Klay’s not playing tonight. Toronto better take their chance.
Earlier today on https://www.oddsshark.com the Warriors were favored by 4.5. That’s down a half point from yesterday.
Right now, the spread is down to 3.
So Toronto wins a must win game against severely depleted Dubs. Raptors got to the rim at will, and Warriors weren’t able to have a solid 2nd option.
3-1! 3-1! 3-1!
My wish.
So hard to get a handle on this series. Tonight it felt at first like Toronto should’ve been running away with it, but they weren’t. Then it felt like GS were going to have one of their runs, but Toronto didn’t wilt.
Here’s what I’d like to see now. Klay and maybe Durant come back for game 4, but they’re still somewhat hampered, and the Raptors win. So Toronto goes up 3-1, but the Warriors return to something close to full strength for game 5.
I think it is pretty clear the Warriors are gonna lose this series unless they get at least one of KD or Klay back. They simply aren’t strong enough to beat Toronto with both of them out. If they get ONE back, they have a chance, albeit not a really great one. If they get both back (close to healthy) starting in Game 4, I’d say it’s 50-50 they can win three out of four.
The fact the Warriors were actually the favourite going into last night’s game with both Klay and KD out is just insane. In no rational way did that make sense. These aren’t the Raptors of 2017.
This series is beginning to remind me eerily of the 1989 Finals between Detroit and Los Angeles. It seemed like a great match-up at first until injuries started taking their toll, with Detroit’s “Bad Boys” eventually completing the 4-0 sweep. There’s no sweep obviously, but if KD and Klay are out, it could be a 4-1 series.
Since 2017, I’ve felt that the Warriors could win even without one of the big three, though KD was without question the most important of those three and the worst one to lose. But losing 2 of the big 3 (KD, Klay, Curry) is a tall order. Curry can have a monster game and it won’t matter unless the Raptors start piling up injuries of their own.
I’d agree, generally. I’d be a little bit surprised if Durant was even 100% effective. My hunch is that there would be an emotional boost for the game he comes back that would dissipate as time goes on as he won’t be at full strength.
For Klay, history suggests that if he were physically able to play, he absolutely would. That says he is actually in real discomfort. Even if he comes back next game, I can’t imagine him being at full strength either.
So the question they need to ask themselves (Warriors) is what percentage of Klay and Durant would be an added value situation. Based on last game, the number is rapidly decreasing. If I were Vegas, the series needs to be somewhat in the vicinity of even money, no?
I think the 2016-17 Warriors (with Kevin Durant) were better than the 2015-16 squad. They were also better than the 2018 team that barely survived Houston.
And the 2000-2001 Lakers were better than the team the year before, possibly the best Lakers team in their organization’s history, although I have fond memories of the 1985 Lakers destroying the Celtics.
The Spurs of 2013-14 were good, but so were the Spurs of 2006-2007. Wouldn’t know which Spurs team to take: a younger trio of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker, or a very, very deep and well-rounded team in 2014 that crushed the 2-time defending champs.
The Bulls team of 1995-1996 is probably the best I’ve ever seen. I think they’re particularly good because I think they probably could have adjusted to the high-scoring game that exists today. The Bulls played a half-court game but I feel that their game was designed to be flexible. A team like the Warriors would probably wear the Shaquille/Kobe Lakers out, but not the Bulls.
Hamstring injuries are bad in any sport, but they’re crippling in basketball. I just remember Magic Johnson coming up lame in game one of the 1989 Finals and thinking “Congrats, Bad Boys.”
Toronto, while definitely playing good basketball, has really benefitted from injuries… A healthy Embiid would have likely given the Sixers a 4-1 or 4-2 series win, and a healthy Durant and Thompson would likely give the Warriors a 4-1 or 4-2 series win
Yeah and imagine if the Raptors were fully healthy as well.
No team’s fully healthy in June, but the Raptors are as reasonably close as one can realistically hope for. Leonard’s limping but still better than almost anyone. OG Anuoby is available, though they’re not using him it seems. Chris Boucher had a bad back and I’m sure not what his status is but it should say a lot about his importance to the Raptors that no one is reporting on how he feels. Golden State’s injuries are more, well, injurious.
Injuries are just a part of sports. It happens. Staying healthy is a part of athletics, not a separate happenstance. If you can’t answer the bell, that’s how it is.
Durant is ruled out for game 4. Really running out of time for him to get back at all, never mind playing at 100%. This game 4 is really setting up as a great game now; it almost feels like a must win for both teams. GS doesn’t want to go down 3-1, and Toronto needs to try to end things without giving the Warriors more time to recover.
I’d say it’s more important for Golden State; Toronto could lose and still win the series without winning another road game. Golden State will be in a dreadful spot if they fall behind 3-1. But in a seven game series they’re all important.
Losing Durant for another game is not good, obviously. Toronto has simply been the better team so far and the easiest way for the Warriors to fix that would be adding Kevin Durant to the rotation.
Yes, probably it’s more important for Golden State. I’m still going with the assumption that GS would be back to something like full strength for game 6 or 7, so Toronto’s best chance is to win now. They probably have a better chance to win game 4 than game 6, and a better chance to win game 5 than game 7.
I’m also getting an impression that their injuries are making Golden State not take the Raptors quite so seriously as they should. There’s a bit of “game 3 was a write-off without Klay, so we’ll be fine when he’s back” in some of their interviews. I remember in 2016 I didn’t believe they’d really lose to Cleveland until the very end of game 7, and I can picture something similar here. It could be an even game tomorrow night, with everyone expecting the Warriors to go on one of their runs, but it doesn’t happen and suddenly everyone realizing they might just be done for.
Liking this stat: in 99 play-off games over the last five years, The Warriors have allowed their opponents better than 50% shooting just ten times (and going 2 - 8 in that spell). The Raps have already shot over 50% in two out of these last three play-off games, which has no bearing whatsoever on the absence of Durant and Thompson.
Far-out, man. 
Saw an ice-wrap on Durant, but it was way down closer to his foot, as opposed to up on his calf. I only play a doctor on TV, but I’m going with Achilles, here.
Which tells me, no - not a snowflake’s chance in Hades he’s coming back in this series, even if it goes to seven.
I’m in no way convinced the Warriors can muster enough D to win this. Curry, himself, acknowledged that offense alone won’t win a championship.
Buddy in front row who shoved Lowry and then twice told him to go fuck himself is a GS investor and member of the team’s executive board and has been banned from the NBA for a year, fined $300,000, and will most likely have to sell his shares before next season’s start. My only takeaway from that is Thank Og they make courtside seats with “give”, orelse, let’s face it, the woman in yellow could very well have ended up in hospital. Give it a couple of looks.
I believe many fans and media personalities have failed to really understand how good the Raptors are. I do not for an instant think the Warriors themselves have been under any misapprehension at all. I think they take the Raptors very seriously indeed.
Prior to the series starting one media outlet quoted an unnamed Warriors player as saying “why the fuck are we such big favourites?” They’re consummate pros and defending champs and you don’t get that if you’re in the habit of taking opponents lightly. Steve Kerr would ball-punch anyone who did that.
“Well, Game 3 was a writeoff but Klay will be back” is just staying optimistic.
There’s a certain sports “political correctness” whereby the favored team pretends to give lip service to the underdog “yeah they are good and we don’t take them for granted” while deep down feeling totally assured of victory. But in this case the Warriors did take the Raptors seriously, I think - at any rate, certainly after Game 1.