The NBA Finals are less than seven hours away, and as basketball fans, we should be thrilled for this matchup. In recent memory, the Finals have been very predictable and boring but not this year. Both teams have NBA Finals MVP’s, multiple All-Stars, former Defensive MVP’s, and All-NBA selected players.

The Stars

Warriors-Since Kevin Durant got hurt in Game 5 with a calf strain against the Rockets, Steph Curry has been sensational in the Western Conference Finals. Curry averaged 36.5 PPG along with 8.3 RPG, 7.3 APG while shooting 42.6 percent from three and 46.6 percent from the field, which is his highest since the 2017 playoffs where he shot 48.4 percent from the field. For the Warriors to win this series, Steph will have to continue to win his matchup. Also, this is the best defensive team the Warriors have played in the playoffs and one of the best they have played all season. The Raptors will try to make Curry as uncomfortable as possible. Klay Thompson has also stepped up his game since Durant’s absence and has reminded the world why he is one of the best two-way players in the NBA. In the WCF he put up 21.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, with 1.8 SPG while shooting 34.4 from three. Unfortunately for the Raptors, Klay hasn’t played his best basketball yet it’s only a matter of time before he explodes for 35+ points in a game.

Raptors- If there was a playoff MVP award it would clearly go to Kawhi Leonard. In the ECF he showed the basketball world why he is a top-three player in the world. Leonard made the Greek Freak look pretty ordinary while averaging 29.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.2 SPG while shooing 34.4 percent from three. Durant is supposed to miss the first two games of this series which will free up the KLAW to guard Steph. I expect Leonard to give the Warriors fits on both sides of the ball but especially on the offensive end. For the Raptors to win this series Leonard will have to average at least 30 PPG and at times try to shutdown Curry when need be.

X-Factors

Warriors- One guy that has stepped up his game is Draymond Green; the Warriors are 30-1 when Green has a triple-double and has had eight double-doubles in his last nine games. Most importantly Green hasn’t had technical foul since the first round. In Green’s last 16 games he is averaging 13.6 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 8.2 APG along with 1.4 SPG and 1.7 BPG. Green might not be Golden State’s best player but undoubtedly there most important one. He will have to be on his A-game for the Warriors to win this series, especially on the road, as he is their vocal leader and gets everyone in order defensively.

The Warriors are very thin down-low but they will have to rely on Kevon Looney to continue to make an impact, so far in the playoffs, Looney has played very well under the radar and ranks in the top three in major advanced analytics such as Offensive Rating, Net Rating, Effective Field Goal Percentage, and True Shooting Percentage.

Raptors- Demarcus Cousins might play this series but will more than likely his minutes will be limited, meaning Marc Gasol has to dominate his matchup and this series. The Warriors have a lot of things but size in the low-post is not one of them. In the playoff, he is only averaging 8.6 PPG that will need to double at least for them to win. There is hope for Raptor nation Gasol is shooting 40 percent from three in the playoffs, and only shots the ball seven times a game. If he decides to shot the ball more and dominate in the post the Raptors will dictate the pace of play which will be a huge advantage for them. Not to mention he will need to continue to dominate defensively in the paint, Gasol is a former DPOY and will need to challenge everything at the rim especially on Curry drives to the basket. Not to mention he will have to be disciplined and not allow Draymond to throw those backside lobs to Looney and Iguodala.

Another x-factor in this series is Kyle Lowry, he has the toughest assignment defensively as he will be expected to guard Steph Curry. Lowry is currently battling a left-hand injury but will have to play through that and play well. Lowry this season was 2nd in the league in APG at 8.7, not only will he have to set his teammates up for easy shots but he will have to score as well, in the ECF Lowry got his confidence back and played sensational averaging 19.2 PPG while shooting 46.5 percent from three and 50.7 from the field. When Lowry plays well the whole team plays well which takes pressure off of Leonard if the Raptors want to bring their first title to Toronto Lowry will have to score 30 points at least twice in this series.

The Bench

Warriors- Since the Warriors dynasty has begun, they have always believed in “strength in numbers” and they will continue to do so in this series, don’t be surprised if Steve Kerr decides to play 10, 11 guys. Since KD has missed the past five games Kerr has had to rely on other guys to replace the 43 minutes in his absence, at some points during the WCF Kerr played 11 guys and it worked out very well for them, now how’s that for “strength in numbers”. Golden State has one of the best cultures in sports history and it leads to no matter who they put on the floor they will be successful. This team just knows how to win and every player knows their specific role and will be a star in it. I expect Andrew Bogut and Damian Jones will play a lot more minutes due to Toronto’s size down-low. Also, I expect Jordan Bell to give them great minutes off the bench when he is on the floor good things happen, he has a knack for the ball and will hustle and compete no matter what. Kerr and the Warriors will count on him to bring a spark off the bench and help them on the road when the Raptors go on big runs.

Raptors- In the ECF the Raptors bench was outstanding led by Fred Vanvleet, in his last three games (since his son was born) he’s averaging 16 PPG while shooting 68 percent from the field and 82 percent from three. Not to mention Norman Powell has resurrected his career and has given Toronto great minutes off the bench especially on defense as he ranks 4th in playoffs in all players in defensive rating. The Raptors have great depth off their bench and will need to use that to their advantage to wear down Golden State.

This year’s NBA Finals should be a good one, for starters, we as basketball fans deserve this, last two years we have seen a sweep and a gentleman’s sweep. Well, this year will be different and I expect this will go six to seven games, although the Warriors are favored to win let’s give the Raptors some respect, they do have home-court advantage and have the best player in this series on their team.



