GMP said:

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BearSD said:

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GMP said:

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concordtom said:

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The latest thinking is to put Green on Steph, and Leonard on Iggy, who will stand in the corner, and this will allow Leonard to be a helper, roamer.

Whatever... I look forward to watching it all unfold!

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I don't get this strategy at all. If Leonard is on Igoudala, and Igoudala is in the corner, the Warriors will run everything from the opposite wing. Leonard can't do much of anything from there. This will take the Raptors' best player out of the play

The strategy that makes much more sense is to put him on Draymond, which will allow Leonard to switch onto Curry on the Steph/Dray pick and rolls, and if that causes the Warriors to use someone else in the pick and roll, then you've taken Draymond completely out of the action on the offensive end. Here's a bit more detail:

Quote:

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What LeBron did in the 2016 Finals against the original version of Golden State should be Kawhi's blueprint. Cleveland put LeBron on Draymond Green so that he could switch the screen between Green and Curry and allow everyone else to stay at home on 3-point shooters. Using LeBron in that role allowed the Cavs to keep an elite defender on Curry, eliminating the open 3s he typically gets in the pick-and-roll, while removing four-on-three opportunities for Green, who is at his best when he can play off the extra defensive attention that Curry draws. LeBron did just enough to bottle up the Warriors on defense so that he could carry the Cavs home on offense. Kawhi will have to do the same for the Raptors.

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https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/5/29/18642946/kawhi-leonard-raptors-warriors-lebron

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The argument is that Kawhi "will have to" play as well as peak LeBron for the Raptors to win?

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That's why it would be called an "upset".

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I question whether the bar is that high for Kawhi. I'm assuming that KD doesn't play, except maybe for a late-series cameo, and that Cousins will be about 50% when he gets on the floor. To paraphrase something that Dray said earlier, without KD the W's are very good but not invincible.

Raptors offense looking much better than expected. Role players are making shots they didn't make before.

Of course, it's just one half.

Seems like the Raptors are getting some home cooking in the first half. Interesting to see how the Warriors adjust.

Raptors getting wide open threes and playing tough D

Lots of Ws with 3 fouls

Cousins didn't get back and raptors got a dunk

Leonard hasn't even shot much.... just drawing doubles and passing off

Raptors should be very happy with first half

Ws starting lineup had 3 Pac-12 players, and that didn't include UCLA Looney

HoopDreams said:

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Raptors getting wide open threes and playing tough D

Lots of Ws with 3 fouls

Cousins didn't get back and raptors got a dunk

Leonard hasn't even shot much.... just drawing doubles and passing off

Raptors should be very happy with first half

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Looks like the Warriors opened with a defensive strategy of trapping Leonard and forcing the other guys to make their threes. They have. Probably need to adjust now.

I guess Klay got tired of getting mugged the entire game. BTW, on the foul call on Klay the defender pushed him first. No call. But interestingly enough the foul calls are even.

What is the technique for avoiding the foul call when Kawhi dribbles into you and tangles his arms into yours?

Iggy hurt. Dubs can kiss the series goodbye if he can't play. Also, these refs are something else.

Butter is getting hard, the jello is jiggling

1-0. The series is over, obviously.

the series isnt over. the crying and complaining has just started.

Neither team played particularly well. Defensive lapses galore.

TOR played tough, pressure perimeter D in ways the POR could not. Refs let them get away with a bit of fouling, but TOR should keep doing that.

I don't think GS needs to double Kawhi 25 ft from the basket. Let Kawhi play ISO ball. Help if he gets close to the basket. The straight up D was pretty good on him.

Steph's ability to beat the pnr help defender in this game should lead to more baskets for him and teammates.

At least if TOR wins the series, the media/fans will presumably STFU about this invincible nonsense.

sketchy9 said:

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Iggy hurt. Dubs can kiss the series goodbye if he can't play. Also, these refs are something else.

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hope iggy is ok. warriors really need his defense and depth

If the Raptors' role players keep scoring like THAT for the whole series, they will win. It wasn't something that happened for most of the playoffs, though so many early doubles on Kawhi helped get them wide open.

I will say this: I didn't expect Toronto to come out and push the pace so much for quick buckets. Didn't think that was their game. If they can sustain that (especially Gasol!) then I give them a much better chance in the series.

GBear4Life said:

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Neither team played particularly well. Defensive lapses galore.

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If that continues it will hurt the Warriors more. They need the game to be more defensive because they can't outscore Toronto when Toronto scores 118 like they did tonight. Warriors need the Raptors score to be down around 100.

IMO this board overrates Iguodala.

And I've never seen a player who can swish two 3's in a row and than clank the next 8 by a foot like Iggy. My goodness.

Siakam was 14-17.

Their role players didn't score not just because they struggled but also because they let Kawhi shoot more than 14 shots (5-14 tonight)

oski003 said:

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the series isnt over. the crying and complaining has just started.

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No. The crying and complaining about the Warriors started a couple years ago when Durant joined and the Warriors won 2 more championships.

Good win by the Raptors.

BearSD said:

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GBear4Life said:

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Neither team played particularly well. Defensive lapses galore.

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If that continues it will hurt the Warriors more. They need the game to be more defensive because they can't outscore Toronto when Toronto scores 118 like they did tonight. Warriors need the Raptors score to be down around 100.

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Of course they can - 9 pts over the course of what, 105 possessions?

GBear4Life said:

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IMO this board overrates Iguodala.

And I've never seen a player who can swish two 3's in a row and than clank the next 8 by a foot like Iggy. My goodness.

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His importance is on defense more than offense.

sketchy9 said:

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Iggy hurt. Dubs can kiss the series goodbye if he can't play. Also, these refs are something else.

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How did you like the Klay first half fast break dunk where he ran all the way to the cup? Traveling.
There was another call where we hit it out and they gave it to us. Yes, I suppose they did not have a great game. But basketball is a tough game to get right!!!

GBear4Life said:

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At least if TOR wins the series, the media/fans will presumably STFU about this invincible nonsense.

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The invincible nonsense had to do with Durant being added.
If Durant doesn't play, it doesn't apply.
If the raptors are up and then Durant comes back and the W's win the last 2 with him, then the invincible whining will apply (and commence) again.

sycasey said:

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Raptors offense looking much better than expected. Role players are making shots they didn't make before.

Of course, it's just one half.

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And, you know, they had the second best record in the NBA, and they are in the Finals.
Why does everyone discount them so much?

OaktownBear said:

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concordtom said:

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bearister said:

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cal83dls79 said:

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This has all the earmarks of a thread during the hoops season where I believe one guy was actually debating himself. Hoops Greg or something like that . Let's face it. The dubs are on the way to another title. Too much firepower. Analysis paralysis aside dubs in 6.

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+1

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I've seen Steph get stuffed and with his shot off before. He also is injury prone.
If he goes down, then you have Klay as your premier scorer, and he also can be streaky.
The warriors appear to not have KD at all, and Boogie is just getting back into the flow.
An argument for a Raptors sweep is not far fetched. Not likely, but if it happened, people would be like, wow, I saw it coming - Steph is past his prime and Klay had a bad series, and beyond that, there are no other proven scorers...Draymond and Iggy and more jack of all trades players.

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I cannot believe you are quintupling down on this. You drew this conclusion after a couple playoff games when he was coming back from injury and you dug in on it even through a championship series that many thought he was MVP of. You are still dug in on it after Houston Game 6 and the series he just put up? Is there anything the guy can do to get you off of a hasty conclusion you made off extremely thin evidence. Like if they sweep without Durant and he averages 35 a game, will you change your mind then? Seriously, what does it take?

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Gosh....
I was making the case for how the warriors lose. I was not saying curry was garbage.

It is true that curry has not had fantastic finals in the past.
It is true that if some of the things I listed happened then the Warriors could lose.
And it is true that if the warriors were to lose, people would be like, "ah, right, I guess they are not that good."
Just read some of the comments already.

Perhaps I should have put a portion of what I wrote in quotes. That what part of an IF clause. I wasn't trying to say it was so. I was trying to predict the boo bird reactions.

Quote:

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An argument for a Raptors sweep is not far fetched. Not likely, but if it happened, people would be like, "wow, I saw it coming - Steph is past his prime and Klay had a bad series, and beyond that, there are no other proven scorers...Draymond and Iggy and more jack of all trades players."

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iI think you have misread some of my comments on Curry. I'm sorry I have not been more clear. I don't recall what the last kerfuffle we had on this was, but I recall feeling there was a similar misunderstanding.

That said, I think the general issue has been if I am critical of Curry, you've jumped to his defense. So, let me be clear:
He is the greatest shooter ever.
He has revolutionized the game on the perimeter similar to the Wilt did on the interior.
He goes down as a candidate for Mt. Rushmore.
Having said that, he is not the best defender if only because of size. He can be jumped over and bullied down low, and his size means he cannot overpower opponents in ways others on Rushmore could, which is to say that if his quickness and jumper aren't working, he has no other third move (unless we allow for Free Throws being a weapon, and they are in certain circumstances). Additionally, he has had injury issues at key moments of his careers that diminish from his legacy, slightly. Certainly, he was down in the finals when Lebron bullied him and came back to win, albeit without key warrior teammates. And he can be streaky and prone to some crazy turnovers. He had a couple last night that looked bad to me, though only three in the game. His game is NOT perfect, as wonderful as he is.

I wonder, why have you been so quick to jump on me for saying anything negative?

Let's agree, Curry had 34 points, which is awesome.
But will you also agree that only 20 from the floor on 8-18 shooting is not otherworldly? 5 assists... Toronto jumped his ass and are showing how to defend him (learned from Cavs).
There's a reason the Warriors ran out and recruited KD. Even they know it.

concordtom said:

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sycasey said:

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Raptors offense looking much better than expected. Role players are making shots they didn't make before.

Of course, it's just one half.

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And, you know, they had the second best record in the NBA, and they are in the Finals.
Why does everyone discount them so much?

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I don't think their offense had looked this good . . . well, ever. Certainly not in the playoffs until now.

Obviously whoever makes the Finals is good, that's not the question. Good enough to keep scoring with the Warriors, that's something else. I thought they'd have to win by keeping the score low.

Warriors don't play defense.

Big C said:

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1-0. The series is over, obviously.

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Was referring to this game only Big C. No need to panick or be peeved. If the Warriors win the next game it is over.If not, I can see it going 7 games...If KD comes back soon it is over sooner than that..

From a Laker fan who is cringing...perhaps Trump should come in for one hour and say: " Your are fired" a few times as Jeany Buss is unable to do that and also should hang it up...

caltagjohnson said:

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Warriors don't play defense.

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So THIS old canard is still going around.

Goobear said:

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Big C said:

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1-0. The series is over, obviously.

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Was referring to this game only Big C. No need to panick or be peeved. If the Warriors win the next game it is over.If not, I can see it going 7 games...If KD comes back soon it is over sooner than that..

From a Laker fan who is cringing...perhaps Trump should come in for one hour and say: " Your are fired" a few times as Jeany Buss is unable to do that and also should hang it up...

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If Trump came in to the Lakers office for one hour he wouldn't tell Jennie Buss "you're fired".
He would come in and try to f--k her.
You just got your 4-letter F words mixed up.

I like this hoops analyst ...

It hurts to see them go': Oakland's sorrow over losing the Warriors to wealthy San Francisco

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/02/golden-state-warriors-oakland-san-francisco-chase-center?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I thought it was sad for Oakland to lose the Raiders, and also now the Warriors. Agree with the person who said Oakland couldn't take advantage of the teams by building a nice entertainment around the stadiums, but it's just so tough there. Even Jack London Square isn't what it use to be.

Hopefully Oakland can take advantage of the tech boom and the people leaving SF due to high housing. North Oakland has been getting better.

I didn't know the Warriors were from SF. Makes it feel better in some ways.

If there is any silver lining, perhaps Cal can market to those Oakland and East bay fans to come to Cal games. However I haven't seen any marketing to those fans for season tixs

Thx for posting

bearister said:

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It hurts to see them go': Oakland's sorrow over losing the Warriors to wealthy San Francisco

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/02/golden-state-warriors-oakland-san-francisco-chase-center?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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I hope they don't tear down the coliseum and arena.
There should be a ton of uses the community can find for it.
Too often in America, we have arenas that last for very short time periods.
How long did candlestick last?
And I was reading about Atlanta, and how the Georgia dome was replaced by the Mercedes center.
How long did the Detroit silverdome last.
It's a joke, that we use public monies to build these stadiums, and then the owners get greedy, move on, and we blow up the old structure.
I realize that the giants new SF ballpark and the warriors new arena nearby are privately financed, good.
But that doesn't speak to the publicly funded locations they are leaving behind.
Such a shame if we can't continue to harvest utility there.

Predictions for Game 2?

How is Iggy?
Will Cousins be able to do anything productive?
Who will rise up, if anyone, for the warriors?
Will Draymond flatten Siakam?