Golden State Warriors
vs.
Toronto Raptors
Okay, so the Toronto Raptors did it! They knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks at home in Game 6, to complete their four game turnaround.
In an earlier post, I mentioned how this series kind of reminded me of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, when the heavily favored New York Knicks has taken the first two games, both at Madison Square Garden, convincingly, seemingly according to script. Then, the Pacers won their two home games to tie the series up. The Knicks had come out swinging and looking for the early knockout in Game 5, taking a huge lead early on, before the Pacers crawled back into it, and then Reggie Miller had enjoyed a historically good quarter when it seemed he could take a shot from anywhere on the court and not miss. The Pacers rode on that momentum to take the air out of a stunned and suddenly deflated Knicks team, as they stole a shocking road win, and suddenly had an opportunity to take the series with a home win in Game 6.
This series was similar, with the favored Bucks taking Game 1 with a strong fourth quarter comeback, before earning a convincing blowout win in Game 2. At that point, the series was going according to script, with Milwaukee looking like they were going to cruise to the Eastern Conference title, and the NBA Finals. But the Raptors barely survived in a tough overtime game to take Game 3, and then followed that up with a blowout win of their own in Game 4 to tie up the series. Then, the Bucks took a commanding, seemingly too easy early lead in Game 5, and just like with the Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden all of those years ago, the home crowd was rocking. But like Indiana had managed to do in Game 5 one quarter of a century ago, Toronto clawed their way back into it, and then, ultimately, found a way to win it with a very strong final quarter. No, they did not have Reggie Miller. But they had a complete team performance, and suddenly seemed to own all of the momentum in the series. They, like the Pacers, had stolen a shocking road win, and now were presented with an opportunity to take the series with a home win in Game 6.
However, that is where the similarities between these series end. The Pacers lost Game 6 at home, and then returned to Madison Square Garden to lose in the deciding Game 7. But Toronto managed to win Game 6, to win the series and take the Eastern Conference title, the first in franchise history. Everyone had been certain that the Milwaukee Bucks were destined for the NBA Finals when they owned a 2 games to none lead in this series, but now it is Toronto heading to the Finals, again for the first time in their history.
So, this series actually now reminds me more of the Eastern Conference Finals from the year before that Reggie Miller series of 1994. Because the year before, the New York Knicks had emerged as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, and were making a serious attempt to unseed the reigning champion Chicago Bulls. The Knicks had taken the first two games in that series, as well. But then they had to visit Chicago, a place that was never easy to win at, particularly in those days of Michael Jordan. The Bulls earned two convincing wins to even the series at two games apiece, and the Knicks looked happy to return back home to MSG. But then the Bulls played tough, and with a flurry of activity late in the fourth, including the infamous four missed layup attempts by Charles Smith as time was going increasingly short, the defending champions managed to pull off a huge road win, and suddenly had the Knicks backed up against a wall. Unlike the Pacers the following year, the Bulls had the killer instinct, and put the thing away at home in Game 6, en route to another NBA Finals, and ultimately, another NBA title, which completed the first of their two three-peats of the nineties.
Toronto just won this series, which came right after another miraculous series, which ended in them winning on the final shot taken in the final seconds of the final game against Philadelphia. Right about now, they are enjoying a remarkable run, and they get to enjoy all of the attention for their accomplishments to reach the NBA Finals.
But waiting for them there is the Golden State Warriors, the active dynasty, who are heavily favored to take this series. Obviously, this is going to be the biggest test of all for the still relatively young Toronto Raptors, who do not have anywhere near the experience that the Warriors have clearly gained in their previous five trips to the NBA Finals.
Once again, nobody expects much from the Raptors. But this is where they have thrived so far throughout the postseason. Of course, the Warriors are a bit different, because they have extensive experience with having made very deep runs into the playoffs before. Again, the undeniable advantage that the Warriors enjoy - and perhaps the biggest possible advantage that some teams have over others when it reaches this level - is experience. Golden State will not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the moment, by the pressure that comes with expectations and championship level intensity. They have been here before, and have won the whole thing three times in recent years.
Hard to tell who has more momentum. After all, the Raptors are clearly hot, having outlasted - just barely! - the Sixers, and then having come from an 0-2 deficit against Milwaukee to close it out with fours straight wins. But the Warriors are, predictably, playing their best basketball at this most important time. After Kevin Durant got injured in the series against Houston, Golden State seemed to refocus and re-energize. If anything, they seem almost to have stepped it up a notch in his absence, choking the life out of Houston in Game 6 to clinch that series, and then sweeping past the Blazers, pushing them aside as if they were merely a pesky inconvenience on their way to this historical fifth straight NBA Finals appearance.
I think, though, that I will give the nod to Toronto here. After all, the Warriors were expected to win through to this point, to be here. The Raptors were not supposed to have gotten this far, and it has to be an absolute thrill for them to reach their first ever NBA Finals. They had an amazing, back and forth series against Philadelphia that came down to the final seconds, and it just barely went in Toronto's favor. Then, they battled back from down 0-2 against Milwaukee to win the next four to take the East. Plus, the Warriors have been resting for a while, which may work against them, possibly cooling them down when they were so hot before. So right now, I think that they have the edge in that regard over the Raptors, at least entering this series. Of course, if they take the first game, as most people expect them to, then we are right back to square one, and any deficit that the Raptors would find themselves against the Warriors could prove fatal to their chances, because the Warriors are not as apt to lack the killer instinct, like Milwaukee seemed to lack after they were up, and everything seemed to be going their way. Winning Game 1 is critical to the chances for Toronto. They need to keep home court advantage throughout what will be a very tough series.
Most of the other advantages would go to Golden State. They have the more explosive offense, with one of the most potent offenses the league has ever seen during the past five years. That is the main reason that they enjoyed the success that they have, after all. Their defense is underrated, mostly because they are in the shadow of that wonderful offensive production. But the defense is as tough as it has to be, given that the offense tends to score plenty enough to win most of the time. And let's face it: Golden State also enjoys the advantage with coaching. Again, experience is a huge reason for that, and whatever people want to say about Steve Kerr, including that the Warriors have so much talent that they would win with or without him, he at least does not get in the way of them winning, clearly.
Indeed, with all of those advantages, it would be made to pick Toronto to win, right? Yet, I like their unpredictability factor, that strange ability to find ways to keep winning in unconventional ways. Again, I know that doing that against Philly and Milwaukee is very different than doing it against a team like Golden State, and yes, this will clearly be the toughest test yet for Toronto. Still, I suspect that the Raptors are getting better, and growing more confident, with each passing game. And home court advantage should be an advantage in this series. The Raptors have lost two games at home this postseason, but they clearly play tough in Toronto. If they win that first game - a big "if" admittedly - then their confidence will absolutely be soaring. It would be what they would need, and at the risk of looking foolish afterwards, I will go ahead and make the prediction that the Raptors will win the NBA Finals in a highly unconventional, unscripted, and clearly unexpected manner!
Toronto just won this series, which came right after another miraculous series, which ended in them winning on the final shot taken in the final seconds of the final game against Philadelphia. Right about now, they are enjoying a remarkable run, and they get to enjoy all of the attention for their accomplishments to reach the NBA Finals.
But waiting for them there is the Golden State Warriors, the active dynasty, who are heavily favored to take this series. Obviously, this is going to be the biggest test of all for the still relatively young Toronto Raptors, who do not have anywhere near the experience that the Warriors have clearly gained in their previous five trips to the NBA Finals.
Once again, nobody expects much from the Raptors. But this is where they have thrived so far throughout the postseason. Of course, the Warriors are a bit different, because they have extensive experience with having made very deep runs into the playoffs before. Again, the undeniable advantage that the Warriors enjoy - and perhaps the biggest possible advantage that some teams have over others when it reaches this level - is experience. Golden State will not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the moment, by the pressure that comes with expectations and championship level intensity. They have been here before, and have won the whole thing three times in recent years.
Hard to tell who has more momentum. After all, the Raptors are clearly hot, having outlasted - just barely! - the Sixers, and then having come from an 0-2 deficit against Milwaukee to close it out with fours straight wins. But the Warriors are, predictably, playing their best basketball at this most important time. After Kevin Durant got injured in the series against Houston, Golden State seemed to refocus and re-energize. If anything, they seem almost to have stepped it up a notch in his absence, choking the life out of Houston in Game 6 to clinch that series, and then sweeping past the Blazers, pushing them aside as if they were merely a pesky inconvenience on their way to this historical fifth straight NBA Finals appearance.
I think, though, that I will give the nod to Toronto here. After all, the Warriors were expected to win through to this point, to be here. The Raptors were not supposed to have gotten this far, and it has to be an absolute thrill for them to reach their first ever NBA Finals. They had an amazing, back and forth series against Philadelphia that came down to the final seconds, and it just barely went in Toronto's favor. Then, they battled back from down 0-2 against Milwaukee to win the next four to take the East. Plus, the Warriors have been resting for a while, which may work against them, possibly cooling them down when they were so hot before. So right now, I think that they have the edge in that regard over the Raptors, at least entering this series. Of course, if they take the first game, as most people expect them to, then we are right back to square one, and any deficit that the Raptors would find themselves against the Warriors could prove fatal to their chances, because the Warriors are not as apt to lack the killer instinct, like Milwaukee seemed to lack after they were up, and everything seemed to be going their way. Winning Game 1 is critical to the chances for Toronto. They need to keep home court advantage throughout what will be a very tough series.
Most of the other advantages would go to Golden State. They have the more explosive offense, with one of the most potent offenses the league has ever seen during the past five years. That is the main reason that they enjoyed the success that they have, after all. Their defense is underrated, mostly because they are in the shadow of that wonderful offensive production. But the defense is as tough as it has to be, given that the offense tends to score plenty enough to win most of the time. And let's face it: Golden State also enjoys the advantage with coaching. Again, experience is a huge reason for that, and whatever people want to say about Steve Kerr, including that the Warriors have so much talent that they would win with or without him, he at least does not get in the way of them winning, clearly.
Indeed, with all of those advantages, it would be made to pick Toronto to win, right? Yet, I like their unpredictability factor, that strange ability to find ways to keep winning in unconventional ways. Again, I know that doing that against Philly and Milwaukee is very different than doing it against a team like Golden State, and yes, this will clearly be the toughest test yet for Toronto. Still, I suspect that the Raptors are getting better, and growing more confident, with each passing game. And home court advantage should be an advantage in this series. The Raptors have lost two games at home this postseason, but they clearly play tough in Toronto. If they win that first game - a big "if" admittedly - then their confidence will absolutely be soaring. It would be what they would need, and at the risk of looking foolish afterwards, I will go ahead and make the prediction that the Raptors will win the NBA Finals in a highly unconventional, unscripted, and clearly unexpected manner!
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