Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The Keys to the 2019 NBA Finals

For Golden State, the key is obvious. They'll be hard to beat if Kevin Durant can walk onto the court in any reasonable facsimile of his usual self. Without Durant, the Warriors are in for a tough series. Curry and Thompson will need to shoot well and they'll need to manufacture a third scorer in each game.

For Toronto, Marc Gasol is the key... assuming Durant is able to play. The Warriors don't really have an answer for a prime Gasol, but Marc has faded this year. If the offense runs through him, the Warriors will struggle to stop the other Raptor weapons. If he disappears as he'd done from time to time during the playoffs, the Warriors can focus their defense on stopping Pascal Siakim or Kyle Lowry. Kawhi Leonard won't be stopped no matter what.

If Durant is out, strong play from Gasol would be a bonus. They'll need good games from Lowry though. He won't need to score like the he did int he old days, but he he'll need to have a big series in other areas and have a a few big scoring games.

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