2019 NBA Finals Thread, Part 1 | Golden State Warriors vs Toronto Raptors

[everdiso]

Raptors fans... Be better. I have 0 ill will for anyone on your team. I actually like your players, but your fan base is awful. You will lose 4-0 and try not to make asses of yourselves. Maybe everyone else will finally respect you.

The best way to not make an ass of yourself is to make sure you have good evidence and reasoning for your bold declarations.

[everdiso]

Gsw sweep. This isn't even close, raps don't have the guards to run around chasing the splash brothers

Nurse could put Klaw on Steph, Green on Klay, Siakam/Ibaka on KD and Gasol on Cousins

Putting anyone on Steph is kind of pointless because he runs most of his action off the P&R so he will get the switch he wants. Raptors will have to run small with Siakam/Kawhi/Green on the floor at the same time and hope they don't give up the offensive rebound after the switch.

The only time Steph is really bothered is someone who is willing to chase him around like a Dellavedova and Kawhi isn't exact the most fleet of foot when it comes to chasing people around. Guarding Steph or Klay won't be easy for Kawhi since both are great catch and shoot threats after running off of screens. It's Siakam and Green who will have to do most of the heavy lifting defensively this series.

raps will be switching like mad, like they always do. everyone helps, everyone defends everyone.

[cpower]

Its good to be underdog again. I am feeling the 2015 vibes

[SFour]

Raptors need to take advantage of the first 2 home games where the Warriors likely won't have KD....if they can get up 2-0 that would be a nice cushion for when KD returns and things get tougher.

For game 1 right now Warriors are favoured by 1...which tells me it's anyone's game and Vegas has no clue who's going to win.

[simple_jack]

Also the Raptors have been more tested to get to the Finals.

GS have faced some soft teams.

To say GS will just sweep the Raptors?!? Lmao

Portland had leads in every game while dealing with injuries to Dame and Kanter.

They are also a weak defensive team.

Raptors have levels to their D that they can switch it up to

[Wolfgang630]

Its good to be underdog again. I am feeling the 2015 vibes

Not sure if serious

[ahmetmekin]

The Raps are clear underdogs.

I would like to see the actual arguments supporting that assertion.

1) Look at the odds. It is like 70-30% according to betting companies.
2) Look at the players and advanced stats.
Steph+Dray combo has an impact of two superstars. It is very difficult to match this impact. The warriors have terrific 1 on 1 defenders such as Iggy and Klay. This will decrease Kawhi’s efficiency. The warriors have 3 of the top 4 players in this series. Curry is the best offensive player by a decent margin and Dray is the best defensive player by a decent margin at the same time. If Curry plays his usual game this is most likely a 4-2 wins for the Warriors. Note that KD may also return at some point. He is not a bad player either.

[WreckJohnson]

Raptors have defended GSW well this year. This is before Gasol trade so it's mostly Ibaka out there and he did fine.

Watch on YouTube

Just watch FVV chasing Curry around for a good chunk of that vid. Also remember those SICK Danny Green postups on Steph on the other end? We will see what happens in this series, RealGM General Board experts

[TMU]

Is this finals going to be aired exclusively on NBATV?

[Th3RaptorSwag]

We made it to the Finals. Let's go Raptor family. League better show some respect to Toronto!!!


GS in 5 however.

[Lamak]

pretty crazy the raps are in the finals after so many raps in 4 posts. series should be warriors in 5

[simple_jack]

Is this finals going to be aired exclusively on NBATV?

NBA fans are the best in the world.


Can’t wait for this series. Just hope the Raptors can help make this entertaining for all of you.

We’ve all been used to the entertainment of seeing Lebron lose

[djsunyc]

Warriors in 4 is the most hilarious outcome for the Finals. Oh, what it would mean for both Kevin Durant's legacy and Kawhi's future in Toronto

It would be DELICIOUS!

i still find it very funny that people think the results of this season will determine what kawhi will do. nothing will influence his decision on the court. his decision will be based solely on off court stuff. the smart money is on him leaving. which is fine, he will do what he needs to do. can't hate on it.

all i know is that everyone will think this is the warriors series. but i think the raptors will surprise alot of people.

[Zvaart]

Gs sweep. Real NBA Finals was Hou GS

No, that was just a western semifinal among many others. Quite an easy one, the dubs took it in six even without durant, and in Flopper Center.

[jc23]

Its good to be underdog again. I am feeling the 2015 vibes

your not tho.

[jc23]

Raptors have homecourt and got some extra rest for Kahwai by winning in 6. I need more info on iggy and KD to make an accurate prediction. My pick is dubs in 7 with assumption that Iggy is healthy and KD is back by game 6.

[FlatearthZorro]

I dunno I got the Warriors in 6. I just enjoy watching Warriors b-ball, it's beautiful, and it's what b-ball is all about. Could go either way.

[FlatearthZorro]

Kawhi > Curry
Lowry = Dray
Siakam = Klay
Gasol > Looney
Green = Igoudala

Fred > Livingston
Ibaka > Bogut
Norm > McKinnie

Kawhi and Curry are not comparable at all. Curry is a PG and he will be matched with Lowry, Klay and Iggy will play Kawhi. Green will play Siakam.

[justme400e]

I'm picking the Warriors in 6 although it could easily go 7. They've been playing an inspired brand of basketball in the last couple of series that's been absent and there's a good chance KD comes back. With both teams playing well it's pretty hard to call. We'll see how it turns out but it should mean a great Finals.

[yoyoboy]

Kawhi leonard coming in to these finals averaging 31/9/4 on 62% TS with elite defense and beating teams better than LeBron ever did in the east relative to their supporting cast. 4 wins away from the greatest playoff peak in NBA history. Being able to go to the finals with a franchise for the first time ever and defeat a team with 5 straight finals and doing it while putting up those numbers, GOAT playoff peak.

God, stop exaggerating. It's not even a top 10 postseason performance if you restrict it to one playoff run per player. 3.6 assists to 2.9 turnovers per game is what prevents Kawhi from entering the category of the absolute best offensive stars in history. His playmaking isn't very good and he doesn't have that much off ball gravity, so you're left with a guy whose primary value on offense comes from his isolation scoring.

By my calculations, Toronto is a +0.4 rORTG team in this postseason (meaning adjusting Toronto's offensive performance for level of defense played). That's absolutely nothing special. LeBron has led historically great offenses in the postseason throughout his career while also providing elite defense during his prime. And stop completely ignoring that Kawhi has an amazing cast that went 17-5 in games he missed during the season. With Lowry on the court and Kawhi off the court in the regular season and playoffs, Toronto is +11.7. With Kawhi on the court and Lowry off the court, Toronto is +5.1. With both on, the Raptors are +10.4. What that shows is Lowry's value in running an offense can't be understated. And then you look at the fact that Kawhi's team has a great defender at literally every position you look. Lowry, Green, Siakam, Gasol, Ibaka, and so on. Toronto is winning these games with their defense, because their offense has been very average as a whole, and on defense every guy is contributing. It's not Kawhi just carrying the load.

That's not to say Kawhi isn't having a great postseason run but it's damn annoying to see how caught up in the moment people are. Kawhi's 8.8 postseason BPM this year wouldn't even rank in the top 30 all time of guys who logged over 500 minutes in the postseason. LeBron actually has 9 seasons ranking ahead of Kawhi in that regard. BPM isn't the be-all and end-all, but when you add in the fact that Kawhi isn't exactly leading that great of an offense and has an elite defensive supporting cast beside him, it's not the GOAT run you're trying to paint it to be.