It’s exciting times for fellow Canadians as the Toronto Raptors punched their ticket to the 2019 NBA Finals. They lead to series 2-1 over the Golden State Warriors with a convincing win Wednesday night 123-109. Kawhi Leonard continues to show us why he’s the best player in this years playoffs, He finished with 30 points, 6 , and 7 in game 3. As for the Toronto Raptors they’re 2 wins away from their first NBA title in franchise history. 24 years in the making for The Raptors as they’ve broke several barriers all year. It’s safe to say that the Toronto Raptors influenced Canada’s unique sports culture. If you’re from Canada, you know basketball isn’t our dominant sport. Hockey and baseball receive all the attention. Within the last 5-year, the Raptors garnered a high level of interest from fans. We’ve witness a culture shift with basketball here in Canada, the NBA has grown to o become the most progressive sports league in North America.
Kahwi Leonard led the way for the Raptors in their game 1 victory. (Photo by: NBA)
“You know it’s big, I’m happy we got it. 2 wins away now and let’s see where momentum carries us to ”
The topic of discussion this series has been about Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant. KD hasn’t suited up for a game this series due to a calf strain that occurred in the western conference semi-finals. The Warriors really could use some firepower for their Finals MVP as they trail to Toronto 2-1. The Golden State Warriors were without Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Kevon Looney in Game 3. With the absence of their core, Stephen Curry poured in a game-high of 47 points in their loss. The story in game 3 was the outside shooting of the Toronto Raptors, they shot 45% from 3pt range and made 17 threes. Heading into Game 4 Kevin Durant has been ruled out (calf), will the Raptors continue to take advantage of KD’s absence? or will the splash brothers even up the series at 2-2?
The Toronto Raptors won game 3 convincingly 123-109 over the Golden State Warriors ( Photo by: CBS Sports)
“We can’t really worry about that stuff, I keep saying every single game is critical. We had a lot of this throughout the playoffs with other teams and guys out, we had some guys out.”
Game 4 will be live from Oracle Arena, the Toronto Raptors have the opportunity to head back home with a convincing 3-1 lead over the Warriors. With a depleted Warriors ball club and the momentum in the raptors favour they should have the upper edge. The Warriors will be with their sharp shooter Klay Thompson in game 4, who poured in 25 points in game 2. The Raptors need a huge game from their leader and all-star Kyle Lowry, throughout this post-season Kyle Lowry has shown strong leadership qualities and has elevated his ball club when called upon. In game 3 Kyle poured in 23 points, 9 assists, shooting 50% from the field. The Raptors are very tough to beat when their clicking on all cylinders, but if it’s any team who can weather the storm, it would be the defending champs. Game 4 will be a pivotal moment for the Raptors; it’s exciting times for Canada as history is being written. I’m calling it, RAPTORS IN 6!!!!!!!!!
The Raptors are in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, they lead the defending champs GSW 2-1. (Photo by: The Score)
“These guys are in trouble, they’re in injury trouble. Looney was out, KD is out, and Klay is out!!”
Thanks: @raptors,@nba, @bleacherreport, @thescore
2019 NBA Finals