2019 NBA Saturday 4th Match Warriors vs Raptors Live Streaming Online. Saturday 8th June 2019, 09:00 PM EDT, Location : (Oracle Arena, Oakland, USA). NBA Finals 4th Match Match Warriors vs Raptors Live Streaming, And We Are Ready To Share With You The Ways To Live Streaming Match Warriors vs Raptors NBA Finals. Start Watching Instantly on Your Phone, Tablet, Computer, Chromecast & Smart TV. Cancel Anytime. Watch on the Web or App. Watch Anytime, Anywhere. On Web, Android & IOS.
The Warriors can't keep letting the Raptors' shooters get this hot
Three games into the 2019 NBA Finals, the two biggest factors in the series are the Golden State Warriors' injuries and the Toronto Raptors' shooting. While the Warriors are trying to win their third straight title with a depleted group of banged-up superstars, the Raptors' shooting numbers have toggled between incredible and awful.
It's a mixed-up series on basketball's biggest stage, and late word from Oakland is that Klay Thompson will play Friday night, but Kevin Durant will miss Game 4 at Oracle Arena (9 p.m. ET on ABC), while Kevon Looney is officially listed as questionable. Thompson's reappearance is good news for a team that desperately needs to shore up its perimeter defense, which has been uncharacteristically bad so far in this series.
The Dubs need to find ways to slow down a Toronto team that has scored at least 118 points twice, while Golden State has scored 109 points in each of the first three games.
With Looney, Thompson and Durant out, the Raptors needed to win Game 3, and they did so by taking advantage of Golden State's poor defense and putting on a clinic in shooting efficiency. Toronto became just the third team in Finals history to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the free throw line, joining the 2017 Warriors and the 1986 Boston Celtics. The entire Raptors squad was red-hot -- every player who attempted a bucket for Toronto shot at least 50% from the field.
The Raps ended the night with an astronomical effective field goal percentage (eFG) of 62.8. How good is that? When a team has an eFG that high, it's almost certainly going to win:
Since 1984, playoff teams with an eFG between 62 and 63 are 42-4.
In the Finals, teams that log an eFG of 62 or more are 14-0.
Toronto's shooting also was terrific in the Game 1 win, with a 59.1 eFG. Since 1984, playoff teams with an eFG between 59 and 60 are 72-17. If the Raptors sink jumpers the way they did in Games 1 and 3, it might not matter who does and doesn't play for Golden State.
The Warriors have logged 109 playoff games since 2014. Their overall record is a cool 70-39, but even this team's success depends a lot on how well its opponents shoot the ball. Since 2014, Warriors playoff opponents have logged an eFG over 59 in just 12 of those 109 games -- 11 of which were Warriors losses. Toronto has done it twice already. If the Warriors had been giving up this many clean looks on defense since 2014, they wouldn't be a dynasty.
It's unlikely this is purely shooting luck on the Raptors' end. Given both the shot quality and the shooter, Toronto had an expected eFG of 53.4% on 3s in the regular season, per Second Spectrum tracking. That has bumped up to 54.3% in the playoffs and 55.3% against the Warriors. The Raptors outperformed their shot quality in their two wins, but they are creating legitimately good opportunities.
As much as Thompson and Durant help on offense, their talents and experience are just as vital on the other end. The Warriors' dynasty will rightfully go down as one of the best perimeter offenses the world has ever seen, but this group owes just as much of its success to dominant perimeter defense. Here's a troubling couplet:
When the Warriors won their first title in 2015, they had the best defense in that postseason in part because they shut down the 3-point line, holding opponents to 6.8 made 3s per game (second best of 16 playoff teams) on just 30.4% shooting from beyond the arc (best such mark that year).
In the 2019 playoffs, the Dubs' defense ranks 10th out of 16 postseason teams in part because it can't stop 3s. The Warriors are allowing 13.5 made 3s (15th out of 16 playoff teams) per game, and their opponents are hitting 36.7% of their triples (11th out of 16 playoff teams).
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Toronto Raptors can move within one game of their first championship Friday night, but likely they will see a different-looking opponent than two days earlier when they take the floor for Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena.
The Golden State Warriors, who trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, hope to get All-Star guard back in action.
Watch Game 4 LIVE across the TSN Network and on TSN Direct at 8pm et/5pm pt.
The hot-shooting Raptors easily brushed aside Golden State's one-man assault in Game 3 when the visitors got double-figure scoring from all five starters to overcome 's 47-point explosion in a 123-109 victory Wednesday.
With or without Thompson, who strained his left hamstring late in Golden State's Game 2 win at Toronto and sat out Wednesday, the Warriors have scored exactly 109 points in all three games of the series.
The game outcomes have hinged on Toronto's shooting accuracy.
The Raptors were held to 37.2 percent from the field and 28.9 percent on 3-pointers while putting up just 104 points in their Game 2 loss.
They have sandwiched that performance by hitting better than 50 percent from the field (50.6 percent in Game 1, 52.4 percent in Game 3) in their two wins, brilliant shooting nights that have included 39.4 percent and 44.7 percent accuracy from beyond the arc.
That shooting has produced nine- and 14-point wins and put the Eastern Conference champs right where they want to be -- with a lead in the series on the eve of Game 4, where they have been unbeaten, including twice on the road, in their previous three series.
"We haven't really had a good team shooting night, and I knew eventually at some point we were due for one," Toronto guard said after going 6-for-10 on 3-point attempts in Game 3. "We still have to do a better job defensively on that end of the floor to limit those guys better so we don't have to rely on our offence or our shooting to win games for us."
In a remarkable display of consistency, all seven Raptors who took a shot in Game 4 made at least half of their attempts. led the way with 30 points, the 13th time this postseason that he's reached that mark.
Only six others in NBA history -- Michael Jordan (four times), (two times), (two times), Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal and -- have had 13 or more 30-point games in a single postseason.
Just three of those guys (Jordan, Iverson and James) have ever scored 47 or more in a Finals game. In Game 3, Curry became the eighth player to put or 47 or more in the Finals, producing a career postseason high while shooting 14-for-31 overall and 6-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Without Thompson and (strained right calf), he did that without getting much help. Only (17 points) and (11) also scored in double figures for the Warriors. The other eight members of the two-time defending champs who took at least one shot combined to go 12-for-38 (31.6 percent).
Golden State coach Steve Kerr announced Thursday that Durant, who hasn't played since the Western Conference semifinals, also would miss Game 4.
Re-enter Thompson, who was given a thumbs-up after a workout and examination on Thursday. He was the Warriors' leading scorer in the Game 2 win with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, which, Curry noted, only tells half the story.
"People fall in love with his shooting," Curry said Thursday, "but the way that our team plays defensively and the chemistry that we have and the experience, he's right at the forefront of that. So you would love to have him out there on that end of the floor as well, especially with a team like Toronto who is versatile and can space the floor. He can guard a lot of different guys."
The winner of Game 3 in a 1-1 Finals has gone on to claim the championship on 31 of 38 occasions. But had different numbers bouncing around in his head after the Warriors' Wednesday loss.
"We just got to continue to battle," he said, "and win the next game, go back to Toronto, win Game 5, come back to Oracle (Arena), win Game 6 and then celebrate. Fun times ahead."
The Warriors can't keep letting the Raptors' shooters get this hot
Three games into the 2019 NBA Finals, the two biggest factors in the series are the Golden State Warriors' injuries and the Toronto Raptors' shooting. While the Warriors are trying to win their third straight title with a depleted group of banged-up superstars, the Raptors' shooting numbers have toggled between incredible and awful.
It's a mixed-up series on basketball's biggest stage, and late word from Oakland is that Klay Thompson will play Friday night, but Kevin Durant will miss Game 4 at Oracle Arena (9 p.m. ET on ABC), while Kevon Looney is officially listed as questionable. Thompson's reappearance is good news for a team that desperately needs to shore up its perimeter defense, which has been uncharacteristically bad so far in this series.
The Dubs need to find ways to slow down a Toronto team that has scored at least 118 points twice, while Golden State has scored 109 points in each of the first three games.
With Looney, Thompson and Durant out, the Raptors needed to win Game 3, and they did so by taking advantage of Golden State's poor defense and putting on a clinic in shooting efficiency. Toronto became just the third team in Finals history to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the free throw line, joining the 2017 Warriors and the 1986 Boston Celtics. The entire Raptors squad was red-hot -- every player who attempted a bucket for Toronto shot at least 50% from the field.
The Raps ended the night with an astronomical effective field goal percentage (eFG) of 62.8. How good is that? When a team has an eFG that high, it's almost certainly going to win:
Since 1984, playoff teams with an eFG between 62 and 63 are 42-4.
In the Finals, teams that log an eFG of 62 or more are 14-0.
Toronto's shooting also was terrific in the Game 1 win, with a 59.1 eFG. Since 1984, playoff teams with an eFG between 59 and 60 are 72-17. If the Raptors sink jumpers the way they did in Games 1 and 3, it might not matter who does and doesn't play for Golden State.
The Warriors have logged 109 playoff games since 2014. Their overall record is a cool 70-39, but even this team's success depends a lot on how well its opponents shoot the ball. Since 2014, Warriors playoff opponents have logged an eFG over 59 in just 12 of those 109 games -- 11 of which were Warriors losses. Toronto has done it twice already. If the Warriors had been giving up this many clean looks on defense since 2014, they wouldn't be a dynasty.
It's unlikely this is purely shooting luck on the Raptors' end. Given both the shot quality and the shooter, Toronto had an expected eFG of 53.4% on 3s in the regular season, per Second Spectrum tracking. That has bumped up to 54.3% in the playoffs and 55.3% against the Warriors. The Raptors outperformed their shot quality in their two wins, but they are creating legitimately good opportunities.
As much as Thompson and Durant help on offense, their talents and experience are just as vital on the other end. The Warriors' dynasty will rightfully go down as one of the best perimeter offenses the world has ever seen, but this group owes just as much of its success to dominant perimeter defense. Here's a troubling couplet:
When the Warriors won their first title in 2015, they had the best defense in that postseason in part because they shut down the 3-point line, holding opponents to 6.8 made 3s per game (second best of 16 playoff teams) on just 30.4% shooting from beyond the arc (best such mark that year).
In the 2019 playoffs, the Dubs' defense ranks 10th out of 16 postseason teams in part because it can't stop 3s. The Warriors are allowing 13.5 made 3s (15th out of 16 playoff teams) per game, and their opponents are hitting 36.7% of their triples (11th out of 16 playoff teams).
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Toronto Raptors can move within one game of their first championship Friday night, but likely they will see a different-looking opponent than two days earlier when they take the floor for Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena.
The Golden State Warriors, who trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, hope to get All-Star guard back in action.
Watch Game 4 LIVE across the TSN Network and on TSN Direct at 8pm et/5pm pt.
The hot-shooting Raptors easily brushed aside Golden State's one-man assault in Game 3 when the visitors got double-figure scoring from all five starters to overcome 's 47-point explosion in a 123-109 victory Wednesday.
With or without Thompson, who strained his left hamstring late in Golden State's Game 2 win at Toronto and sat out Wednesday, the Warriors have scored exactly 109 points in all three games of the series.
The game outcomes have hinged on Toronto's shooting accuracy.
The Raptors were held to 37.2 percent from the field and 28.9 percent on 3-pointers while putting up just 104 points in their Game 2 loss.
They have sandwiched that performance by hitting better than 50 percent from the field (50.6 percent in Game 1, 52.4 percent in Game 3) in their two wins, brilliant shooting nights that have included 39.4 percent and 44.7 percent accuracy from beyond the arc.
That shooting has produced nine- and 14-point wins and put the Eastern Conference champs right where they want to be -- with a lead in the series on the eve of Game 4, where they have been unbeaten, including twice on the road, in their previous three series.
"We haven't really had a good team shooting night, and I knew eventually at some point we were due for one," Toronto guard said after going 6-for-10 on 3-point attempts in Game 3. "We still have to do a better job defensively on that end of the floor to limit those guys better so we don't have to rely on our offence or our shooting to win games for us."
In a remarkable display of consistency, all seven Raptors who took a shot in Game 4 made at least half of their attempts. led the way with 30 points, the 13th time this postseason that he's reached that mark.
Only six others in NBA history -- Michael Jordan (four times), (two times), (two times), Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal and -- have had 13 or more 30-point games in a single postseason.
Just three of those guys (Jordan, Iverson and James) have ever scored 47 or more in a Finals game. In Game 3, Curry became the eighth player to put or 47 or more in the Finals, producing a career postseason high while shooting 14-for-31 overall and 6-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Without Thompson and (strained right calf), he did that without getting much help. Only (17 points) and (11) also scored in double figures for the Warriors. The other eight members of the two-time defending champs who took at least one shot combined to go 12-for-38 (31.6 percent).
Golden State coach Steve Kerr announced Thursday that Durant, who hasn't played since the Western Conference semifinals, also would miss Game 4.
Re-enter Thompson, who was given a thumbs-up after a workout and examination on Thursday. He was the Warriors' leading scorer in the Game 2 win with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, which, Curry noted, only tells half the story.
"People fall in love with his shooting," Curry said Thursday, "but the way that our team plays defensively and the chemistry that we have and the experience, he's right at the forefront of that. So you would love to have him out there on that end of the floor as well, especially with a team like Toronto who is versatile and can space the floor. He can guard a lot of different guys."
The winner of Game 3 in a 1-1 Finals has gone on to claim the championship on 31 of 38 occasions. But had different numbers bouncing around in his head after the Warriors' Wednesday loss.
"We just got to continue to battle," he said, "and win the next game, go back to Toronto, win Game 5, come back to Oracle (Arena), win Game 6 and then celebrate. Fun times ahead."
No comments:
Post a Comment