If Klay misses game 3 that would be huge though.
If Klay misses game 3 that would be huge though.
It would, but it didn't look anything too serious.
Not calling the series over or anything like that. But the Warriors are a dynastic team for a reason. Even with all these injuries to top players they can still beat a great team (and yes the Raptors are a great team).
The key for the next game is Lowry needs to step up offensively.
Also the Warriors also took advantage of Kawhi's biggest issue this game and forcing all those TOs.
I don't think Klay misses game 3. If anything, I think there is a much better shot Durant is back game 3.
Canada beat the Warriors' JV squad! Wooooo!
Thankfully neither of those occurred.Originally Posted by PurePlayer
And yes it was against the injured squad, but I don't give a fuck. The Raptors won a Finals game at Oracle and have a 2-1 series lead!
It is scary though that even with all that there were definitely moments where GS were really dangerous. But even GS can't withstand losing 3 players with 2 of those being All-NBA players (Klay basically was an All-NBA player but I understand him not getting it this season, the average person sleeps on his D though). Curry getting that feel of what it's been like for LeBron.
Toronto was shooting threes like they had cheat codes on. Curry scored out of his ind with 47 and Green had 17, but the talent pool is nonexistent after that. Iguodala was alright but they needed more.
Toronto needs to keep scoring like crazy if they wish to win this. The Warriors can easily come back if they get their guys back.
Very interesting. If the warriors get their guys back and win this series, the NBA twitterverse will actually explode with conspiracy theories.
What conspiracy theory?
I mean I think everyone would agree that the Warriors with Curry, KD and Klay are better than the Raptors. So if they come back and then win it all it's not going to be surprising.
Shit they won a game without KD.
Unless the conspiracy is to extend the series they kept them out for longer than necessary.
The Raptors had to make a ton of 3s to keep Golden State at bay. Can they continue doing that? Lowry goes on some insane streaks so he could easily go 0/5 next game. It all depends with KD and Klay come back. If not then Raptors in 5 prob. If they come back then Warriors in 6
yea I don't understand what GBF is saying either.
I think Steph's stats last night, even in a loss, pretty much guaranteed he will get his MVP if they win the series. Now averaging 34/5/5.
The Klay and KD injuries have made this a very compelling series. Kerr said he expects Klay back for game 4 but who knows if he'll be 100%.
I would still be shocked if KD doesn't come back this series. I am actually already surprised he hasn't come back in the first 3.
I think he’s playing tomorrow. I’ve got that bad feeling in my gut.
KD ain't coming back this series, why would he risk significant further injury when he's got a big payday coming up as a UFA?
Also, all this talk that the Raptors are scared that KD comes back is a bit much. Raptors beat a GS squad with a healthy KD twice this season. Raps can beat them with or without KD, imo.
Are you really going to reference the regular season to make your case? Basketball doesn't work that way. Just like how the Raptors went like 17-4 without Kawhi. They probably wouldn't win a game without him in the playoffs against the Sixers, Bucks, and Warriors.
If the doctors clear him, I don't see why he wouldn't play at least on a limited basis. it's just another thing he can brag about if he comes back and helps them win. Klay is in the same boat. He's a free agent too. Are you saying he wouldn't come back either because he's afraid to get injured? Hell no. He was fighting to play this game.
Oh we certainly can. But the intensity in the playoffs vs regular season is different. Also KD is that good and changes so much of that team. Instead of having to give Alfonso McKinney any minutes you have a top 5 player playing.
It’s just a logical thing to be scared of him coming back.
I do hope he’s selfish though and just looking out for his financial future and not risk injury. It’s what I would do. And people will forget about him sitting eventually. If anything them losing without him does “help” his legacy.
You should want him to play. It will make the Raptors potential championship that much better imo. Wouldn't you want to beat GSW at full strength? I would take the championship regardless but it will probably feel a little bit better to beat their full team
he has more to lose if they won without him. Klay and Looney getting injured pretty much put an end to that.
True there are now other asterisks people can point to. Either way I think without him this series has been better than it would have been with him so I hope he does as everyone expects and goes somewhere else next year. Even if the Raps don’t end up in the finals. Klay though should stay. No need to make them average. Just not stupidly good.
No that's ridiculous. Every team plays with injuries and a championship squad relies on the depth and coaching and adjustments made necessary to reach the pinnacle. A Raptors championship isn't devalued because it beats a GS team without KD lol. Jesus.
Hell no. I was 6 the last time a major Toronto team won a title (no offence TFC. Lol Argos). I know our chances are better if he doesn’t play.
these guys don't have that much to risk when it comes to free agency IMO. KD is KD. if he tweaks his hamstring again, he's still a max player. I expect they will both play if able. we're not talking about Derrick Rose here. this is the pinnacle of their profession and what they will be remembered for. they want to play.
PP I think your take that Pablo should want KD to play is a bad one. KD playing means the Raptors will probably lose. if this was the Sixers, would you really rather lose against a healthy GSW than win vs a depleted version?
KD gets MAX regardless, so long as he is HEALTHY. Maybe it's not his calf, maybe achilles? Imagine he comes back and blows his achilles. Still think he gets MAX?
Achilles would be more serious. I'm not under the impression playing on a strained calf increases his chance of blowing out his achilles.
This isn't the NFL. I don't think these guys suffer career altering injuring that often. If you can play 2 or 3 games and win a title, on the biggest stage, that's a no brainer. I expect KD will return in this series, though possibly not until game 5 or 6.
I never said that. I said I would take the win either way but would it would be that much sweeter if Klay and KD did play. It's not just KD that's out.
I would take a Sixers title any day against any team with any injury of course. You are telling me it wouldn't be that much bigger though beating a team with their top guys? I know this isn't the best comparison since QB is so much more important than any other position. Imagine if the Eagles beat the Patriots without Brady in the super bowl. Yeah it's the super bowl but it wouldn't feel as good as beating Brady.
I was actually rooting for the Pats to beat the Jags that year because I know beating the Jags in the super bowl isn't quite the same as beating the Pats in it.
- - - Updated - - -
I think so, yes
Last edited by PurePlayer; June 6th, 2019 at 1:08 PM.
Tell me where I said it was devalued?
oh i'm sorry for putting words in your mouth, PurePlayer. You're right, you didn't use the word, "devalued". You said that we should want KD to play in the Finals because it would make the Raptors championship "better". So please go ahead and explain what you meant so I don't make this mistake again.
You think KD would get maximum salary and term after sustaining a potentially career-ending injury? Interesting.
I meant in terms of personal feeling. If you wouldn't feel better about beating their actual team then that's fine. Like I said, I would take a title any way possible as a Sixers fan. I would take it if the whole starting 5 were out. I am just saying, as a fan it would feel sweeter to beat them at full strength. That has nothing to do with their championship being "devalued." But whatever you say Jammy
The biggest question of all is "Will the Raptors visit the White House if they do win the title?"
I think they would and should.
Trump hasn’t invited the NBA champs so far (because they had said they wouldn’t go)
I don't think PP is off base in what he's said about preferring to see KD/Klay out there should the Raps be able to pull it off.
I'd prefer my team to beat their opponent while they are at full strength. Doesn't mean I'd rather lose.
Just if it came down to how a championship is remembered, my personal feeling is I'd like to remember being the team that full on beat the team ... so to speak.
Honestly, I'd want my team to win against whoever they put against us. I get that its easier to be more optimistic of their chances going in if we knew the opponents were less than full strength. However, if the Raptors win against a Warriors team without KD and Klay, it won't feel like any less of an accomplishment to Raptors fans.
The Raptors have shown they are a really impressive team that deserves to be up 2-1 at this point. They aren't that far away from being up 3-0.
Before the game last night, I thoroughly enjoyed Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel's interviews with the players at Media Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-41ENm1X2Q
Truly funny stuff.
Oh for sure if you were to tell me would you rather a Raptors championship against KD or a Raptors championship against them without KD. Then yes definitely against him. But it decreases the percentage chance of winning so much that I would rather not have to.
KD is already ruled out for tomorrow. Klay will play with no minutes restriction per Kerr.
The fact that they aren't even giving KD a game time decision tells us he isn't that close yet.
Should be fun. I expect the Warriors will take game 4. But this is a tremendous chance for the Raptors to take control. I don't know that the Warriors can go back and win 2 games in Toronto.
I don't get the part about decreasing the chances to win.
If the Warriors forfeited that would dramatically increase the Raptors chances of winning, but I doubt you'd like to win that way.
And no, of course it's not exactly the same way. But in terms of the principal of proving on the court that you're the best team I can't see how anyone would actually prefer to speak towards having done so with the cliched asterisk involved.
And I speak from some tiny experience in so far as being a Rockets fan and the number of times people mention that if only Jordan hadn't walked away from the game during that time.
of course if we know our team is going to win the title we'd all like to beat the 73 win warriors or 18-0 patriots. that is more satisfying. and you could use these examples to say: see, you can beat the best! it's possible to overcome and upset. which is true, but come on, get real. I don't root for injury when my team is facing an opponent but when it happens, and it betters your chance of winning, you can admit that it's a good thing. because the asterisk is bullshit. you just have to beat whoever comes out to face you. a title is a title. and there's nothing sweeter than a title. when you're so close you can taste it, all you want to do is get over the finish line.
what don't you get? if KD, Steph, Klay, Draymond and Boogie are all healthy at the start of this series and for its entirety then the Raptors chances of winning goes from, say, 50% to 15%. those are arbitrary numbers but how don't you get that it increases the raptors chances to have an MVP caliber player on the sideline?
if this was Lebron's cavs from last year, and lebron was hurt, I would agree with you guys that you kinda don't want to win it that way. that's a case where one player is the whole team. but the warriors are so stacked that it's arguably unfair with all of them playing.
I meant preferring to not have the chances decreased due to the opponent being at full strength health-wise.
Unfair with them on the court? Look back at most of the dynasties. Would you call those teams unfair? Come on Fro. Steph and Draymond were really the only healthy starters on the team. Iggy is definitely a shell of himself this series with injuries and Cousins is not the same guy. They are a skeleton crew right now. It's not fair to say they are so stacked that missing their two best two way players makes it fair.
Unfair
I think when you assemble one of the 2 or 3 most talented teams in league history, and there isn't another comparable team in the league at the time, then yes it's arguably unfair. Maybe a better word, because certainly they are playing fairly within the rules of the league, would be that it's uncompetitive. Anticlimatic. Barring injury, the result would not be in doubt.
I'm not complaining I mean shit I have a Steph avatar but in this case, more so than others, I find it even harder to say that a Raptors fan should want to face the Warriors at full strength.
Toronto should want to win no matter what, considering championship seasons don't come every year for them. To hell how bad the other team has it, how is that their problem?
If the Lions won the Super Bowl against a Patriot team that didn't have Brady on it due to injury, I wouldn't give two craps. I'd still be burning couches and cop cars in downtown Detroit all the same.
I don't think anyone is arguing this but ok. Either way, you take the title and you feel great. You are telling me it's not a better feeling to beat Brady than not to beat Brady?
What state are you from or what teams do you root for? If it isn't from a championship-starved place like Toronto, Buffalo, Minnesota, Detroit, Ohio, or elsewhere, than you can't begin to understand.
You take what you can get.
Beating the top dogs at full strength would always feel better, but the best teams don't always win the championships or even go the the championship game. There's no controlling the other team's injuries and a team like Toronto wouldn't lift their trophy any higher either way.
Real sports means boring endings sometimes and I wouldn't care if the Lions won the Super Bowl because the entire Patriots organization went down with the stomach flu and forfeited. Beggars can't be choosers.
And let’s be honest even in all this talk I’m only barely optimistic the Raps will win two more.
Raps are going to win the whole thing! Cmon Pabs! KD ain't coming back this series, mark my words. GS will smokescreen this until the cows come home because it forces Raps to make adjustments to their game preparations, just in case he comes back lol. GS playing the 'game'. KD isn't going to jeopardize his huge payday come free agency by playing on a bad calf/achilles/whatever and risk a more severe injury. He needs to heal this badboy up so he can go get the money.
I’m a Toronto sports fan. I’ve been burned too much to have much optimism in regards to our sports teams.
haha I hear ya! I'm an Ottawa Sens fan and you saw what happened to them in the last 1.5yrs UGH.
IMO whoever wins tonight wins the series.
Why would a Canadian team be invited to The White House?
$20 says Trump doesn't know that Toronto is in Canada.
But seriously, they invited the Blue Jays when they won the World Series in 1992.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...ITE-HOUSE.html
my god what is this canadian national anthem
Goodbye GS
- - - Updated - - -
NEO!
Look at all the GS fans filing out of the arena with 1:28 left lol. What a joke.
Raps just broke your back. I'm hosting a Raps party monday WOOOOOOOOOOOO
WE THE NORTH
Do I dare? Do I dare to dream?
I'm so happy for Canada I might spend the summer up there.
the only thing preventing me from actively pulling for this championship is not wanting kyle fucking lowry to get a ring. why must you guys make this so difficult.
You're hating on Philly's own?
his flopping and whining irritate me beyond rationale, with this year's second round series breaking me. that flop at half-court with jj where he smacked himself in the face, hit the deck, missed a series on defense and complained to the refs into the commercial break for not getting a call was just too much for my brain to handle in a tense, back and forth series. he can go fuck off to delaware county with that horseshit.
I don't wathc much basketball, but I always thought Lowry was a beast who gave 110% at all times. The kind of person you would love to see get a ring.
he is a bit whiny
He definitely is one of the whiniest players in the league. But he also plays hard all the time and puts his body on the line drawing charges.
I would hate him if he wasn’t on my team.
i really enjoy watching him now that im rooting for his team
And he couldn't have handled the fan/owner shove situation any better really..
It's not over until it's over, certainly never count out the Warriors, but the Raptors have proven they are the better team here so I don't see the Warriors winning 3 straight unless KD comes back which is seeming less and less likely. And even if he comes back at partial effectiveness it likely wouldn't be enough. The Scotiabank Arena will be rocking harder than ever on Monday so it will take a lot to send this back to Oakland. I think this ends Monday.
I've enjoyed this series more than most of the Warriors Finals appearances. There hasn't been a lot of late game drama but the fact that the underdog Raptors have been in control has made it dramatic as well as the Drake stuff. I'll be pulling for the Warriors to extend the series but it would be nice to see the Raptors win at home.
I think KD has played his last game for Golden State.
Upgraded to questionable.
He's playing.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'actual team' here. It's not as if Golden State are sending out their B squad. One player is injured. If they can't win without him then they are not the best "team". They may have one of the best players, but that's how you get yourself into these situations as a GM. He played over 40 minutes for 5 games straight before getting injured. If they were deeper as a team he could have cut back on minutes and potentially avoided injury.
No way.
It does appear Pablo will be correct. While still officially a gametime decision, KD is expected to start. per sources.
While all you filthy wrestling fans are watching another boring Raw (I suppose), I'm just sitting here, alone, rooting for my fellow Canadian team.
But the Warriors were supposed to be better without Durant. Ah what a hilarious hot take that was.
Stay classy Toronto fans
On behalf of Toronto I apologize for our behaviour. Extremely disappointed.
On behalf of the Warriors I accept. It's only natural. Poor form, sure, but to be expected in literally any NBA arena in this circumstance.
Yeah I don’t think this is some unique thing. But still classless.
It sure did look like KD was grabbing his achilles. But this close up looks like it's his calf that gives way.
It’s definitely not uncommon. Milwaukee fans did it to Brandon Jennings when he tore his Achilles. I was at that game, I was pissed that people were cheering that he got hurt.
What a game
lol lowry.
Nick nurse. Let’s call a time out when golden state only has one left. Oh and let’s make sure we do it when on a 12-2 run. Also nick nurse. 20 seconds left down by one. Nah no timeout.
And it’s not even like coming off a rebound or something. I get letting the players play in that situation. But from an out of bounds play. Call the timeout and get something better drawn up. Big mistake from him. Hopefully Raps can finish in Game 6. At least we know Toronto can win there so hopefully that fear factor of Oracle is gone.
Granted some of those calls near the end were very beneficial to the Raps so guess there’s that.
Very beneficial indeed. Remember this game when people say the refs are in the bag for the league. They called it in favor of ending rather than extending the series. Not in the league’s best interest to be sure.
Sorry for your loss Pabs. I know you’ve still got 2 more tries and I expect you’ll come away victorious, but man you guys were so close! Great D by the Warriors on the final possession.
KD did tear his achilles according to the analysis I’ve seen on twitter. That’s a damn shame.
I guess while I was right that KD would give it a go, you guys (Jammy and maybe someone else I’m forgetting) were right that it was the wrong move. I really believed them when they said it was a calf despite the rumors otherwise. I didn’t see why they’d lie about it but now I guess it makes sense that it was to protect his free agency value. But it clearly wasn’t a full tear the first time since he came back. Idk, it’s confusing, but I hope he makes a full recovery. i still believe he will get a max contract but we’ll see.
Embiid got a max contract after playing like 40 games in his first 3 seasons, Durant will get paid no matter how bad his injury is, this isn't the NFL.
Crazy 4th quarter for sure, somehow the Raptors have outplayed the Warriors the first 5 games, but an insane 3rd quarter in game 2 and crazy good 3 point shooting tonight have let the Warriors steal two games. This has been a wild series, I'm glad we get at least one more game.
KD did not need to protect his free agency value at all. that is not why he chose to play.
Calf muscles just attach through the Achilles. What you "probably" see here is the Achilles detaching and the muscle belly rolling up.
Wouldn't have been a full tear going into the game, but looks like one now. Hard to think he didnt play through an injury he shouldn't have.
Last edited by Hurley; June 11th, 2019 at 4:50 AM.
He really went for it to try and help his team win and considering how good he looked before the injury he definitely did win the team the game. It definitely helps his likability.
Also shows why I was so scared of him coming back. He will still get a max I believe. There’s also a good chance he stays with golden state I think.
He may opt into his $31.5 million option to stay in GS for one more year, sit out, and hopefully get a max deal next offseason.
The Warriors GM Bob Myers crying in the press conference... I can appreciate the emotions he's feeling but I can't help but think it's a tad overdramatic. Especially in light of the David Ortiz shooting. No connection I know but it puts things in perspective. Durant will be okay. He's not dead. His career isn't over. Even if it was, there have been far more tragic sports injuries.
Still, what a night. The return, the injury, how the game played out, the emotions. This league man.
I think Embiid's contract is pretty complex and is laden with injury provisions that would limit the guaranteed amount to about $80M (out of the $145M) should he fall within a range of injuries. Big risk by the 76ers, considering the guy is always injured. Also he's 25 and KD is 31. Durant will definitely get paid but let's not kid ourselves - if this is a torn achilles, he's out the entirety of next season. 31 and rehabbing a torn achilles. Remember this happened to Kobe. Nobody comes back the same after a torn achilles. His only move is to opt in with GS for the next year.
He chose to play because he's a world class competitor and probably the best player in the league and he has an insatiable desire to win. He also chose to play because of the incredible pressure from the GS organization, with another championship on the line. But let's not pretend that he didn't owe it to himself to not play and protect his free agency value. Did you see the video of his injury? He's got a torn achilles and will most likely be out the entirety of next season. 31 and rehabbing a torn achilles, nobody comes back the same.
The GS organization failed him miserably and this the big story, imo. Look at Kawhi and San Antonio, and how Kawhi lost trust in that organization and had the balls to defy their team doctors and get second opinions and PROTECT HIMSELF. If he had followed the San Antonio path, he may have befallen the same fate has KD. Instead, he moved on and is about to get another championship with another team, one year later to boot.
Whoever the GM is at GS, he should be ashamed. Of course the team doctor at GS is gonna push KD to play, he's the same dickhead from a Vancouver Canucks organization back in the day that was marred with controversial 'rehabbing' vs 'surgery' calls.
Anyways, I thought KD looked tentative even during practise drills. Not sure why their coach had KD doing hard routes and running-around plays, he should have just had him sit and wait for 3pointers and field goals. The guy barely misses, and this way you don't put pressure on his calf/achilles.
I feel bad for KD. The crowd applauding his injury and catcalling him on his way was a really bad look.
Yep, it was a crazy game and too bad it was Lowry and not Kawhi that had the final buzzer shot lol. GS GM crying those crocodile tears because he knows he made a mistake sending KD out there.
I was rooting against the Warriors, but I certainly respect them.
When KD went down, I'll admit to cheering only for the prospect of wanting to see him stop killing the Raptors. And he was killing it. So when he went down, I legit initially thought his calf was tightened up, maybe he will have to sit down for the rest of the half, and get rehydrated and a massage, maybe he can only play 10 min a half - that will improve the chances this does not become a Warrior blowout.
It only became clearer as he was limping off the court that it was more serious. Let's face it, this wasn't Joe Theisman on MNF getting his leg snapped - we couldn't know initially how serious it was.
Nobody wants to see any competitor - let alone one of the very top players in the league - go down with an injury.
The fact that the Toronto crowd was chanting "K - D K - D K - D" as he was dropping the F-Bomb on national TV while he was limping off the court, says so more about how much they - and fans like me - respect a worthy opponent, and I hope we should be forgiven for brief excitement when he went down.
Reports are this morning that several clubs are still willing to offer him a supermax deal as a free agents - knowing all too well that he will likely have to sit out at least most of next season. But how will any of the other big free agents think about being talked into coming to a team to play with him - but really without him for a big part of it.
You should want to beat the best team because of your team ability.
I'm not really sure how anyone could get excited about the idea of winning a championship because the best player on the opposing team could not play.
Also if you are even a remote sports fan you generally have at least a rudimentary idea of how injuries work.
The moment I saw it I thought "achilles. OH NO".
Anybody who watched this series or this year of NBA knows that Durant just missed 32 days and then got reinjured with 20 minutes of being back on the court. Unless you are an actual moron, a little bells should be going off in your heads that this is probably terrible and not something I should be cheering about.
Oh stop. You could clearly see the fans waving goodbye as soon as the injury happened. Any knowledgeable fan knows as soon as he went down, there was a good chance he was done for the series.
The only reason why fans started chanting his name because the players were disgusted and tried to shut them up. They knew they were fucked and showed their true colors by wanting him to leave the game so they tried to save face. there really isn't anything more to it than that.
he could easily opt into the 31 million dollar option with GS and then become a free agent the following year.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
