Photo: Tam Duong Jr. / The Chronicle
The Golden State Warriors.
Arguably, the most dominant and stacked team of all time, with 5 straight final appearances, including the one they will make this Thursday, against the Toronto Raptors who will make their first this upcoming Thursday.
The Reigning NBA Champs victory seems inevitable. Even without Durant, the trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green is a set of players that any team would despise to face. With two of the greatest 3-point shooters of all time who can go off on any night and one of the league's lockdown defenders and former DPOY, the Warriors are a powerhouse.
Why is it even a question if the Toronto Raptors could dethrone the Warriors? While it may seem that the Warriors are unbeatable there are a few reasons why the Raptors should not be slept on?
Going on the road and beating a team is quite hard in itself. Now imagine going on the road in the NBA Finals, in a stadium where the fans have not had their team in the NBA Finals since they were founded. This is the intensity and environment that the Warriors are going to have to face in the majority of the NBA Finals. The Raptors are 8-2 in Toronto and 3-0 in home closeout games. Do not doubt that the Raptors will show up at home. during the Raptors fans are going to be loud, rowdy, and will try their absolute hardest to will their team to their first NBA ring.
The Warriors might have their all-star team of Curry, Klay, Durant, Draymond, and Boogie, but two of these all-stars are out. With Durant and Boogie out for the Game 1 or possibly even longer, it seems that this might be the chance for the Raptors to steal Game 1 and possibly extend it to a commanding lead. Durant is a Top-3 player in the league right now, no doubt about it. There is a real chance he won't play again this season and this would likely allow the Raptors to have a real fighting chance against the "unbeatable" Warriors. If the Raptors could take a lead, this momentum and energy could push them over the Warriors and en route to their first NBA championship.
This next reason is very simple. The Raptors have a killer. This killer is unlike any other. He is a defensive monster, but also at the same time, he is unstoppable on offense. His name is Kawhi Leonard. The Warriors have never figured out how to stop Kawhi Leonard. He was torching them in Game 1 of the 2017 Playoffs before his unforeseen injury and was dismantling them earlier in the regular season as he had 37 points on just 24 shots. When matched up against Curry, Kawhi has shown up and shown that even against a point guard his presence can be felt as had seven steals, with 4 against Curry during the 2015 NBA season.
Kawhi Leonard is a player that was made to end the Warriors dynasty. He has the tools, he has the intensity, he has the "clutch gene". Everything you would need in a player to stop the Warriors is in Kawhi Leonard. He is a Warriors Killer.
This series isn't going to be a sweep, it won't be dominated by Warriors. For the first time since KD joined the GS Warriors, this finals is going to be competitive. The Shark won't give a definite prediction, but the Shark will say this. This game will be decided in Game 6 or 7 and if the Raptors are hoisting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy by the end of this series, I will not be surprised.