NBA Finals 2019: Sky Sports' Mike Tuck makes Finals predictions - have your say too!
Read Tuck's take on Golden State Warriors vs Toronto Raptors then vote in our Finals polls – watch Game 1 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Friday morning (2am)
Wednesday 29 May 2019 22:54, UK
Sky Sports NBA TV analyst Mike Tuck previews the NBA Finals, identifies the key battles between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors and invites you to have your say.
Live NBA: Golden State @ Toronto
And then there were two. After battling through their respective Conference Finals, the defending NBA champions the Golden State Warriors are set to face the Toronto Raptors in a best-of-seven series for the Larry O'Brien trophy.
The Warriors, without injured starters Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, dispatched the Portland Trail Blazers in four games thanks primarily to the superb scoring of Stephen Curry and the defense and ball movement of Draymond Green. The teak-tough Raptors fought back from 2-0 down to seal a 4-2 series win over the Milwaukee Bucks with Kawhi Leonard underlining his status as the postseason's best player to date.
Read Mike Tuck's breakdown of both series then have your say by voting in our polls.
Can the Warriors win without Kevin Durant?
The way this series unfolds will depend on if and when the Warriors can get Durant (and fellow starter Cousins) back on the floor. We know that 'Boogie' is listed as questionable for Game 1 and 'KD' is travelling with the team to Toronto but officially listed as out.
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Durant is the best player in this series but in his absence other guys have been stepping up. The Warriors have looked like a better, more free-flowing and more cohesive unit since Durant has been out and Curry woke up from his shooting slump.
In Durant's absence against Portland we saw a throwback to vintage pre-KD Warriors basketball with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dominating, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green significantly contributing and the ball moving. Will Steve Kerr want to disrupt the vibe they have going right now?
Make no mistake, the Warriors are still a better team when 'KD' is on the floor. His ability to shoot and help defend guys like Kawhi Leonard are major assets - not to mention he averaged a whopping 40.5 points per game against the Raptors across two regular season games.
The Warriors will give themselves a good chance to win with or without KD.
How the Warriors will defend Kawhi Leonard?
Kawhi has undoubtedly been the top performer of the NBA Playoffs so far, putting up 31.2 points per game on 51 per cent shooting as well as averaging 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
He is going to be a huge focus for the Warriors on defense. Match-up wise, we will a lot of Iguodala and Green marking him defensively. You have to be able to play Leonard in a physical way, force him to change his pace, and try to make him into a playmaker.
Kawhi has developed into a better playmaker as this postseason has progressed and the Raptors supporting cast has been able to knock down shots off his kick-out passes. All nine of his assists resulted in three-pointers from his teammates in Game 5 against the Bucks.
Slowing Kawhi down and being able to rotate out to shooters will be key for the Warriors.
What adjustments will the coaches have to make heading into the series?
How are the Raptors going to defend the Splash brothers in ball screen situations? Toronto are a team that doesn't switch much, they fight over screens, only switching if they have to. This is an area that could be dangerous for the Raptors with on ball screens creating space for shooters. Especially when you have shooters like Curry and Klay who have quick releases.
I think the Warriors will be looking for mismatches in this regard while the Raptors have to be able to communicate and rotate in their on-ball coverage.
Transition defense will also be huge for both clubs. The Warriors have great ability to take advantage of a team's mistakes, whether those errors are live ball turnovers or taking and missing quick and/or bad shots. Golden State can push the ball like no one else and can kill you with easy lay-ups or transition threes.
Who wins the series?
This will be a much more exciting series than people think. The Warriors and Raptors are quality teams that deserve to be in the Finals. It's a great match-up, the star-studded Warriors making their fifth straight Finals appearance versus a resilient Toronto Raptors that climbed on their superstar's back and kept finding ways to win.
The Raptors are red hot right now after winning their last four games in a row and have everything going for them.
As a Toronto born, day-one fan I am rooting for them - and I hope they make me eat my words here - but I don't see them getting past Steve Kerr and the Hamptons Five.
Warriors win it in six games.
Who will win Finals MVP?
I'm going with my gut and will back Stephen Curry to win Finals MVP. Three NBA Championships with a potential fourth sitting in front of him, this guy is long overdue.
The way he started playing and was able to get himself going in the Conference Finals, he has all the momentum behind him right now. An NBA Championship and Finals MVP would be the perfect ending in the Warriors' final game at Oracle Arena.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
