Series Thread: NBA Finals: Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors

[TurnUpTheHeat]

@bksballer89 @TurnUpTheHeat

My thoughts exactly.

I thought he only made shots vs Heat

 

[bksballer89]

Actually, I think Kawhi was below average last night. Lowry from an offensive standpoint, didn't do a thing and they still won. That's what's more concerning about this series for GS.

They need Durant, that's clear as day now.

Toronto has length to give the Dubs problem and their defense was on point. Meanwhile, the Warriors kept leaving every shooter open so as to double up on Kawhi. That's likely going to change in game 2 - make Kawhi beat you 1-on-1 and don't allow the other guys to get into a rhythm. Because of this method, Gasol and Green were able to have good games for the Raptors.

The problem with playing him 1 on 1 is that's easy foul trouble for Draymond or Klay

 

[Nightcrawler]

From a defensive aspect, we saw what the Warriors are like without Iggy last year when they played the Rockets. It allowed the Rockets to come back in the series and almost win. If Durant were to come back completely healthy game 2 and no Iggy, GS is still screwed.

Durant isn’t going to play game 2.

He hasn’t even practiced yet.

 

[raptorlife4]

Can Nick Nurse get some respect please

 

[msgkings322]

He can’t be any worse than Draymond. At least he doesn’t yell at the refs after literally every call.

Draymond has almost completely stopped yelling at refs. Pay attention

 

[Nightcrawler]

Draymond has almost completely stopped yelling at refs. Pay attention

Not what I saw when I was watching.

 

[Shanemansj13]

GSW look bad, they have just been playing in the West which is weak so they looked better than they are.

No they didn’t. Toronto just looked better. They took what GS gave them, Kawhi broke down that double much better than Lillard but most importantly his teammates were making shots. Siakam had some pretty easy ones but that is more about what Toronto did than GS

 

[Heatles84]

Durant isn’t going to play game 2.

He hasn’t even practiced yet.

This was more of a hypothetical situation summarizing how important Iggy is to Golden State's success.

 

[Heatles84]

The problem with playing him 1 on 1 is that's easy foul trouble for Draymond or Klay

True. But I'd rather Kawhi have to get close to 40 points a game, then let the others beat you.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Draymond has almost completely stopped yelling at refs. Pay attention

So “almost for him” is not every play. Got it

 

[Heatles84]

No they didn’t. Toronto just looked better. They took what GS gave them, Kawhi broke down that double much better than Lillard but most importantly his teammates were making shots. Siakam had some pretty easy ones but that is more about what Toronto did than GS

Dopes are constantly insinuating that the Warriors have had an easy road. That for the last 5 years, they haven't had one difficult series. It's unimaginable that the Raptors just might actually be good while Golden State is also a good team.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

 

[Nightcrawler]

The raptors beat golden state both times in the regular season. Maybe the dinosaurs are just a bad matchup?

 

[Heatles84]

The raptors beat golden state both times in the regular season. Maybe the dinosaurs are just a bad matchup?

That also is true. Think about the lengthy defenders they have - Kawhi, Siakam, and Ibaka. On top of that, Lowry's a pretty good defensive guard. And Gasol, who's not mentioned much, is a former DPOY.

 

[JayVee]

Nobody dislikes the Warriors and Draymond as much as me, but I swear if I had the spare money laying around I would pay Draymond's fine if he knocked that cheesy ass Drake tfo.

I've been a Kawahi fan since his second season and I'm at the point where I almost hope he leaves so I can hate the Raptors.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Nobody dislikes the Warriors and Draymond as much as me, but I swear if I had the spare money laying around I would pay Draymond's fine if he knocked that cheesy ass Drake tfo.

I've been a Kawahi fan since his second season and I'm at the point where I almost hope he leaves so I can hate the Raptors.

He could very well leave even if he won a ship in Toronto after one season. He would be the savior for one season, a statue for one season lol. Like how could Toronto fans hate him for leaving and bringing them a ship in one season. It’s possible, but not likely.

 

[blazer prophet]

Watched the game and was blown away with 2 things....

The first was how well Toronto defended, and of note the 3 pt line. I have never seen GS defended so well. They also defended the extra passes well. I'm talking the passes GS uses to break teams down with. Amazing.

The second was all the cherry picking the Raptors did. To the tune of over 24 points. Took a page out of the GS playbook and made them pay.

A dominate performance.

 

[bksballer89]

True. But I'd rather Kawhi have to get close to 40 points a game, then let the others beat you.

I get but Toronto doesn't have a lot of one dimensional players.

Siakam and Lowry can create their own shot.

Gasol (especially if the Warriors keep switching) can get his own shot.

Same for Ibaka even though he is trash.

So guarding Kawhi 1 on 1 really only hurts Green and Van Vleet for the most part.

It is just hard to play anyone 1 on 1 in this league without helping at some point.

If your guard gets beat 1 on 1 then someone will likely help instead of allowing a wide open layup.

 

[bksballer89]

Considering how well he played in the ECF, it was pretty shocking to see Powell only get 5 minutes of action.

What was up with that @Bloody Brian Burke @raptorlife4

 

[Heatles84]

I get but Toronto doesn't have a lot of one dimensional players.

Siakam and Lowry can create their own shot.

Gasol (especially if the Warriors keep switching) can get his own shot.

Same for Ibaka even though he is trash.

So guarding Kawhi 1 on 1 really only hurts Green and Van Vleet for the most part.

It is just hard to play anyone 1 on 1 in this league without helping at some point.

If your guard gets beat 1 on 1 then someone will likely help instead of allowing a wide open layup.

Again, that is true. But doubling up Kawhi, similar how they did to Dame in the conference finals yielded different results. If you force these guys to create their own shots, it takes their offense out of rhythm. It's much better than leaving Van Vleet, Green and Gasol open for 3's like they did in the first half.