NBA Finals Game 1
Here is a new sentence that's never been said before. "The Raptors are leading a game in the finals"
I grew up a HUGE NBA fan. I haven't paid much attention to the league for the last few years, but I've watched a ton of games this year, the NBA is fun right now.
This series should be interesting.
Kawhi is basically superman. Tons of respect for his game.
Respectfully disagree. The NBA is incredibly boring and no drama. Everyone knew from the start the Warriors would win it all and they will. Probably in 4 or 5. Give me the mid 80s - mid 2000s NBA any day.
I think Toronto has a legitimate shot to win this series.
I'm really interested to see Toronto's Defense which is pretty damn good, against the Warriors offense.
Ah yes, the mid 80's to mid 2000's, when either the Lakers, Bulls, Pistons, Rockets or Spurs won every championship
Also, in many ways the NBA is very much NOT boring right now
- 5 total teams played in the finals in all of the 80's. 4 different won
- 10 total teams in 90's. 4 different won
- 11 total teams in the 00's - 09. 5 different won
- 9 different teams in the 10's- 19. 6 different have won, with a possible of 7
So, even with LeBron going to the heat in 2010 and the rise of the "super teams" (which is a BS narrative), more different franchises have won NBA titles in this decade than the previous 3!
Don't we have enough drama queens in politics, hollywood, sports etc.
I can't believe Cousins is already back.
Such high level basketball. You can really tell the difference between pro and college.
Also, really refreshing to see the raptors.
1. I'm here for all the horrific NBA takes from the Mgo community that doesn't watch it.
2. Raptors will have to play nearly perfect to win this series and have Warriors have some shooting funks. Possible but not likely. Hoping for at least a 6 game series.
Raptors do not have to play perfect to win. If the Warriors are the Warriors that people know them to be the Raptors don't stand a chance. But the Raptors are much more talented and deeper outside of the top 3 guys than the Warriors.
I'm here to root against the kicking machine
Sometimes I get bored of the 3 and every 3 attempt being a hero or dagger shot.
Toronto being in the Finals is probably David Stern's nightmare . . . but he's retired now. Good to see an outsider franchise make a run at it.
I'm not sure about that. Their whole country is captivated. Much better option than Milwaukee.
Dunno. Toronto is going nuts, but people outside Ontario hate Toronto teams. Canadians would have been more behind Vancouver if they were still around, I think. The other thing is that Americans tend not to watch Canadian teams that much.
Milwaukee definitely wouldn't have been that appealing to him either though.
strongly disagree. Toronto may be hated but the Jays and Raptors enjoy a country wide fan base
Agreed. People outside of Toronto hate Toronto teams if they have their own team (ie: other NHL cities/provinces).
people in Canada despise the Leafs... TSN is called Toronto Sports Network due to them fawning over TML every season.
That said, the Blue Jays and Raptors really have a coast to coast fanbase...
good to see a new team in the Finals to be honest... Toronto may be in another country, but they have the 6th biggest market in the NBA... with Kawhi playing so well, i think the ratings should be fine
That’s the thing though...ppl in Canada are not watching the game on ABC so their viewership will not help at all! I’m sure the ratings on SN or TSN throughout Canada will be through the roof though.
Pascal Siakam is absolutely playing his ass off.
Also Draymond Green is a fun NBA player. I respect his game
The amount of bullshit the Raptors are getting away with on defense is absurd.
The refs will keep the series interesting.
I have to say, it has to be fun to be in one of the nearly thirty Jurassic Parks around Toronto right now....
people were lining up at 2 am, might be a bit ripe
This looks familiar. Warriors sleep walk through a good part of the game then will probably turn it on and take the W.
VanVleet!!!!!!!!!!
It’s the NBA finals. I’ll bet it goes 7
KD is out for game 1 and game 2.
Toronto wins game 1/2
Warriors sweep the next 4.
Warriors in 6
Too much time left for Toronto to be running a prevent offense and hoisting up terrible shots at the buzzer. Run your regular offense, do what got you to a big lead instead of trying to hang on against the best offensive team in the world.
Go, Canada!
The game was fairly good illustration of why the Warriors went out and got KD. While he makes them less efficient on the whole, it sure is helpful to have a second guy who can get his own shot.
"While he makes them less efficient on the whole..."
Holy balls, this is a brutal take. KD is the ninth-most efficient player in NBA history.
He also hasn't finished outside of the Top 8 in TS% since 2011.
Yes, Kevin Durant is exceedingly efficient at getting his own shot. That's not the same as making the entire offense efficient, as exemplified by the Warriors' net ratings when he plays without Curry. Lineups with him as the only starter on the floor are actually net negative, which isn't the case for Curry or Thompson.
What site are you looking at? NBA.com has the Warriors 2 worst lineups that spent any time together as Curry with no other starters and Thompson with no other starters, both of which are actually negative net ratings. Durant doesn't even have a significant lineup that's a net negative.
lmao you didn't even read the part you quoted
What a performance by the Raptors. Essentially wire-to-wire winners and played lockdown defense while their best player (Kawhi) wasn't having an incredible night. It seems like Siakam could do that every game until Durant returns, I really like the size advantage Toronto has at the moment as Golden State seemed to struggle to get good looks from outside due to all of the great Toronto perimeter defenders.
Looks like Steve Kerr may have to do some actual coaching instead of lounging on the sidelines.