The Golden State Warriors have reached a fifth straight NBA Finals, something only the Boston Celtics franchise also has accomplished, as the Dubs look for a fourth title in that span. The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, are in their first-ever Finals, and they are 1-point home underdogs on the betting line for Game 1 on Thursday night. It’s the first-ever NBA Finals game played outside of the United States.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Raptors swept the Warriors in the regular season. The one in Toronto went to overtime, and Golden State was without both Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Meanwhile, the Dinos won by 20 in Oakland and they didn’t have superstar Kawhi Leonard in that one. Toronto never faced DeMarcus Cousins in the season series and the Warriors never faced Marc Gasol as a member of the Raptors. Actually, Toronto was 10-0 against the Warriors’ Pacific Division, the only team in the NBA this year to sweep another division.
This series could be the last in a Toronto uniform for Leonard as well as in a Warriors uniform for Kevin Durant. Both are free agents this summer and many believe both will leave—Durant to the New York Knicks and Leonard to his hometown Los Angeles Clippers. Although, one team winning an NBA title certainly may help convince one of those superstars to stay.
While Toronto is healthy, the Warriors will not have Durant for at least Game 1, perhaps not until Game 3 and maybe not at all in the series. He hasn’t played since the third quarter of Game 5 in the Western Conference semifinals against Houston due to a calf injury. He was the NBA Finals MVP the previous two years and was averaging a league-best 34.2 points in these playoffs. It would be a shame to not see Durant being guarded by Leonard, perhaps the NBA’s premier defender, at all in this series. Leonard is also a former Finals MVP, winning it in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs.
Cousins, meanwhile, hasn’t played since the first round against the Clippers with a quad injury but might be on the court Thursday. It certainly wouldn’t be heavy minutes and Game 2 is more likely.
Golden State is on a ridiculous 12-game winning streak in Game 1s of the playoffs. The Warriors also have won at least one road game in each of their last 22 playoff series, an NBA record. Toronto is 8-2 at home in these playoffs and has won its past five at Scotiabank Arena, which will be a madhouse on Thursday. And, yes, Drake will be there front and center.
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