NBA finals — Raptors on the Hill
NBA Finals — Game 4, and on the verge of making history, the Raptors and the so called win for the city of Toronto was understated during the post game interview with Kawhi Leonard, citing “I am not playing for the fans, nor am I playing for the city. I am not here to break records, I am just here to win for the team.”
It has long been an issue on the tips of everyone’s tongues. The big question? What do players play for? Championships? Teammates? Fans? etc.
Kawhi is a man of the game, he plays with an intense focus and humility that is as well unnoticed, for when results come to question, no there is nothing but with this man. The win is most important. And that’s a great thing.
Amidst the harangue of fans and fanatics there will always be be a common rhetoric that speaks of whether we like them or not… these players and what they represent every time they step out onto the floor. One thing is for certain, they it leave all out there, and to that they will always have our respect.
But, going up 3–1 in the NBA Finals is not just placing yourself on the hill, it is all smooth sailing from this point on, and that should more or less prove that the NBA Finals of 2019 will be a shoe-in for impending champions Toronto Raptors. Even my man Jeremy Lin, will wind up being a champion within the next two games, and that is great for #asianpride.
The real issue at hand, however, is the nuts and bolts of the situation, with defending champions dethroned in the likes of the Golden State Warriors, only one team has fallen prey to a 3–1 deficit in the NBA Finals, from a grand total of 44 times played out to this fashion, and the irony is that it would have been #LebronJames and the Cleveland Cavaliers trouncing this Warriors team and their respective players and couches to this degree.
No slant, no skew, no bias commentary at stake, just the cold hard facts of a legacy melting away in the stark California sun.
It may not be over for this set of players, but with Kevin Durant possibly not returning for the next season with the Warriors, this may be the peak of their success for years to come and on the decline, as well. The truth… the Warriors have every excuse to lose this Finals tournament and not to worry, it is to a worthy successor. With a team so evenly spread, from Kawhi Leonard to Marc Gasol, Kyle Lowry to Fred VanVleet and finally Serge Ibaka, Danny Green and Pascal Siakam all contributing, this well balanced offense and defensive team, playing on both ends of the floor, they surely have enough answers for the Warriors and every 3rd quarter outburst they tend to go on. It would prove to nothing.
Game 4 proved to have been won on many levels. From the warriors lacking freethrow opportunities and missed 3-pointers on the part of Steph Curry, shots he would normally drill night-in and night-out, there is hardly a chance in this game, let alone the series to keep the competition close.
Doubling every chance on Curry is also proving to be tumultuous, as his shot making ability dips from the unfathomable and into the downright complacent. Nothing spectacular about is performance tonight, and Golden State seem all out of sorts.
Missing Klay Thompson in Game 3 was bad enough, and with Steph Curry pouring in 46 points in the previous outing, it kept the score respectable, but now with throwing Klay Thompson back into the mix and out of the blue, you get a good performance by Thompson and a lackluster one by 2-time MVP Steph Curry. Their night was totally imbalanced and lethargic.
This may be the beginning of the end of three-peat talk on behalf of the Warriors but to simply steal Toronto away from it’s glory really would be a travesty, considering how well they have executed their offense and defense.
It seems the series is already won.
