This year in the NBA Finals there are different, players. teams, and coaches. First, there is No LeBron James in the NBA Finals. Secondly, the Toronto Raptors made the NBA Finals. Thirdly, the Warriors are back again. The NBA Finals between the defending champion Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors is among us. Golden State is without Kevin Durant, however, DeMarcus Cousins is healthy and ready to play. Also, another different fact this year is the Warriors don’t have home-court advantage.
Predictions for the NBA Finals
My prediction is this series goes seven games and goes down to the last shot of the game for the win. I am picking Toronto to shock the world. These predictions are not easy as there are injuries to multiple players on both teams. This will be a factor in this series. Additionally, no Durant for the Warriors and the Raptors having home-court advantage doesn’t help with the prediction. I will say this the Raptors must play near excellent if they expect to win the NBA Finals whether Durant returns or not. They match the Warriors well with having players who can shoot from anywhere on the court one through five. For the Warriors, if Cousins doesn’t injure himself again he can be the X-Factor for the Warriors. On the other side of the ball, Danny Green can be the X-Factor for the Raptors. If Danny can shoot the ball well for Toronto they will have a chance to surprise everyone. Then again it is the Toronto Raptors we are talking about. They are hoping to stop the Warriors from a 3-Peat. This series will a battle of the defenses and could be like the Super Bowl as both Durant and Leonard are injured not fully healthy.
NBA Finals Injury Updates
Both teams have players who are not healthy, but are or may return during the series. For the Warriors, DeMarcus Cousins is returning in game one. Then Kevin Durant is not returning yet due to his Achilles injury he suffered early in the playoffs. Both Cousins and Durants’ injuries were when no one was around them. Next, for the Raptors Kawhi is hurt and may be playing through an injury. Lastly, OG Anunoby is recovering from an appendectomy. He is questionable for game one.
Toronto Raptors have the Advantage
The Raptors defeated the Warriors in the regular season twice. In the first game, they won in overtime at home 131-128. Then in the second game, they defeated them by twenty points in Oakland two weeks later 113 to 93. In the first game, Stephen Curry didn’t play. Then in the second game, he did along with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Toronto has shown they can defeat the Warriors. Is this team in the east that is strong enough to defeat the champions? I think they are. That doesn’t mean this will be easy, it will be a hard tough series. Toronto has a chance as there is something different with the team other than just Kawhi Leonard. It’s as if the entire organization wants to win the NBA Finals.
Golden State Warriors Have been Here Before
The Warriors have been to the NBA Finals before, therefore starting on the road shouldn’t it affect them. For Golden State, the difference in this Finals is they are not facing LeBron James. They are facing the Toronto Raptors who traded for Leonard and the trade seems to be working in the Raptors favor. Golden State has proven to everyone they are a strong team and can come back from deficits. They also play as a team despite injuries to teammates. They are without Durant and no one knows if he will return for the NBA Finals or not. The Warriors have shown everyone they are beatable with everyone on their roster playing. They showed without Durant they can win, but it is a struggle as they have to come from behind. Nonetheless, before they had Durant and Cousins they were a great team. Now without him, it’s different for them, they have to change the way they game-plan.
