Warriors Star Kevin Durant finally experienced a moment of clarity on his injured right calf. Durant is expected to play when the Warriors face the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
Granted, Durant’s return elicits more questions. To what extent can Durant mirror his league-leading 34.2 points he averaged during the NBA playoffs before injuring his right calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals
The Golden State Warriors played the best defense of their season in the first half of Game 4. They had no other choice but to do so — being down 2-1 against the Toronto Raptors made playing near-flawless defense a necessity. They had the tools to accomplish such a feat — Klay Thompson was back from his hamstring strain, and Kevon Looney made a miraculous recovery from his collarbone fracture, a surprising development given that it seemed like he was going to be sidelined for the rest of the season.
There’s a popular strain of basketball thought that attempts to assess whether certain players could be the best player on a team that wins the NBA championship, or the second best or third best player, or a starter, or in the rotation. If you can’t imagine a world in which said player fits the appropriate role that his salary and status demand, then that’s not a good use of resources.
Kevin Durant has been cleared to return to practice. The superstar - who hasn’t played in over a month with a calf injury - will practice with his Golden State Warriors teammates today ahead of Monday’s NBA Finals Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors.
"I think the challenge with Kawhi is it doesn't look the same… it's not as pretty. But, boy, is it effective. So where a lot of those guys that I just named are like natural God-given scorers, Kawhi isn't that. Kawhi didn't come into this league as a scorer, yet he's one of the best scorers we have in the league now."
Ahead of the 2019 NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors forward and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green was asked about the unique challenges that come with guarding Kawhi Leonard, to which he provided the above answer.
After lucking into the No. 4 pick at last month’s NBA Draft Lottery, the Los Angeles Lakers will be tasked with picking the fourth-best player in a draft that most people think is only three players deep. Fun stuff, right?
Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and the Toronto Raptors moved to the brink of their first NBA title Friday by beating defending champion Golden State 105-92 in the NBA Finals.
Serge Ibaka netted 20 points off the bench and Pascal Siakam added 19 for the Raptors, who grabbed a commanding 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven series, which could end with game five Monday in Toronto.
The NBA offseason got its first jolt yesterday when the Brooklyn Nets unloaded Allen Crabbe on the Atlanta Hawks for the price of two first-round picks. Admittedly, it feels silly to get excited about a salary dump in the middle of the Finals, but this is the path that fans of lottery teams have chosen.
The Toronto Raptors can clinch their first title in franchise history when they host the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals tips at 9 p.m. ET from Scotibank Arena. The Raptors put themselves in position to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy by completing an unlikely sweep of Games 3 and 4 in Oakland, where the Warriors hadn't lost back-to-back NBA Finals games this decade.
