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Kawhi Leonard is a machine.
I remember when it was his last year in San Antonio, I was making the argument to some people that he was the second best player in the world, just after Lebron and ahead of KD. Got a lot of backlash for that from some people, but I think I was right, and the way he's played in these playoffs has largely vindicated me.
Basketball.
Giannis Points Per 100 by Defender (min. 100 matchups):
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) May 24, 2019
1. Kawhi Leonard ... 15.9
2. Blake Griffin ........ 31.2
3. Marvin Williams .. 31.7
4. Pascal Siakam ... 33.2
5. Noah Vonleh ...... 36.3
6. Thad Young ....... 37.1
7. Al Horford .......... 40.6
8. Joel Embiid ....... 51.0
Middleton really needs to show up tonight if Milwaukee want to keep it alive.
Giannis just making a low IQ move that he can usually get away with because of athleticism, but will cost them tonight. He needs to play focused.
Grabbed the offensive rebound, and rather than landing with it and going back up, or laying it in, he tried to catch it in one hand and tomahawk dunk it in one motion. Clanked it off the rim. No one was around: landing and gathering would have been much safer, and secured the bucket. 2 boring points is better than 1 flashy miss.
Terrible execution there from Lowry. Raptors had made 6 passes, the defense was fractured, he had a clear drive and kick and instead of committing to the drive, he tried to throw the ball out before the defense had collapsed and just turned it over. Silly.
Giannis with a clever rim run there to capitalise on Bledsoe getting doubled. That's the better look that he wanted early but was too eager for the highlight to get.
THe fact that Toronto has been so mediocre and yet this is still winnable for them has to be worrying for Milwaukee.
VanVleet's playing with so much swagger right now
Zero fear. Absolutely none.
Kawhi just put Giannis on a poster. Absolutely brutal hammer.
Which in a way, sums up this series.
Consecutive plays where Giannis messes up and gets bailed out by first Lopez, then Hill.
He's not looked good tonight.
Siakam has played outstanding defense on Middleton tonight and that's made things a lot harder from Giannis. He's not had a backup, while at the same time the Toronto roleplayers ahve stepped up. Lowry has been great. Siakam has been very good. Vanvleet has been outstanding.
Two great players in this series, I hope this becomes a rivalry of some sorts.
R.I.P. to HunnyB/FlyGirl
And Kawhi Leonard leads the Toronto Raptors to their first ever NBA Finals. That final offensive board and the FTs sealed it. 27/17/7 in the closeout game.
What a player. What a playoff run. What a series.
Yep, Kawhi is still pretty good.
I'm actually kind of excited to see a new team in the finals and with Durant MIA it might be interesting if Kawhi can keep on keeping on...
I still don't believe Toronto will win. Kawhi will be the best player on the court every game, but Curry and Klay will be 2 and 3. And we've seen what happens when the Eastern team has the single greatest player, but #2, #3, and #4 all sit on Golden State.
We get several of Lebron's runs.
Toronto will need Vanvleet to keep showing up, and they'll need Siakam to outplay Draymond. That's the only way they have a shot.
Golden state in 4...
To be fair if the Bucks had made it I'd still take Golden State in 4.
I think Toronto can get 1 or 2 at home. I would be thrilled of they can take it to 6 or 7.
Do you think last years Pels team was better than this current Toronto team? I ask because we stole 1 from them
Also, Lebron did steal one of those ships before KD arrived. They're a great team but they are a little vulnerable with a guy like Kawhi
The thing is you can't compare last year to this one, Golden State very much coasted last playoffs. Now we are seeing a Warriors team who very much feels like their back is against the wall and are playing that way.
I also think Toronto had their emotional moment with coming from 2 games down to win 4 straight. That exhaustion will take its toll on them. Not to mention the exhaustion of Kwahi having to shut down Giannis then he's going to be asked to guard Steph but the difference is Steph doesn't need to attack him because he's the best 3pt shooter in the league.
I know a lot of people are acting like the East is coming up but the Warriors are a step up from all of them.
That said, I could see Toronto steal a game but if I'm betting I'd probably lay money on the sweep.
I'm pretty sure there won't be a sweep. Cleveland almost took game 1 last year and they were a destitute team aside from Lebron James. Toronto is a lot better than that overall, and while Kawhi isn't going to drop 50 (probably) he's good enough to make sure they take at least a game.
I'd love for Toronto to win. I just don't see it happening either.
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