JB7 wrote:TheGeneral99 wrote:MadDogSHWA wrote:
I *think* you're thinking of the Kawhi that won the chip the year before. That Kawhi has never been seen since. That's my main point.
He literally was the same for the Clippers in the 2019-2020 season and was healthy in the playoffs:
2018-2019: 27, 7 and 3 on 50%fg and 37%3fg
2019-2020: 27, 7 and 5 on 47%fg and 38%3fg
Virtually identical. His playoff stats were almost identical as well.
You are thinking after 2020 when he got hurt in the 2021 playoffs. He would have been healthy for our bubble run.
I think you forget that the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to Denver that post-season in a miraculous classic "Doc Rivers" series upset. Clippers had a legit chance to win that year and blew it.
The point is that the Raptors likely win the 2020 title with Kawhi on that squad. After 2020 they wouldn't have because Kawhi couldn't stay healthy anymore.
I think part of that Clippers collapse in the 2020 bubble playoffs was Kawhi, who like many players during that playoffs were not happy being quarantined in Disney World for those playoffs.
I think as the losing built up in that collapse, by the end Kawhi was probably happy to be able to go home.
Do you think that would have been different with the Raps?
I don’t think players viewed the COVID bubble playoffs as legit. The only player that relished it was Lebron, who knew it was probably his only chance to win with the Lakers, since he had a 3month rest before the playoffs.
I’m sceptical the Raps would have repeated in 2020, and if they had, it would have had a massive asterisk beside it if they were the ones to win it.
So your unsubstantiated theory is that Kawhi deliberately played worse and blew the 3-1 series lead because he wanted to go home!?
Not sure how you think Raptors going back-to-back and winning again wouldn't be looked at as legit. They already won the year before...they would just cement themselves as an all-time great team, ESPECIALLY if they beat Lebron.
Winning back-to-back championships is incredibly rare...and only the greatest teams of all-time have done so. Raptors would have put themselves in the echelon with teams like the 1980s Pistons, the early 2000s Lakers, and the early 2010s Heat.
Not sure how you are skeptical? We literally went to game 7 against Boston without Kawhi and Siakam was horrible offensively. Kawhi being there would have took pressure off Siakam and given us a legit 30 point scorer and closer. Lowry, Ibaka and OG were great that series. You don't think we would have beat the Heat in the ECF, who also went to game 7 with Boston? We were a level above both those squads with a healthy Kawhi.
Another great thing about having Kawhi there is that it moves Vanvleet to the bench, making us much more well rounded. We went with a crazy small Lowry-Fred backcourt. Instead our starting line-up that year could have been Lowry, Norm, Kawhi, Siakam, Gasol with Fred, OG, and Ibaka off the bench. Just lethal.
