2019 NBA Finals Game 1 Recap + Game 2 Prediction
As a fairly avid fan of NBA basketball, I couldn’t be happier with this year’s NBA finals matchup. Well, I take that back - if somehow the Chicago Bulls had pulled off one of the greatest miracles and had actually decided to win games this past season, somehow making it through the playoffs and into the finals, that would’ve been absolutely incredible. Instead, the non-fairytale world we live in still provided a very intriguing matchup for fans, and game 1 of this series did not disappoint.
A Warriors team that was 32-1 in their last 33 games in which Stephen Curry played and Kevin Durant did not simply looked rusty on Thursday night after 9 complete days off between the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Right out of the gate, Golden State was committing careless turnovers, allowing easy transition baskets for the Raptors, and was failing to close-out on open three-point shots from players like Danny Green and Marc Gasol, allowing Toronto to open driving lanes and to spread the floor all while Scotiabank Arena gained more and more energy. Toronto also came out as if they expected to take game 1. As a basketball player myself for a few years and a fan who has been to some high-intensity games, I understand the unpredictability of the sport when there is a certain energy in an arena. Toronto is representing an entire country of fans who are getting their first taste of the NBA Finals in Canada, against the reigning champions no less, and they didn’t want to send those fans home disappointed. While every Raptor should be proud of stellar performances all around, especially from Pascal Siakam (14/17 shooting and 32 points, are you kidding me?!), they also shouldn’t get too comfortable against a Warriors team who has demonstrated that they are capable of making the necessary adjustments to get themselves right back into a series.
As a fan of the sport in general, I am disappointed to see any player go down with an injury, but seeing a KD-less Warriors team have to exert more effort than usual makes this series much more interesting. The reality is that Golden State did not play very well in game 1, without Kevin Durant, and still only lost by 9 points. They should, and already seem to, feel very comfortable going into game 2. Their game plan of doubling Kawhi Leonard and forcing Toronto to constantly take 3’s is a good one and when the law of averages kicks in and the Warriors close-out on open shots more effectively, the Raptors’ shooting percentage is likely to fall quite dramatically. That same law of averages likely indicates that Klay Thompson will do a better job as the series progresses, and the 9 point gap between the two teams in game 1 will likely shrink in game 2, if not grow in favor of Golden State.
I predict a game 2 that takes the air out of Jurassic Park. Steve Kerr and the members of his championship Warriors are hungry, willing to adjust, and do not want to go down 0-2 without Kevin Durant, because for as well as they perform on their home court in Oracle Arena, they’ve been known to drop the ball in some vital must win games. I could be wrong here, and I sometimes am about these things — but I see a statement victory coming from Golden State tonight. Hopefully a win will shut Drake up, too, because that in and of itself is enough to write an entire blog post about. Enjoy the game no matter the result.
Prediction: GSW 117, TOR 105