NBA Finals: Thoughts on Game 5, Kevin Durant’s Injury + Warriors’ Chances

Check out the latest episode of Around the Arc where I give you my thoughts on game 5 of the NBA finals, the Warriors’ chances plus KD’s devastating injury

The 2019 NBA Finals threw another couple of curveballs at us in Game 5, with the Golden State Warriors pulling out a nail-biting one-point victory, but it did come at a cost as Kevin Durant made his long-awaited return, only to suffer an apparent Achilles injury early in the second quarter.

The stage seemed set for the Toronto Raptors to win their first ever NBA championship in Game 5 of this year’s Finals series against the Warriors. And after KD went down, it became that much more of an inevitability. And then, when Kawhi rattled off 10 points in 90 seconds to give Toronto a 103-97 cushion (with around three and a half minutes left), I – along with every other fan watching – thought that was it. That was Kawhi the Dynasty Killer’s crowning moment and surely, would be the final nail in the Dubs dynasty coffin.

But oh how wrong we were.

With a little over three minutes remaining, Raptors’ head coach, Nick Nurse called an unnecessary timeout. At this point, the Raps had a six-point lead, Kawhi was on an absolute roll, and the Splash Brothers for the Warriors were visibly tired.

So, after Kawhi’s rhythm was interrupted and Steph and Klay got a breather, the Raps would see their lead evaporate in the blink of an eye as the Dubs’ backcourt would hit three consecutive 3s, with Klay Thompson hitting the go-ahead trey with less than a minute to go, giving the defending champs a lead that they ultimately, wouldn’t give up.

And now here we are; eagerly waiting for a pivotal Game 6.

*And while you’re waiting, be sure to check out the latest episode of the “Around the Arc” podcast where I give you my thoughts on:

• Golden State’s Game 5 win to keep their chances of a three-peat alive
• The Warriors chances of winning this series with Durant going down
• Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury and what it could mean for his future and free agency