Did people really think the raptors didn’t have a chance, especially after KD went out? Kawhi and home court is no joke. Pretty weird.
And it has never looked like KD was coming back quickly if at all
That joke going around a couple of months ago that cousins was their 5th best option at center is hard to argue
I would have picked the warriors in 6 if everyone was healthy.
What about Kareem? Not at his peak in the 80s but not far off.
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No but LeBron went to Miami to build a team for years and contended, then came back to LeBron for years and again team built and contended.
The difference between that and Kawai is that this feels more like a hired gun. Toronto brought him in. San An has a team built that he fit perfectly into and the. Didn’t stay to have a team built around him when he could have. Now if he leaves after one year and one title run he’ll prob go to another team he’ll help contend.
The Lakers team built with Shaq but then he was a hire gun in Miami and again in Phx where that team had a legit shot and title aspirations. Not to mention he bolted from Orlando where he got to a final.
The Kareem mention was solid evenif was past peak
I mean it wa sharply years in Miami. He went to finals his first year there. Same with Ford these back in Cleveland. Immediate finals.
But yes he was not a hired gun. Kawhi May lit be either - raps want to badly sign him
He signs there everything changes.
Does anyone think Toronto coulda done this without trading DeRozen for him?
They could never beat the Cavs and while Kawai helped them beat Philly and Mil it wasn’t like trying to beat the Cavs with Bron. And then you consider the Warriors right now and I think 4 teams in the East coulda done this.
Don’t wanna take anything away from Kawai or Raptors but knocking out a dazed and confused guy when you didn’t do the beating is mentionable. Full force Warriors beat these guys in 6
In think the raps beating Bucks should silence a lot of people thinking Raps aren’t for real. They ran 4 straight against them.
KD on the Warriors was always stuoid overkill. They don’t need him to win. They still have a team that went 73-9. Yet the raptors are beating them badly
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Not Boston 
Masai Ujiri deserves a lot of credit. I feel like most teams would have just stuck with derozan and played it safe. It’s a success even if Leonard leaves. They can always pivot into a mini rebuild.
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For the record I give this TOR team a ton of credit. Top to bottom. Really an awesome franchise who deserves and earned this.
The 73-9 GS team was 3 years younger which means something when your 6&7 guys are Iggy and Livingston.
Poor DeRozen
I was so happy for that whole roster, in general. Particularly, Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Those guys put some time in and had to endure playing for some bad teams, during their career.
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I’m sure most of the people saying Toronto didn’t have a chance couldn’t name more than one of their players.
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Lol! Maybe that applies to a percentage of the doubters, but I think most rational analysts/experts went with the Warriors. They were/are a generational collection of players (which also goes to show just how good LBJ is that GSW had to assemble the real-life MonStars to beat him), who should have been the prohibitive favorite.
If the Raps can “run through the tape” (which I hope they do), this will be one of the bigger upsets in NBA Finals history.
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Can it be a bigger upset when the Warriors played without their 1A player and missed their 1/2 of their 4stars for game 3?
I think that deminiahes how on par the Raptors are when the Warriors aren’t the Monstars
Yup
I don’t consider this an upset in any way if Durant doesn’t come back in the series.
At the beginning of the playoffs, I had (a healthy) warriors in six. But no Durant, Klay gone for one game, cousins still not back to 100%. Toronto really should be winning in this scenario. They obviously don’t have as many all stars as the warriors but they also don’t have any players that clearly don’t belong on the floor. The warriors are very thin right now.
I still think so. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances, but anytime David beats Goliath that’s a big deal…Even if Goliath shows up to the fight drunk, missing his sword, with his shoe untied, the odds are still in the big man’s favor…Lol!
The Warriors w/o KD are still a Top 5 team in the league, the loss of Klay was what swung the series. Even with ALL that being said, Toronto needs to close this out in the next game. You don’t give Babe Ruth another at-bat or Joe Montana another snap. Giving the Champs even the slightest bit of hope would be a terrible mistake.
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Respectfully disagree that warriors without KD are the favorites.
Raptors are most likely the second best team in the league depending on how you rate Houston I guess.
Warriors with no KD, injured Klay and Looney with a broken rib or whatever can’t be expected to win. This clearly isn’t the same team from 3-4 years ago. The bench is thin and age is catching up. Obviously, they are a tier above everyone when at full strength.
That said, I think there is still a slim chance this could go 7 if the raptors have one of their three point droughts.
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Broken Collarbone
And don’t forget it was Iggy we weren’t sure would be playing the rest of the series first.
It’s weird. I’ve seen collar bone and broken rib (that exact phrase). I don’t really get it.
likely to be lost for the rest of the NBA Finals with a fracture of the first costal cartilage on the right side of his rib cage.
Durant!!
I want the raptors to win but wouldn’t mind if this goes 7.
I still think it’s his Achilles not his calf.
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New injury or it was always the Achilles?
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