The Golden State Warriors didn’t lose the NBA Finals because of injuries; the Toronto Raptors were the better team
The Toronto Raptors won Game 6 of the NBA Finals in an upset to capture the 2019 NBA Championship, the franchise’s first in team history.
Despite the plethora of injuries, the Golden State Warriors experienced – which, in the end, included significant injuries to both Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant – the Raptors were very deserving of an NBA Championship. The Raptors have been very consistent over the past few seasons, however, they have always come up short in the playoffs. The Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri made major moves last offseason to put the Raptors in the position to win a championship.
Likely, the attrition of five straight NBA Finals appearances wore down the Warriors. The Warriors, until the 2019 playoffs, had been very fortunate to not have many injuries. However, this is a luxury that many of Warrior’s opponents have not had over the years.
LeBron in 2015 NBA Finals (against the Warriors) did not have Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love due to injuries. The Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately lost to the Warriors in six games.
Moreover, most fans forget that Kawhi Leonard missed the entire season because of an injury he got while playing against the Warriors in the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
Could LeBron have captured two titles for Cleveland if it were not for injuries? Maybe? Probably?
Moreover, what about Chris Paul? James Harden suffered an eye injury in his series against the Warriors. Also, CP3 had to miss a Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals because of the injuries he sustained while playing against the Warriors.
Houston may have had won a title last year had it not been for injuries. And in 2019 NBA Finals Fred VanVleet got injured and missed part of Game 4. He did not play as well in Game 5 as a result.
And there are plenty of other examples of injuries impacting the playoffs in NBA history. Including Patrick Ewing suffering an Achilles injury in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals the year after Michael Jordan retired that led to him being unable to play in the NBA Finals. Ultimately, the New York Knicks lost in the finals to the San Antonio Spurs. Talk about bad luck.
Dealing with injuries are apart of basketball, and this is no excuse why the Warriors lost in the Finals. However, the Warriors have been lucky over the past few seasons and this is why it probably hurts them more.
Let’s not forget, the Warriors without KD featured a team with four players that have made All-Star appearances in the past two seasons and a former Finals MVP. Even with Klay Thompson and KD out of the lineup, the Warriors still featured DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala. That is a better starting lineup than literally 90 percent of the teams in the NBA.
Also, while Klay did not play all of Game 6 and still gave them 30 points in 30 minutes.
When Kerr was asked in his postgame conference about how the game would have unfolded if Klay had played the full game, he responded that it did not matter because he did not play.
Congratulations! No matter what, the @Raptors deserve credit. Focused. Poised. And they played together. pic.twitter.com/PdigLflOKZ
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 14, 2019
Toronto’s defense did a great job of blitzing and collapsing on him. The Raptors were 3-0 at Oracle this season before Game 6.
However, the injuries the Warriors sustained showed how talented, deep, and experienced the Warriors really are as a team. This allowed them to respond well to adversity in the playoffs.
Draymond Green, with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant out in Game 6, finished with 11 points, 13 assists, and 19 rebounds. As good as many fans thought Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were before, most fans believe now they are even better.
It feels like the free agency period is over before it even started because of the 2019 NBA Finals. With the Raptors winning a championship, Kawhi will likely stay with the Raptors, and Klay and KD maybe out all of next season with injuries. There is no telling how good they will be when they return.
Sure, the Warriors had to overcome injuries. But they aren’t to blame for their loss. In the end, the Raptors won because they played amazing basketball.