Four straight years, the Golden State gods have battled King James and the Cavalier kingdom for supremacy in the basketball realm. The Golden State gods have taken three out of four holy contests to establish themselves as a dynasty for the ages. Now with King James exiled into the bright lights of Los Angeles and the Cavalier kingdom broken beyond repair once again with his departure, it seemed like none would stand in the way of the Golden State gods and their quest for a 3-peat. But, a new worthy opponent has risen to the occasion. Free from the 3-year tyranny of King James, the Raptors, feral beasts of the North, thought to be extinct, are reborn from the ashes as the new Kings of the East with a new leader. He is aformer Westener who has brought the Golden State gods a worthy challenge when healthy. He is "the Klaw" and he's out for blood to exact revenge with the Golden State gods weakened. No Zaza this time to take out the imminent threat he brings to their reign. Will the reign end or are the Golden State gods using their weakened state as a ploy as they regain their beautifully enigmatic basketball play?
Hope you guy liked that literature above. Welcome in to the 2019 NBA Finals preview provided by yours truly! Finally, we get a fresh new matchup after four straight years of Cavs vs. Warriors in a battle for NBA supremacy. Although the Warriors are still here in the Finals, we get a new Eastern Conference challenger all the way from Canada. Guess you can say finally whoever inserts "World Champions" on their banner gets to justify it. Because this is more than just a Finals matchup. This is a battle of two North American countries in the United States and Canada. This year's matchup features the defending champion Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors!
Golden State Warriors
Since you have to hear about this team for the fifth consecutive time on the blog, I recommend you skip this part. Was there ever a doubt that this team, someway, somehow will find a way to head to the NBA Finals? It's like I said before, the Golden State Warriors are the champs until they are dethroned. They'll have a chance to do something that no team has done since my childhood Lakers of Shaq and Kobe...3-peat. Though they won back-to-back titles and swept LeBron, banishing him to the depths of Hollywood, the Warriors continue to stay lock and loaded. This offseason, they reminded us of how unfair their organization and culture is compared to the 29 other teams that make up the NBA. They signed DeMarcus Cousins to a cheap 1-year deal and all of a sudden, their starting lineup is literally the Western All-Stars. However, they wouldn't insert him into the lineup until January, but nonetheless they still dominated with or without him.
Despite the invincibility the Warriors bring, there is some drama brewing inside the team. The biggest trigger is the looming free agency of Kevin Durant. It's pretty questionable why he would leave the Warriors when they are his best shot at winning multiple championships. But clearly, the rumors got bigger with him being linked to signing with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, or Los Angeles Lakers (we're not getting him, be realistic). In fact, things got testy with Durant and Draymond as Green pointed that "they already won a championship without him." Well, he's not wrong. The Warriors signed KD in the first place was so that they have somebody to counter LeBron in the finals. Now that the threat of LeBron is no more at the moment, Durant no longer has any purpose. But, despite all that, they were able to settle their differences to finish strong in the regular season and stay locked in come playoff time. They had quite a test against the superstar-less Clippers in the first round, but Durant's monster performances that series helped propel the Warriors to victory in six games. The next round involved a Western Conference Final rematch against the Rockets. This is where things shifted a little bit. Durant sustained a calf injury in Game 5 and he's out indefinitely. There's something fishy about that injury and it could be worse than what the Warriors are revealing to the media. KD out. Boogie out. That should spell the end of the dynasty right? There's only one problem...the Warriors lineup roster that's currently out there consists of nearly the same roster that won 73 games three years ago, albeit aging. From Game 6 against Houston to all four games against Portland in the Conference Finals, we saw the resurgence of the Warriors' beautiful ball movement, spacing, and pacing. I'm talking the 2014-2016 Warriors pre-KD. And it's all powered by their home-grown core of the 2x MVP Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. They also had big contributions from 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney, who has been nothing short of magnificent as a 6th man this postseason. How quickly they forget.
Toronto Raptors
Relax Toronto. LeBron is no longer in the East to torment your souls year after year. The Raptors made headlines earlier this offseason in a surprising move to let this season's NBA Coach of the Year winner, Dwane Casey go after leading the Raptors to the #1 seed, only to get swept by King James in the 2nd round. In a follow up transaction, they promoted assistant coach, Nick Nurse as the next head coach. The Raptors were pretty much an unknown heading into this season as DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry had to live in the agony of coming up short yet again. However, they received a gift from the San Antonio Spurs in the form of Kawhi Leonard (and Danny Green as extra). Masai Ujiri deserves Executive of the Year for pulling that trade. Yes, it came at the cost of DeRozan, but what they got in return was a superstar, a Finals MVP, a DPOY winner, and one of the best two-way players in the game today. Who wouldn't be ecstatic to get a big return like that?
The acquisition of Leonard has turned the Raptors from a running joke in the East to an instant title contender. While Kawhi gets all the headlines, we can't overlook a few other Raptor players that stepped up. Pascal Siakam made major strides this year with a 16.9 PPG and 6.9 RPG breakout season. This major increase in production has deemed him worthy to be nominated for this year's Most Improved Player award. He might've supplanted Kyle Lowry as the 2nd option on the team. Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell are major contributors off the bench, VanVleet especially when he's shooting hot. Ujiri and the Raptors front office made some mid-season moves to strengthen the team as well by trading for Marc Gasol and giving away long time starter Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors had a lot of rationale in fielding a "win now" team. Kawhi is on a one-year rental and it's unknown if he wants to stay in Toronto long-term. But, he already built a legacy in Toronto in one year that surpasses what Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, and DeMar DeRozan did for the franchise in their tenure as Raptors. Come playoff time, he was an absolute animal on both ends of the floor. During the matchups against Orlando, Philly, and Milwaukee, he single-handedly carried the Raptors and put an end to their past playoff shortcomings. Nick Nurse is also doing a hell of a job as a first-year head coach, making all the necessary adjustments and placing his trust on his rotation. Heading into the finals for the first time in franchise history since their inception in 1995, the Raptors don't have just the city of Toronto behind them, but all of Canada as well.
Keys for the Dubs
Honestly, it'd be an added bonus if they get back Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins at some point in this series. But so far, the 2-time defending champions are holding their own with their home-grown Big 3 of Curry, Thompson, and Green. Since KD went out, Curry has been on an absolute tear. The shooting woes in the last few games are glaring, but in big moments Curry delivers when needed. The team has shifted back to his chain of command and he's looking for a Finals MVP this time around. Draymond Green is back to being the all-around player he used to be from 2014-2016, setting the tone on both ends of the floor. He too is going to be key, but he's gonna have his hands against bigger players such as Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Pascal Siakam, especially since the Warriors are heavily reliant on their small-ball "death lineup." Klay Thompson, it's simple, when he heats up, it's an added bonus for the Warriors' offense. Like Curry, Klay has had some shooting slumps, but delivers in key moments on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Splash Bros. will do work. Andre Iguodala is going to have the assignment in trying to contain Kawhi Leonard, he'll be an X-Factor as always. Like I said before, the Warriors are getting some big-time contribution from Kevon Looney off the bench. His youth and hustle on the boards could create some mismatch problems. The motto of this Warriors' dynasty has always been "Strength in Numbers." It's time to live up to that moniker again.
Keys for the Raps
The Raptors haven't been to a stage as big as the NBA Finals in their franchise history. However, they do have some players with some Finals experience. As mentioned, Kawhi Leonard is a former Finals MVP and this will be his third Finals appearance. Danny Green is in the same boat. Serge Ibaka has been there before in 2012 when the Heat eliminated his Thunder in five games. Patrick McCaw, despite not having any major role this postseason, has been on the Warriors' championship roster the past two years and could provide some valuable insight on how to beat them. The other Raptor players will definitely have some jitters despite having home court advantage. Kawhi Leonard has been a godsend for the Raptors this year. He's going to have to set the tone, but without the question the Warriors will gameplan for him defensively, so he's gonna need some outside help. Basically, it hinges on if anybody on the roster shows up this series. Kyle Lowry has to show up. VanVleet has to continue shooting the ball with confidence off the bench. Danny Green and Marc Gasol have had minimal contributions to the team so far this postseason. If any other option outside Kawhi steps up for Toronto, it could create a lot of problems for the Warriors. The Raptors have the size with Siakam, Ibaka, and Gasol to create mismatches against the Warriors' death lineup on the boards. With Durant and Cousins out, it's essential for the Raptors to come right out of the gate these first two games and give the back-to-back defending champs a worthy challenge.
Prediction
This was my pick for this year's NBA Finals since the start of the playoffs. I think Toronto has the personnel to match up well against Golden State. The Raptors' regular season sweep of the Warriors doesn't do a whole lot of justice in showing that as both teams were not at their current state at that time. Nonetheless, the Warriors didn't have a Finals matchup as intriguing as this since they faced a healthy Cavaliers team in 2016. This is especially since they don't have KD and Boogie to start this series. There's no question, the Raptors are going to give them a run for their money. Steve Kerr and Nick Nurse are going to have an epic chess match in coaching and game planning. But at the end of the day, you can't underestimate the heart of a champion. These Warriors are hungry to add on to the dynasty and become the first team to 3-peat in over a decade. Whether Durant and Cousins show up at all, the experience and championship mettle will be on display and look for them to give Oracle Arena one final sendoff with a championship celebration on the home floor.
Warriors in 6
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