Here’s the interesting part: Of those four teams, none made it to the NBA Finals… all lost in the next series, the conference finals. And so far, the game between Gold State Warriors vs Oklahoma City and Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors are heating up. They stunned the champion Golden State Warriors in Game 1 and will look to do more of the same behind Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant when they face off against Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the Warriors in Game 2 tonight at Oracle Arena (9 p.m. ET, TNT).
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Which team are you rooting for from each matchup? Head coach Dwane Casey said yesterday that Valanciunas is “nowhere close to returning”, a big blow to the Raptors’ chances at upsetting the Cavaliers.
Only one team in National Basketball Association history has won an National Basketball Association title with 10 or more playoff losses that season. With guys like Cory Joseph, Terrence Ross, and Norman Powell, the Raptors can shoot, defend, and rebound off the bench.
Another historic knock going against the Cavs, and in favor of the Raptors, is the size of that Game 1 spread. The Cavs are red-hot right now, looking almost unstoppable, and after setting three-point records and sweeping the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavs are well-rested, the offense looks potent, the defense looks wonderful, Love can’t miss, Kyrie can’t miss, LeBron is just LeBron, and this is a very risky team. We all know how effective Cleveland’s big three can be as their play has led the team to a flawless 8-0 record in these playoffs.
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I will still pick the better team over an 82 game season to win this series, so my guess is the Warriors in 6, but win or lose, they’ve done enough for me. Also, Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has a sprained ankle and may not be able to play early on in this series. The Raps will have a tough time stopping the former MVP. However, James, Love, and Irving have been averaging around 67 combined point per game in the playoffs, so Toronto will have to minimize the effectiveness of at least one of those stars if they want to advance past this series. This is the fourth trip by the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals. If the Cavs aren’t careful, the script of this postseason might finally be disrupted.
