The Case for the Toronto Raptors
As has been the case all playoffs long, everything for the Raptors starts with Kawhi Leonard who has put together one of the most impressive individual postseason runs in recent memory. The overall impact he has on winning both on offense and defense can’t be matched by many players in NBA history and he’s going to need to sustain – and maybe even elevate – this level of greatness for his team to have a chance against the mighty Warriors!
Leonard did sustain some sort of leg injury in Game 3 against the Bucks and was noticeably hobbled for much of the rest of that series but now, with almost a week to rest and recover before the start of the finals, Toronto’s best player looks to be 100 percent and ready to go for Game 1 which should be a scary thought for the Warriors!
Another strength of this Raptors team all year has been their bench. In the regular season, they were one of the deepest teams in the NBA but in the early rounds of the playoffs, the bench unit disappeared. Aside from a couple of moments and flashes Serge Ibaka showed, most of the heavy lifting was left to Kawhi and the other starters (probably a big reason why Leonard has looked exhausted at times). But that changed in the conference finals when both Fred Van Fleet and Norman Powell found their games and provided huge lifts in critical moments in that series.
So now that the bench has seemingly regained its form, that could spell trouble for the Warriors since their bench unit was one of the worst in the league all season and we just don’t know if they can sustain the level of play they’ve shown in the playoffs to this point.
Kyle Lowry is another big key for Toronto in this series. Despite his infamous playoff struggles of years past, signs are pointing to the good playoff Lowry showing up in the 2019 NBA finals. He has gotten progressively better each round this postseason, resulting in arguably the best playoff series of his career in the conference finals against the Bucks where he put up 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists on shooting splits of .507/.465/.844.
While he may not be able to keep up that blazing scoring efficiency, if he can remain as active and engaged on both ends as he has been, then he could end up being a good barometer for which team comes out on top.
Having home court advantage shouldn’t be glossed over either as Toronto will need any little advantage they can get. Also, they’ve been very good at home this postseason, with a record of 8-2 and they go from a very good home team to an unbeatable one when Drake is on his game. So look for plenty more sideline antics and trash talk (and shoulder rubs) in this series!
And finally, this Raptors team should be “hungrier” than the Warriors as, on paper, they should have more to play for…
Aside from Kawhi and Danny Green (who both won a title with the Spurs in 2014), for every guy on this roster, the 2019 NBA finals could prove to be their best – and possibly only – chance at a championship. This especially rings true for guys like Lowry, Ibaka and Marc Gasol who are not getting any younger and only have so many productive years left in their respective careers!