The Toronto Raptors stunned the NBA by landing the first blow with a 118-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday.
The Warriors have won three titles in the past four years, two in a row and have made five consecutive Finals, so while the U.S. media weren’t taking the Raptors lightly, it still surprised many to see them come away with such a clean win over one of the greatest teams of all time.
The remarkable victory has prompted a flurry of hot takes, breakdowns and stories on what’s gone right for the Raptors, and what hasn’t for the Warriors.
Here’s what the non-Canadian media are saying before the Raptors and Warriors square up for Game 2 on Sunday night:
The Ringer — Fred VanVleet Is Now a Playoff God
VanVleet is shooting like Steph Curry and frustrating him with his defence, writes The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman.
After shooting the lights out in Games 4, 5, and 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors backup point guard had 15 points on eight shots in Game 1 against the Warriors.
He’s also shutting down the two-time MVP.
It’d be easy to dismiss this as a fluke if VanVleet didn’t have something of a history of locking down Curry. In Curry’s lone regular-season matchup against the Raptors, he actually performed even worse against VanVleet, scoring just four points on 39 possessions.
FiveThirtyEight actually cut a highlight tape of VanVleet’s finest work on Curry ahead of the series, and even watching Curry try to shake VanVleet is exhausting.
Normally, Curry’s flurry of high-speed off-ball movements gets him a second of open space, which is all he needs to drill a 3. But VanVleet never leaves his side. He’s there when Curry pops off screens; he’s there when Curry tries to sneak open after Warriors offensive rebounds; he’s there when the Warriors try to start fast breaks.
Curry can be so dangerous if teams forget about him for an instant. VanVleet never forgets. He chases Curry like it’s the only thing that matters in the world.
And for a Golden State team without Kevin Durant, the whole thing is kinda doomed if Curry can’t create offense. The Warriors were minus-11 in the 26 minutes Curry and VanVleet played together. They lost by nine.
ESPN — How Kyle Lowry became the last Raptor standing
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reports on Kyle Lowry’s importance to this Raptors squad.
Lowry is the last remaining key pillar — excluding — Masai Ujiri — of the greatest stretch in the team’s history after coach Dwane Casey and guard DeMar DeRozan were fired and traded, respectively.
Meanwhile, a guy who spent the first few years of his career bouncing from place-to-place, struggling to find a home, has found one north of the border — a place Lowry himself never dreamed he’d be in this long.
“When I first got traded here I didn’t really know what to expect,” Lowry said Saturday. “I thought I would be here a couple years, and be out of here.”
Instead, he came and never left. Now, Toronto finds itself three wins away from the first championship in franchise history. And while much of the praise has gone to former Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and breakout star Pascal Siakam, it has been Lowry who, behind the scenes, has been driving Toronto to heights it has never reached before.
“We have been through so much and he’s a winner,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. “There’s no other way to put it, he’s a winner. He’s been hit upside the head from every different angle in the world, whether it’s personal, everything, and he survives it. Like every day he comes, he comes to win. Doesn’t matter what mood he’s in, like he comes to win.”
The Ringer — The Warriors Need Kevin Durant, Now More Than Ever
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor opines on how Game 1 of the NBA Finals was a stark reminder that while the Warriors were constructed around the Splash Brothers, they need injured star Kevin Durant’s half-court scoring genius to crack Toronto’s stifling defence.
It’s easy to say: It’s one game. The Warriors destroyed the Blazers, and beat the Rockets twice without Durant. They’ll adjust and be fine just like three of the past four years. Maybe. But the Raptors aren’t the Blazers or the Rockets.
Gasol is a smarter defender than Clint Capela, and he’s far better than all three of Portland’s bigs. The Grit and Grind God played Game 1 like it was his Defensive Player of the Year campaign all over again. Chris Vernon called me on the phone, crying tears of joy, because it gave him flashbacks to a happier time in Memphis (this definitely happened, I’m definitely not kidding).
Lowry and Fred VanVleet are much stronger perimeter defenders than Portland’s defensively suspect backcourt.
Leonard, Siakam, and Green are among the best, if not the best, wing defenders in the game. Since Game 3 of the Bucks series, the Raptors defense is playing connected. It’s the best they’ve defended all year—in a season when they ranked fifth in defensive rating.
The Rockets may have been built to beat the Warriors, and the Blazers may have Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. But the Raptors have Kawhi. The Raptors have depth. The Raptors are the best team Golden State has faced this postseason, which makes the challenge of scoring and minimizing turnovers in the half court that much greater. And it makes Durant’s possible return that much more important.
Three years have gone by, two Finals MVPs have been won, and Durant still gets heat for bouncing Oklahoma City for Golden State, especially recently, as Golden State rattled off six wins in a row after he went down. The story could change now, though. The Warriors weren’t heavy favorites going into the series, and looked vulnerable in Game 1.
Sports Illustrated — The Warriors Need to Find a Third Shooter in Game 2 of NBA Finals
Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nadkarni breaks down the Warriors’ need to find more space for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to get off their shots in order to have more success against the Raptors in Game 2.
The Dubs started Jordan Bell in Game 1, and he was largely ineffective as a screener for Curry. Kevan Looney’s insertion next to Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green didn’t lead to much more success either.
A low-hanging fruit option for Game 2 for Steve Kerr would be to start small, like he did against the Rockets in the second round.
Inserting Alfonzo McKinnie or even Jonas Jerebko into the starting lineup could help alleviate some of the Warriors’ spacing concerns.
McKinnie and Jerebko aren’t pure, knockdown shooters. They did combine to shoot four-of-six from three in Game 1, but the Raptors seemed content to let them fire from outside. They still may be Golden State’s easiest option as an initial counter.
Starting McKinnie would put Green back in the screener role for Curry on high pick and rolls. If Gasol is guarding Draymond, and is still trapping Curry off screens, Green has proven more than capable as a roll man, and McKinnie certainly has a much better chance of hurting the Raptors from the outside than Bell or Looney.
The Los Angeles Times — Kawhi Leonard’s free agency is a touchy subject, and Clippers paid the price
It’s no secret other teams — especially those based in Los Angeles — are watching the Finals closely with Raptors star Kawhi Leonard potentially headed for free agency in the off-season.
The Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike explores the Clippers’ pursuit of Leonard and the NBA’s $50,000 fine given to coach Doc Rivers under its anti-tampering rule.
What makes Leonard’s free agency so interesting is that the two teams he’s expected to choose between have made such strong arguments to land him come July.
If he stays in Toronto, it won’t be because of the all-you-can-eat poutine and Tim Horton’s and the luxury views. It’ll be because the Raptors perfectly handled his health over the season, because they won a lot of games, because changing teams for the second time in two seasons is a lot and because he’s had career-defining moments like his series-winning shot against the Philadelphia 76ers and his dominance against the Bucks.
If he goes, it’ll be because the Clippers are in Southern California near his home. It’ll be because they’ve built an incredible culture in a short time since Steve Ballmer bought the team. It’ll be because Rivers reminded everyone what a good coach he can be over the last two seasons. It’ll be because their front office is full of bright thinkers including Jerry West. It’ll be because the Clippers can build a championship roster around Leonard either through trades or free agency.
It probably won’t be because of something Rivers said before the NBA Finals.
But if it matters? That $50,000 will be more than worth it.
USA Today — LeBron James may not be in NBA Finals, but he is making an impact
Josh Peter and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today delve into LeBron James’ presence — or rather lack thereof — in the NBA Finals.
The future Hall of Famer has been rendered a spectator for the first time since 2010, and the league will be watching to see how that affects its ratings.
It’s a good bet the NBA is trying to assess how James’ absence will impact TV ratings – which have dipped during this year’s playoffs – and how his potentially extended absence from the Finals has reshaped the narrative.
Meanwhile, fans have watched as other players have made headlines.
“I haven’t thought about it at all to be honest with you,” Charles Barkley, an analyst for TNT, told USA TODAY Sports before Game 1. “No disrespect to LeBron. Everybody knows he’s a great player.
“[But] Kawhi Leonard and Steph Curry, their emergence, that to me says it all. Go back to the beginning of the playoffs. It started with Giannis [Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks], the second round had Kawhi and then you thought Portland had a chance to get to the Finals when Kevin Durant gets hurt. Steph goes crazy.
“There have been some amazing story lines, and that’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
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