Toronto Raptors: 4 Ways the NBA Finals Could End
By Go Paolo
Warriors Cut Through the Raptors
The most predictable but also likely ending to this NBA Finals is a Golden State victory in five or six games, perhaps even a sweep.
The Warriors won’t have homecourt advantage for the first time in five series, yet they have always won the first two games. They are 6-4 on the road and have never lost back-to-back road games.
What’s even scarier is how hot they’ve gotten since losing Durant. They blitzed through the Portland Trail Blazers in just four games overcoming 15-point deficits on three separate occasions.
Steph Curry is playing like a man possessed averaging 35.8 points while hitting six threes a game at 41.7-percent in the five games without Durant. Draymond Green has also reverted to his do-it-all monster form while Klay Thompson is playing with a chip on his shoulder.
And without Durant for the first two games, the Warriors push the tempo and play from the perimeter more.
Toronto is overwhelmed from the barrage of threes from Golden State while Green wreaks havoc and disrupts the Raptors’ plays.
The Warriors snipe the Raptors in Game 1 but Toronto fights back and ties the series in Game 2. Heading into Oakland, Durant returns and helps limit Leonard while making big plays down the stretch. Golden State edges Toronto in Game 3. The Raptors are exhausted and get blown out in Game 4.
Back in Toronto, the Raptors play desperately and build a lead on the Warriors. But as they usually do, the Warriors roar back and Toronto can’t answer.
The fans, stifling cries from both heartbreak and pride, still cheer them on and chant, “Thank You, Raptors.”