NBA Countdown is on and I’m now reminded that Paul Pierce had the Raptors winning. Now, there’s a good chance that he was completely right. There might be some sort of apocalyptic event coming. Just a head’s up.
Email from Peter Oh:
Hi Hunter,
Greetings from California. Full disclosure: I want the Warriors to win. Pet peeve: Toronto’s “We the North” rallying cry. I get that Canada is to the north of the US, but looking at a world map it’s clear to see that Toronto is in the extreme south of Canada, so “We the North” is a bit rich, isn’t it? It’d be like a London team facing a Paris team in a final, and the London fans claiming We the North. What would the folks in Liverpool and Newcastle (never mind in Scotland) say?!
This is a wonderfully petty reason to root against a team and I am 100% for it.
Predictions
Alright let’s get this over with. I thought the Warriors would definitely tie this series up in Friday’s Game 4. That, clearly, didn’t happen. It’s obvious that without Durant in the lineup, Golden State is just a different team. If the Raptors didn’t go on two long scoring droughts in Game 2, to start the second half and down the stretch in the fourth quarter, this one could already be over.
The question is whether or not Durant will have enough to make much of a difference. I don’t think he will, it’s just too much to ask from him after such a long time on the shelf. I think this one’s over and the Raptors manage to pull off a win. Now, I always am hoping for a long, competitive Finals so I hope that I’m wrong here.
If you have your own take on tonight, please feel free to send your prediction on how things will go tonight, either via email (the address is [email protected]) or tweet them (to @HunterFelt).
Email from Damian Burns:
Alright Hunter, on the tarmac at Montreal Airport on a flight to Toronto and onward to Dublin for a family wedding, but with a 3 hour layover from 9pm in Toronto. All seemed perfect, watching the game in Toronto before flying on. Pilot’s just announced we have an hour delay. Gutted.
I think this was an Alanis Morissette lyric, which I guess is appropriate since the game is in Canada.
Kevin Durant will be playing
Obviously the story of the game is going to be Kevin Durant. According to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, he looked fine at workouts and they don’t think it’s going to be a risk: “He responded well and, yeah, he’s going to play.” He will be starting and will be without a minutes restriction.
It’s safe to say Raptors are a little excited about being one victory away from the NBA title. And basketball fever extends far beyond Toronto.
Preamble
Is this the end of the Warriors dynasty? That’s the question here in Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. With their Game 4 win at Oracle Arena, the Raptors took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and now the game returns to Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for what could be the final game of the NBA season and a symbolic conclusion to the Warriors’ reign as the league’s unstoppable juggernaut.
To put things in the starkest terms possible, the Warriors would need to win three straight (starting today) in order to pull off a comeback. which funnily enough means they have to take inspiration from the last team who did that: LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who pulled off that feat against (you guessed it) the Golden State Warriors in 2016. In the role of James might be Kevin Durant, who has been out for weeks with a calf injury but will attempt to play today. It’s good news for Golden State, but there’s a very real concern about how much they can expect from Durant given that he’s coming back from a serious injury and is immediately being thrown into a literal must-win game.
Meanwhile, the Raptors will be battling in front of a home crowd with the perfect opportunity to win their first championship. In fact, they’re playing for an entire country, as no Canadian team has ever won an NBA championship (the Grizzlies didn’t spend enough time in Vancouver to get a decent shot). The beyond stoic Kawhi Leonard, who may be headed towards an entirely different team this offseason, has a chance to finalize a playoff performance of the ages here if the Raptors manage to end this in the next couple of hours. They certainly don’t want to let the Warriors back into the series. The next game would be back at Oracle Arena for a final game in that venue’s history and then would come a Game 7 where anything can happen.
So, shortly we will get be celebrating a Raptors championship or the start of a memorable Warriors comeback. That sounds like it will be fun no matter. If you want to contribute to the liveblog feel free to send your thoughts here either via email (to [email protected] or tweet them here (to @HunterFelt) and we’ll include them along the way. We will have Opening Tip some time after 9:00pm EST, but we’ll be back well before then. It’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena!
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how Toronto has been handling the NBA finals:
When Fitriya Hussein was given free tickets to a Toronto Raptorsbasketball game years ago in middle school, she was drawn in by the intensity of play; the strategy, speed and excitement. She instantly became a fan. But with that mantle came years of heartbreak, disappointment and frustration that sports fans around the world know all too well.
Now, after Friday’s victory over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, the Raptors are a single win away from their first-ever championship. And basketball fans in Toronto are experiencing a feeling that has been absent for more than two decades: hope.
You can read the full report below: