It is a thought that has been heard all too often throughout these NBA playoffs.
"Does Kawhi Leonard have enough help?....Kawhi Leonard needs more help". Turns out, maybe it's a thought we never should have heard in the first place.
Maybe, people overlooked the fact that certain guys - like Danny Green and Serge Ibaka - were struggling. Maybe, instead of the knee jerk reaction of "these guys aren't good enough", the thought should have been "these guys are just slumping. They'll come around".
Because last night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, we saw what this Raptor team was capable of when clicking on all cylinders. The result was a rather convincing 123-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors, to take a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.
Serge Ibaka was great defensively, blocking 6 shots in 22 minutes. It was the really the first time throughout the playoffs that he had looked this good protecting the rim. Playing the center position in a lineup that included Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet in the back court and Green and Leonard in the front court with him, Ibaka was spectacular blocking shots, and also added 2 steals and 5 rebounds. He spearheaded a Raptor defensive effort that was strong throughout the night. Outside of Stephen Curry - who was spectacular in his own right, scoring a playoff career high 47 - the Warriors shot just 22 for 60. The Raptors grabbed 35 defensive rebounds, and had 7 rebounds a piece from Leonard and Marc Gasol, and 9 from Pascal Siakam.
More impressive than their defense though, was the team's total offensive game. Kawhi Leonard had his best shooting night of the finals thus far, hitting on 9 of 17 shots, and finished with 30 points. He also was great passing the ball, as he dished out 6 assists, including a key find of Fred VanVleet on a three pointer with 1:37 to go that put the visitors up 118-105. The rest of the stat lines of guys who played double digit minutes in the game looked like this:
Lowry: 23 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 8/16, 5/9 (threes), 43 minutes
Green: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6/10 (threes), 27 minutes
Siakam: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 8/16, 39 minutes
Gasol: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 6/11, 26 minutes
VanVleet: 11 points, 3 steals, 4/8, 3/6 (threes), 33 minutes
Ibaka: 6 points, 6 blocks, 5 rebounds, 2/4, 22 minutes
Of particular importance, and probably impressiveness, was the play of Green, whose previously documented struggles had been apparent throughout the playoffs. Green hit big shot after big shot, keeping the Warriors at bay whenever they made a run. In past games, where he had missed big threes, he was able to make last night.
For the Raptors, it was a total team effort that we had not seen for quite some time. They shot 52%, the shot distribution was great, and all put together complete stat lines.
For the Warriors, it may have been a difficult reminder of what life is like without having everyone healthy. Curry, as expected and needed, carried the scoring burden, but they didn't have enough. Demarcus Cousins, who played well in Game 2, struggled last night, going just 1 for 7 and receiving less playing time than Andrew Bogut. Make no mistake, a completely healthy and clicking Warriors team is most likely unbeatable. But even without the services of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, they still roll out three all stars.
We should give credit where credit is due, and that is that the Raptors, with all hands on deck, played their best game of the playoffs.
A total team effort indeed.
Kommentare