By Jake Riepma
Alas, five days without basketball have finally come to an end, and the wait that seemed longer than the time it takes Aaron Rodgers to chug a beer is over.
For the fifth straight year the Golden State Warriors will be playing basketball in the month of June representing the Western Conference in this year's finals, vying for their third straight title, and fourth in the last five years.
The twist this season, however, is for the first time in eight years, Lebron James will not be playing in the finals. The last team standing out of the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history is the Toronto Raptors, who if you didn't know, have a pretty spectacular player by the name of Kawhi Leonard who enters tonight averaging better than 30 points per game.
Various Vegas sports books have Golden State as the favorite heading into the series, but keep in mind the Warriors will be without one of their superstars in Kevin Durant for at least game one of the series.
In the two games Toronto and Golden State met in the regular season, the Raptors won both of them, making Toronto the only team Golden State is yet to defeat this season.
The Raptors finished the regular season with a better record than Golden State, thus meaning game one will take place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and the Raptors will have home court advantage. As is the case with most finals, there's a lot to unpack.
Here are my five biggest storylines to keep an eye on:
1. Kevin Durant's Injury Status
While I wholeheartedly believe Golden State is good enough to win the title without Durant, who suffered a strained calf in game five of the Western Conference semifinals against Houston, I believe his health status will greatly impact his decision in the upcoming NBA free agency. We all know Kevin Durant has the reputation of being mentally fragile (don't make me get into the Twitter burner accounts and so on), and if Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and company cruise to another championship without him, I have a hunch Durant will have played his last game in a Warriors' uniform. He's hinted at leaving and even been hostile with the gentle San Francisco media, but of course, it's all speculation at this point, however, if he's unable to play in this years' finals, my gut feeling is he'll be on the move this summer.
2. Kawhi's Supporting Cast
As previously noted, Kawhi has been spectacular this postseason, outlasting Giannis Antetokounmpo and willing his team to the finals. When this Raptors team is at their best, he has the help of a supporting cast that bounced back in a big way in the final four games to help defeat the favorite Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals. If the Raptors are going to have a shot at pulling the upset, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Fred VanVleet, and the rest of the role players will have to be special.
3. Draymond's Defense
More than likely Draymond Green will be tasked with slowing down Kawhi Leonard. Green has shown the ability to shut down prolific scorers (James Harden, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum) throughout these playoffs, but Leonard represents his tallest task yet. Green has shown the ability to impact a game in so many different ways, including multiple triple double performances against Portland, but slowing down Kawhi will be priority numero uno.
4. Can Steph Finally Capture a Finals MVP?
In the Western Conference Finals, we saw a resurgence of the Steph Curry that once took this league by storm with his dynamic shooting and remarkable scoring. In the four games against Portland, Curry averaged 36.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists. Steph has a decorated trophy case including two regular season MVPs and three titles, but he's still in search of that Finals MVP badge. If he continues to play the way he has, it's likely he finally earns that long awaited honor.
5. Kerr vs. Nurse
One has three NBA titles as a coach and five as a player, while the other is in his first season as a head coach in the NBA. Kerr obviously has the experience factor and the luxury of working with a few more weapons in his arsenal, but do not discount the job Nick Nurse has done in his first season at the helm. Sure, it's nice to have the addition of arguably the best all-around player in the league, but this was a team that hadn't gotten over the hump until Nurse arrived. Watching the two partake in the chess match throughout the series will be something to be on the lookout for.
Now that we've dissected the important notes on the court, it's time for the much more fun 'honorable mentions' / NBA Finals Drinking game:
- Take a shot anytime Drake is shown on television (you'll be gone by halftime of game one probably)
- Drink anytime someone from the telecast says, 'Executing at a high level'
- Take a drink anytime Draymond Green disagrees with a referee's call (again, probably hammered sooner rather than later)
- Anytime Steph Curry is shown with his mouth guard in his hand rather than his mouth, shots!
- Drink anytime Curry's family is shown
- When a member from the telecast says something about Klay Thompson's three point shot actually being more fundamentally sound or better looking than Curry's shot, you must take a drink
- When the size of Kawhi's hands are mentioned, drink up!
- When footage of fans watching the game outside at Jurassic Park in Toronto is shown, drink up.
- Take a drink when Kevin Durant is shown in street clothes on the bench.
- When one of the coaches sarcastically points out the obvious during his sideline interview with Doris Burke, take a drink.
However you choose to enjoy the NBA Finals, it's finally here, and I am completely stoked!
Prediction: Warriors in 6. Curry wins the MVP.
