golden State Warriors - 4.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
10/06 Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors Over 214 Points @ 1.91 Betfair Sportsbook (1 Unit)
13/06 Golden State Warriors-Toronto Raptors Over 211.5 Points @ 1.91 Betfair Sportsbook (1 Unit)
NBA Finals: 2-3, - 0.89 Units (5 Units Staked, - 17.80% Yield)
Conference Finals: 4-6, - 2.36 Units (10 Units Staked, - 23.60% Yield)
Second Round: 12-11, - 0.04 Units (23 Units Staked, - 0% Yield)
First Round: 23-17, + 4.02 (40 Units Staked, + 10.05% Yield)
02/06 Golden State Warriors @ 2.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)
05/06 Toronto Raptors + 4.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
07/06 Golden State Warriors - 4.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
10/06 Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors Over 214 Points @ 1.91 Betfair Sportsbook (1 Unit)
13/06 Golden State Warriors-Toronto Raptors Over 211.5 Points @ 1.91 Betfair Sportsbook (1 Unit)
NBA Finals: 2-3, - 0.89 Units (5 Units Staked, - 17.80% Yield)
Conference Finals: 4-6, - 2.36 Units (10 Units Staked, - 23.60% Yield)
Second Round: 12-11, - 0.04 Units (23 Units Staked, - 0% Yield)
First Round: 23-17, + 4.02 (40 Units Staked, + 10.05% Yield)
No comments:
Post a Comment