Cnotes 2018 - 2019 NBA Thru The Playoffs-Picks/Trends/News !

[Cnotes53]

Warriors, Raptors prepare for Game 5
June 9, 2019
By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) The word of the day Sunday that best summed up the NBA Finals was ''yet.''

As in, Golden State isn't ready to give up its throne - yet.

Kawhi Leonard hasn't bought any property in Toronto - yet.

The Raptors don't see any reason to start celebrating - yet.

And Kevin Durant's Game 5 status hadn't been decided - yet.

The NBA could have a new champion as early as Monday night, when the Toronto Raptors look to finish off the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the title series. The Raptors lead 3-1, and returned home buoyed by two double-digit wins at Oracle Arena that put the two-time defending champions on the brink of elimination.

''We haven't done anything,'' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. ''We've still got to get one more win. It's the first to four. You've got champions coming in here and they're going to play their butts off and play extremely hard.''

They might have Durant, too.

Out for more than a month now with a calf strain, Durant was on the floor for practice on Sunday. The Warriors are hoping he will be able to play on Monday night.

''It's just a matter of, `Can you win one basketball game right now? Can you go play an amazing 48 minutes, quiet this crowd that's going to be probably unbelievable, and slow down a team that's been playing amazing, especially these last two games, and just win one basketball game?''' Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. ''If we focus on that mission, our history kind of speaks for itself in terms of being able to get that done.''

The Raptors are showing no signs of exhaling. Raptors coach Nick Nurse was amused to learn that there were ''Let's Go Raptors'' chants on some flights landing in Toronto on Sunday, as well as at the PGA Tour's Canadian Open. He hasn't paid much attention to the news in recent days, but when a Raptors watch party was held in his condo building someone put a photo in the elevator - just to make sure he saw.

''There's still a lot of work to do,'' Nurse said.

Leonard feels precisely the same way.

With the free-agency rumor mill for this summer already churning, Leonard was asked to confirm reports that he recently bought property in Toronto.

''It didn't happen yet, no,'' Leonard said.

Something else that hasn't happened is the win the Raptors need to end this series and win their first title.

''We're focused,'' Leonard said. ''We know that it doesn't mean anything until someone has four wins.''

If the Warriors win, Game 6 is Thursday night at Oracle Arena - which would be their home floor for the final time. Warriors guard Klay Thompson said he thinks Oracle deserves one more game.

Otherwise, Oracle's run is over.

So, too, would be Golden State's run as champions.

''You wish to have no end in sight, but everything that's great always comes to an end,'' Thompson said. ''So whether that's (Monday) or four years from now, you never know. That's the beauty of life.''

Here's some of what to know going into Game 5:

FIRST IN FIRST

Nurse is on the cusp of becoming the ninth man to win a title in his first NBA head-coaching season. The others: Edward Gottlieb (1947 Philadelphia Warriors in the first season of what was then called the BAA), Buddy Jeannette (1948 Baltimore Bullets), John Kundla (1949 Minneapolis Lakers), George Senesky (1956 Philadelphia Warriors), Paul Westhead (1980 Los Angeles Lakers), Pat Riley (1982 Lakers), Kerr (2015 Warriors) and Tyronn Lue (2016 Cleveland Cavaliers).

DRAFT IRRELEVANCE

The Raptors don't have a single player on their roster who was taken in the first 14 spots - the lottery portion - of an NBA draft. The Warriors have seven: Thompson, Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, DeMarcus Cousins, Durant and Andrew Bogut.

ON THE MARGIN

The Raptors have beaten the Warriors by double figures three times this season. No other team did it more than once. The only teams to enjoy three wins over the Warriors by 10 or more points in the same season during the Kerr era are these Raptors, Utah (last season) and Cleveland (all in the 2016 NBA Finals).

BACK TO WALL

Facing elimination isn't something the Warriors have done often, but they've fared more than OK when put in that spot over the last six years. Golden State is 6-2 in its last eight win-or-else games. They were 2-0 in such games last season, 3-1 in 2016 and 1-1 in 2014.

TITLES AT HOME

There haven't been many chances in the last 52 years for Toronto fans to enjoy a major sports title at home. The Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup was won on home ice in 1967, and the Blue Jays' most recent World Series clincher was at home in 1993. In sports not considered part of the U.S. big four, the CFL's Argonauts won the Grey Cup at home in 2012 and the National Lacrosse League's Toronto Rock have won multiple titles at home - most recently in 2011.

 

[Cnotes53]

VanVleet, Raptors aren't smiling yet
June 9, 2019
By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) Fred VanVleet had a face that only a country of hockey fans could love.

A bandage covering stitches under his right eye. Swelling near the side of his nose. Fresh dental work to repair a damaged tooth.

His day off in the NBA Finals consisted of a trip to the hospital and then the dentist, necessary stops after he was hit in the face and bloodied late in Game 4, when he had to leave the court with part of his tooth somewhere still on it.

The play hurt, but the Toronto Raptors have a team of guys who would take the pain.

''Yeah, we got some tough guys,'' VanVleet said.

And they've overcome tough situations.

The Raptors were down and almost out in the Eastern Conference finals, in danger of falling into a hole from which no NBA team has ever recovered. But they pulled out Game 3 of that series against Milwaukee to kick off a powerful postseason run, and the only thing that might slow them down is stopping to collect the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Toronto can do that Monday by beating the Golden State Warriors at home in Game 5.

''It's going to be a battle, it's going to be hard, but at the same time if we stay together and do everything we're supposed to do, we have a chance. We have a good chance to put ourselves in a position to win,'' Raptors forward Pascal Siakam said.

The first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history appeared it might have to wait at least another year when the Raptors fell behind in the second overtime of Game 3 of the conference finals. Kawhi Leonard's leg seemed to be hurting, Kyle Lowry had already fouled out and a victory would have given Milwaukee a 3-0 lead that has been insurmountable in the NBA.

The Raptors recovered to win and have barely looked back, winning seven of eight games against the Bucks and Warriors, the No. 1 seeds in each conference. Coach Nick Nurse had seen the possibilities from his team even before the comeback started, first with how the Raptors played so well in Game 1 of the conference finals after needing seven grueling games against Philadelphia in the previous round, and then by the way they shrugged off a blowout loss in Game 2.

''So that's probably a moment of where I thought the team had something inside them to keep on going,'' Nurse said.

What Toronto didn't have at that point was a reliable offense beyond Leonard.

Veterans Lowry, Danny Green and Marc Gasol had struggled to make shots. The bench was contributing only sporadically.

That isn't happening anymore. The Raptors made 17 3-pointers in their Game 3 victory at Golden State and have hit 10 or more in 10 straight games. VanVleet from the perimeter and Serge Ibaka on the interior have come off the bench to provide big boosts.

''Most teams, they're expecting their bench to be better than ours,'' Green said, ''and when they come in outplaying their bench or giving us a huge plus against their starters, it's due for a win when you've got guys performing like that off the bench.''

VanVleet will be back out there trying to keep doing it Monday - this time wearing a mouthpiece - after having to leave Game 4 when he was inadvertently hit in the face by Shaun Livingston while running back on defense. He had a CT scan to make sure there were no broken bones in his face and said he has no concussion symptoms.

He wouldn't show off his dental work Sunday, but that made him just like his Raptors teammates who walked off the floor without hints of satisfaction on their faces after Game 4. They are too focused on keeping their run going, though they'll be smiling plenty if they can get one more win.

''Now is the time to lock in even more,'' VanVleet said. ''We've been doing it, we've proven that we can do it. It's not time to change anything that we've done, it's just time to do it a little bit better, a little harder and a little smarter.''

 

[Cnotes53]

Finals Game 5 - Warriors at Raptors
June 10, 2019
By Tony Mejia

NBA Finals ? Game 5
Golden State at Toronto (-1.5/214.5), ABC, 9:07 p.m. ET

May 30 ? Raptors (-2) 118 vs. Warriors 109 (Over 212.5)
June 2 ? Warriors (+2) 109 at Raptors 104 (Under 213.5)
June 5 ? Raptors (+3) 123 at Warriors 109 (Over 210.5)
June 7 ? Raptors (+5) 105 at Warriors 92 (Under 215)

Kevin Durant practiced with his Golden State teammates on Sunday. Reporters who saw him exit Scotiabank Arena didn?t see him limping as he exited the premises. Although listed as ?questionable,? if would be stunning if the reigning two-time Finals MVP didn?t wear a Warriors uniform at least one last time in order to try and prevent his team from coming up short of their season-long goal of a threepeat.

The foolish ones among you who thought the Warriors were a better team without him have now been quieted. Golden State is down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, having dropped both home games of its fifth straight championship series despite being favored with Durant ruled out. Toronto won each of the contests in Oakland convincingly and now stands one win away from its first title since entering the league in 1995.

Durant may as well throw on a cape in addition to his Nikes and uniform tonight. He?ll be asked to play savior even if he ends up being more decoy than focal point as the Warriors look to become the second team in league history to battle back from a 3-1 deficit and win a ring.

Ironically, Golden State was the lone victim, losing to Cleveland back in 2016 in order to help facilitate Durant?s defection from Oklahoma City, a move still skewered by many as one that helped ruin the competitive balance in the NBA. The Warriors haven?t finished with the league?s top record, but did take down LeBron James? Cavaliers in both Finals, doing so rather easily in order to exact revenge. They had one brush with their mortality in last year?s Western Conference finals, but took advantage of Chris Paul?s absence due to an injured hamstring in order to win consecutive games and erase a 3-2 deficit against Houston.

Entering last year?s Game 6, the series price on the Warriors against the Rockets saw them as a -130 favorite at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. Even down, they were expected to win due to Paul?s demise. Prior to Game 4 on Saturday night, Golden State was demoted to even money to win the title and the Raptors became the first team other than the defending champs to be made the favorite to win the title (-120). As things stand now, you can get a return of +400 or a little higher throughout the strip and offshore if you invest in the Warriors making history. Toronto is currently in the -500/-550 range to win one more time and crown itself a winner.

Kawhi Leonard is looking like a shoo-in for Finals MVP so long as the Raptors hold on, averaging 30.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in leading the way for a Raptors squad that has seen veterans Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Danny Green and Serge Ibaka excel. Pascal Siakam was the hero of Game 1 and has changed games with his length and energy on defense in addition to his ability to create shots when Leonard is being doubled. Fred VanVleet has been the ultimate x-factor, playing tremendous defense on Stephen Curry while burying buckets from beyond the arc, helping stretch the floor by being a threat to shoot it whenever the ball comes his way.

Toronto head coach Nick Nurse, a veteran tactician sitting in the head seat in the NBA for the first time, has proven every bit the worthy opponent for Steve Kerr, excelling through both his game planning and lineup adjustments. He?s certainly had fewer injury concerns to deal with, but has to be given credit for pressing the right buttons and not dragging his team down with bad decisions due to a lack of experience. If anything, he?s been an asset. Starting VanVleet over Danny Green at the start of the second half in Oakland helped contribute to a pair of wins since it allowed him to effectively play box-and-one, taking advantage of the lack of scoring punch out there for the Warriors.

Klay Thompson returned from a Game 3 absence due to a hamstring injury and shot the ball well, finishing with a team-high 28 points, but he couldn?t prevent Golden State from its lowest-scoring output of the postseason in a 105-92 Saturday night loss. It hadn?t been held under the century mark since a March 23 home loss to Dallas and was outscored 37-21 coming out of the break. After turning around Game 2 with an 18-0 run to open the third quarter, it was a startling contrast to see the Warriors squander a four-point halftime edge by being thoroughly dominated in what?s supposed to be their quarter to gain separation in.

VegasInsider.com NBA expert Kevin Rogers says that Golden State can?t count on experience to bail them out of this hole since it isn?t accustomed to having to dig out of those due to its dominance throughout its run.

The Warriors are in very unfamiliar territory by sitting one game away from elimination in the Steve Kerr era. Discounting the Game 7?s against Cleveland in the 2016 NBA Finals and against Houston in the 2018 Western Finals in which both teams were facing elimination, Golden State has been on the verge of getting knocked out twice in the last five postseasons,? Rogers said. ?Both times came in the conference finals with the Warriors blasting the Rockets at home last season and stunning Oklahoma City in 2016. The victory over the Thunder was the only road win in this stretch when staring elimination in the face as the Warriors outscored OKC, 33-18 in the fourth quarter to force a Game 7 back at home, which they eventually won.?

Durant was on the losing side of that collapse with the Thunder but has since emerged as arguably the NBA?s top player. The Warriors are 8-1 in NBA Finals games he's participated in. Leonard got healthy this season and has come for the throne vacated by LeBron James, but Durant?s back-to-back Finals MVP awards and his body of work before being injured in the third quarter of Game 5 of May?s conference semifinals against the Rockets had him on the top perch. It now remains to be seen exactly what he can bring to the table.

Siakam and Leonard will likely draw the majority of assignments against him, which means he?ll be thrown back in the mix against a pair of agile, willing defenders who won?t make it easy for him to find a rhythm. His presence alone should be able to get Curry and Thompson cleaner looks and give Draymond Green another option to work with to facilitate offense through, but the rust factor and his likely lack of stamina are challenges that must be dealt with. He?s one of the most special players ever, but it?s hard to imagine Durant will be able to pick right up where he left off, which means his likely return will see him offer up whatever he can for as long as he can, even if it?s as a decoy to get teammates more room to work with.

Kerr has the unenviable task of working with three frontcourt players who wouldn?t be playing if this were still the regular season and now has no room for error. DeMarcus Cousins? unexpected brilliance in Game 2 helped contribute to Golden State?s lone series win, but he?s been a liability since, picked on defensively and blitzed often on the offensive end, leading to countless turnovers. Kevon Looney is playing through a collarbone fracture that was expected to sideline him the rest of the way, but he returned to lend a hand on Friday night and finished with 10 points and six boards in 20 minutes. Andre Iguodala is currently being held together by Elmer?s glue and paper clips, but played 38 minutes in the Game 4 loss, so Durant returning should lighten his load.

Oddsmakers reacted to Durant?s likely return by downgrading the Raptors from three-point home favorites to laying just 1.5 points entering game-day betting. Considering how little Shaun Livingston and Alfonzo McKinnie gave the Warriors in trying to help fill Durant?s shoes of late, it?s hard to argue that they won?t be better here. What remains to be seen is whether there?s enough chemistry, on the road no less, to overcome weeks of inactivity. With another key figure who is operating at less than a 100 percent giving it a go, Golden State is all-in with a weak hand entering the flop. The Warriors will need for it to be friendly and then will likely need to go runner-runner on the turn and river in order to win three straight and not see their dynasty die off with a defeat that would then be scrutinized to no end entering free agency.

In attempting to win it all in its first Finals appearance, Toronto will need to show off its killer instinct. It must take advantage of Durant getting back in the flow early to keep the visiting Warriors from gaining confidence and getting juiced up. The Raptors must ride their raucous crowd to make communication difficult for a team that won?t be able to rely on carrying a positive rhythm into a road atmosphere simply because they haven?t all played together in over a month.

?Since suffering through an 0-4 ATS run in the final two games of the Philadelphia series and the first two contests against Milwaukee, the Raptors have rolled off a 7-1 SU/ATS mark over their last eight,? Rogers said. ?Toronto has wrapped up each of its previous three series at Scotiabank Arena, while holding its three opponents to 96, 90, and 94 points.?

The Warriors haven?t been held under 100 points in consecutive games since Nov. 18-21, having suffered blowout losses against the Spurs and Thunder. They?ll need Curry to bounce back from a Game 4 disappearing act in which he followed up a 47-point effort by finishing just 2-for-9 from 3-point range, shooting 9-for-22 from the field. An extra day of treatment should serve guys like Thompson, Iguodala and Cousins well. Green has averaged nearly 41 minutes per game in the series and is contributing 13.5 points, 9 rebounds and 8.8 assists but must be better and more efficient, so having one more rest day should prove invaluable for him too.

From this point forward, the NBA Finals will be played with two days of rest in between every remaining game. That?s to Golden State?s advantage, but it must get the series back to Oakland for a Game 6, which would then place pressure on them to avoid being eliminated in the final contest ever played at Oracle Arena. As things stand now, Friday night?s loss would be the last result there if they fail on Monday. The Warriors have put themselves in position where they can add to their legacy by doing something special or leave themselves open to criticism for the rest of time, especially with the group likely to disband in some capacity.

Oddsmakers sent out an opening total of 212 for Game 5 but the number was nudged up to 214 at most betting shops after the status of Durant was upgraded to ?questionable? on Sunday afternoon.

?You can handicap this total a variety of ways but the possible addition of KD back in the lineup for Golden State has to be the starting point for Monday,? said VegasInsider.com NBA totals expert Chris David.

?Durant hasn?t played in over a month and if he?s practicing, then you have to believe he?s going to give it a go on Monday. In five road games through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Durant averaged 40.2 PPG against the Clippers and Rockets. Golden State did lose two of those five games, both at Houston, while the ?over? went 4-1,? David said. ?However, the Warriors averaged 122.4 PPG and even if Durant gives you less than half or a third of his average, that?s a big boost to a Golden State offense that?s been running on empty in this series. If KD plays and gets close to 30 minutes, I see no reason why the Warriors wouldn?t eclipse their Team Total of 105 ?.?

The total results for this series sit at 2-2 and the ?under? (215) in Game 4 last Friday was never in doubt with Golden State held to its playoff low. David touched on Golden State?s ability to rebound after poor shooting nights.

?Including Friday?s production, the Warriors have been held under 100 points nine times this season. In the following contests, Golden State has gone 6-2 and the offense has averaged 118.1 PPG,? said David. ?Sticking with trends, we?ve only seen the Warriors drop three straight games once this season and that occurred in the second month of the season when they lost four consecutive contests. The offense averaged 95.5 PPG during that losing skid.?

The Warriors must also overcome the excitement currently permeating throughout Toronto, which is on the cusp of its first championship in one of North America?s major leagues since MLB?s Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993. Jurassic Park, the area outside the arena, is going to be overflowing with fans looking to celebrate, while the atmosphere inside the arena promises to be intense. Golden State would love nothing more than to shut superfan Drake up again like they managed to on June 2, but the Raptors are 9-3 on their home floor in these playoffs, eliminating all three of their Eastern Conference conquests in the building to advance to this point. Their regular-season home record was tied for third-best in the NBA (32-9).

?In 12 playoff games at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto has held seven opponents under 100 points, which is an incredible feat in the offensive age of the NBA. If you?re leaning to the Raptors to close the series out on Monday, it?s hard not to lean to the ?under? in the game especially if you look at the production from the Warriors in finals losses. Going back to the 2015 installment, Golden State been held to 98.7 PPG in 10 setbacks of the NBA Finals,? David said. ?As good as Golden State has been over the last five postseasons, sometimes the matchup doesn?t suit you and credit has to be given to the other squad. That?s certainly been the case against Toronto and when you factor in the injuries, the flaws and depth issues for the Warriors have become more exposed. Despite only having one superstar, the Raptors team defense has been a nightmare for everybody in the postseason.?

If the Warriors are able to pull out a Game 5 upset, they would try to stave off elimination again on Thursday night. A potential Game 7 would take place on Sunday, making for an interesting Father?s Day.

 

[Cnotes53]

Durant may play in NBA Finals Game 5
June 10, 2019
By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Raptors can win their first championship and end Golden State's quest for three in a row with one more victory.

The Raptors can do it Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, when Kevin Durant could play for the first time in the series .

Warriors coach Steve Kerr says Durant went through their full morning shootaround and said his ability to play would be determined before the game. Durant, the two-time NBA Finals MVP, has been sidelined more than a month with a strained calf.

Golden State sure could use him after Toronto won both games at Oracle Arena to take a 3-1 lead. That deficit has been overcome only once in the NBA Finals, when Cleveland did it against the Warriors in 2016.

On potentially the biggest night ever for Canadian basketball, the NBA announced there would be no singer for the Canadian national anthem, instead inviting all fans in the arena and across the nation to join in the singing of it.

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday's Top Wager
June 10, 2019
By Bookmaker

by Kyle Markus

NBA Finals Game 5 Preview
Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors

The Kevin Durant watch is on. The Golden State Warriors have their backs against the wall, trailing 3-1 to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. They are hoping to get back their superstar power forward for Game 5 but his availability is still up in the air.

The Raptors are at home and are slight favorites in this matchup and would love to end any drama and clinch the championship in this one. If the Warriors can get the series back to their home court for Game 6 they will feel good, and the intensity in this game should be extremely high.

Toronto has been the superior team in this series but the two-time defending champion Warriors certainly won?t be going down without a battle. This should be an exciting and nip-and-tuck matchup in NBA wagering.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors will be held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, June 10th, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

We'll have NBA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.

Odds Analysis

The Raptors are listed as 2-point favorites to win this game, and if they cover it will mean a championship for Toronto. The Warriors are the +110 underdog while the Raptors are the -130 favorite, but the spread has dropped in recent days. The scoring total is listed at 214 points, which has increased since the original odds were released.

The Raptors were underdogs in the two games in Oakland but won both outright, and the Warriors would like to return the favor in this one.

Last Time Out

The Warriors were aiming to tie the series up at two games apiece in Game 4 and had the lead at halftime, but the Raptors dominated after intermission and cruised to the 105-92 win. Kawhi Leonard was fantastic, finishing with 36 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Serge Ibaka played a pivotal role off the bench with 20 points in 22 minutes of play.

Klay Thompson returned to the court after missing Game 3 with a hamstring strain and didn?t show any ill effects, finishing with a team-best 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. Steph Curry had 27 points but the Warriors didn?t have enough scoring help from the others on the team, which has been an issue in this series.

Injury Report

Durant practiced for at least a portion of the time on Sunday and has been listed as questionable for Game 5. He has been out since suffering a serious calf strain against the Rockets in the second round. If Durant can play, it is unknown of he will be under any minutes restrictions.

Durant is one of the most talented players in the NBA, and his availability will have an outsized effect on the spread, tilting it one way or the other whether he can play or not. All eyes will be on Durant?s status in the lead-up to this matchup.

Free NBA ATS Picks

The Raptors are at home but the Warriors have great resolve and are going to be able to pull off this slight upset. Durant will likely play in this one and he will be a huge boost for the team if that happens in NBA gambling.

The ?under? is the pick as the points are going to be in demand in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

NBA ATS Pick: Golden State Warriors 107, Toronto Raptors 104

 

[Cnotes53]

MONDAY, JUNE 10
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

GS at TOR 09:00 PM

TOR -1.0

U 215.5

 

[Cnotes53]

Raptors miss opportunity in Game 5 of NBA Finals
June 11, 2019
By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) They were up by six, in the city that Torontonians call The Six, with less than three minutes left.

The NBA championship was there for the taking.

And the Toronto Raptors couldn't finish it off.

The Raptors still lead the NBA Finals 3-2, even after losing at home to the Golden State Warriors 106-105 on Monday night. But they'll be heading back to California on Tuesday, and allowed the Warriors - the wounded two-time defending NBA champions - to have renewed life in their quest for a third straight ring.

Kawhi Leonard's jumper with 3:28 left put the Raptors up 103-97. They were outscored 9-2 the rest of the way. They missed five of their last six shots - the only make was on a goaltending call - and went 0 for 3 from 3-point range in that crucial closing stretch. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry scored all nine of Golden State's points in that finishing kick.

The Larry O'Brien Trophy went back into its carrying case.

Off to Oracle it goes for Game 6 on Thursday night, the final home game the Warriors will ever play in that building.

The Raptors are still in control of the series. The worst thing that can happen to them in the next few days is to have a Game 7 in their Scotiabank Arena on Sunday night to decide the championship.

They've won three times at Oracle already this season. But they also knew this was a chance that slipped away.

And against a team with such a championship pedigree, even if Kevin Durant can't come back to this series, any missed opportunity could be very costly.

 

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JUNE 13, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
9:07 PM Toronto Raptors Golden State Warriors ORACLE Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JUNE 16, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:07 PM Golden State Warriors Toronto Raptors Scotiabank Arena



*********************************



nba championship picks and best bets!


06/10/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
06/05/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -11.00
06/02/2019 1-0-1 100.00% +5.00
05/30/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50


total.............. 3-4-1 42.85% -7.00


best bets

date.................ats.................units.... ..................o/u...................units...............total


06/10/2019........0 - 1..............-5.50.......................1 - 0..................+5.00..............-0.50
06/05/2019........0 - 1...............-5.50......................0 - 1...................-5.50...............-11.00
06/02/2019........1 - 0..............+5.00......................0-0-1.................+0.00..............+5.00
05/30/2019........1 - 0..............+5.00......................0 - 1...................-5.50...............-0.50


total..................2 - 2.............-1.00.......................1-1-1..................-6.00...............-7.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday?s 6-pack

Odds for the US Open this weekend:

15-2: Brooks Koepka

8-1: Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy

9-1: Eldrick Woods

16-1: Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth

22-1: Justin Rose

25-1: Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele

Quotes of the Day
?Playing for the Warriors is just like playing for Team USA. When you play in the Olympics, you don?t even enjoy it. There?s the anxiety of ?We have to win. We can?t lose, or we can?t go back home.? We talk about it on the Olympic team: ?We can?t go back home without the gold medal, fellas. Got to lock in. Let?s lock in.? Then once you win, it?s like, ?Yeah, we got it, we can go back home. Yay, we won, but we were supposed to.??
Andre Iguodala

Tuesday?s quiz
Dodger P Clayton Kershaw played center on his high school football team; which NFL QB was the QB on that high school team?

Monday?s quiz
Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game began in 1985.

Sunday?s quiz
Barbara Streisand co-starred with Kris Kristofferson in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born.

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Tuesday?s List of 13: Nobody asked me, but??

13) Warriors 106, Raptors 105? Toronto had a 6-point lead and the ball with 3:00 left, but couldn?t finish the job; Game 6 is in Oakland Thursday. Warriors were +6 in 12:00 with Kevin Durant on the floor; seriously doubt he plays again in this series.

12) Dallas Keuchel made his ?19 debut Monday, pitching for Rome in the Class A South Atlantic League; he allowed a single, a walk with nine strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.

11) Braves 13, Pirates 7? Josh Donaldson got drilled by a pitch in the first inning, the ump threw the pitcher out, and a high-scoring game broke out. Marte and Albies both homered twice in this game.

10) Former Auburn, Akron coach Terry Bowden is heading to the Clemson football staff as a 63-year-old graduate assistant; his brother Tommy was Clemson?s head coach for 10 years.

Bowden is going for a Master?s Degree in athletic leadership at Clemson, and his position on the staff is an unpaid graduate internship.

9) Auburn 14, North Carolina 7? Tigers advance to the College World Series; they scored 13 runs in the top of the first inning. Rough way for the season to end for UNC.

8) Wednesday?s Rangers-Red Sox game in Boston moves up from 7:00 to 4:00 because Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final is Wednesday night in Boston.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Pirates put P Jordan Lyles (hamstring) on IL.
? Cardinals put P Adam Wainwright (hamsring) on IL
? Angels? P Matt Harvey aggravated his back injury on a rehab start.

6) Rained in New York City Monday night, so Subway Series will have a day/night twinbill on Tuesday, with games at 1:05, 7:05.

5) Tony Parker retired after 18 seasons in the NBA; he won four NBA titles with the Spurs.

4) Read online yesterday that El Cortez and Four Queens are last places in Las Vegas that deal low-limit single deck blackjack that still pays 3-2 on naturals. Most single deck games pay 6-5 now.

3) College basketball transfer portal:
? Grad transfer Isaiah Moss bolts from Iowa to Kansas.
? Grad transfer Tevin Mack bolts from Alabama to Clemson.
? F Eugene Omoruyi bolts from Rutgers to Oregon.

2) Arizona 13, Phillies 8? This was seventh time since 1914 that a team led off a game with three straight home runs; last time was in 2017, also the Diamondbacks.

Phillies? Jerad Eickhoff didn?t allow a HR in any of his first five starts (30 IP); he?s allowed at least one homer in six straight starts (13 HR in last 24 1/3 IP).

1) Field for the College World Series is set:
Bracket One: Arkansas, Florida State, Michigan, Texas Tech.
Bracket Two: Auburn, Louisville, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

 

[Cnotes53]

Analysis: Golden State won, but both teams lost Game 5
June 11, 2019
By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) The scoreboard said Golden State 106, Toronto 105.

The reality was that both teams lost.

It's almost unimaginable: an NBA Finals game where neither team felt like celebrating afterward. That was the bizarre reality on Monday night, after the Warriors staved off elimination by rallying in the final moments to beat the Raptors and send this series back to Oracle Arena for Game 6 - on a night when Kevin Durant's season came to an end.

Durant has an Achilles injury. The Warriors know it's bad. They'll find out how bad on Tuesday.

''It's devastating,'' Toronto forward Kawhi Leonard said.

He wasn't talking about losing the game.

He was talking about seeing Durant get hurt.

Leonard knows what it's like to have the game taken away by injury. He missed most of last season with a leg injury, one that limited him to nine games. He saw his commitment to the game questioned - the same way Durant had by some in recent days - and came out the other side an even better player.

That was the hope after Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The series truly seemed insignificant, with both sides aching over Durant's situation.

''I love KD,'' Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. ''I love watching him play. When anybody goes down you're saddened by it, but when one of the great players like that goes down, it's almost shocking.''

Durant had missed the previous nine games with what the Warriors insist was a strained calf muscle. This is not a calf injury anymore. Warriors general manager Bob Myers gave a postgame news conference where he delivered the emotional news that Durant hurt his Achilles.

''Kevin takes a lot of hits sometimes, but he just wants to play basketball and right now he can't,'' Myers said. ''Basketball has gotten him through his life. I don't know that we can all understand how much it means to him. He just wants to play basketball with his teammates and compete.''

This should have gone so differently for the Warriors, the team that might be going for a fifth consecutive championship had it not wasted a 3-1 lead in the 2016 finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They're the ones who were down 3-1 in this title series. All they did on Monday night was rally from six points down in the final 3 minutes, get a fantastic defensive stand on the last play of the game to deny Toronto a win and a championship, and send the series back home for one final game at Oracle before moving to San Francisco next season.

They have a chance at the ultimate comeuppance, a 3-1 finals rally of their own.

Maybe when practice resumes Wednesday, that will bring some joy.

There was no joy on Monday night. The Raptors weren't celebrating. Neither were the winners, who lost much more than Toronto did.

''Those talking heads who say we're better without him, that's just ludicrous,'' Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. ''Like, that's crazy. This is the best player in the world. You could put him on the 30th best team in the league, and that team will make the playoffs. That's how talented he is.''

The Warriors won the last two NBA championships largely because of Durant.

If they win the next two games for another championship, it'll be for Durant.

''It's a team full of heart,'' said Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins, who spent a year recovering from an Achilles injury that denied him a monster contract last summer and saw him sign with Golden State on a mid-level deal. ''It's as simple as that. We're fighters. It's in our DNA. We're going to go down fighting. Period.''

Durant would want it no other way.

''I'm just going to pray for the guy,'' Thompson said.

Leonard said he will be praying for Durant also.

''In this league we're all brothers,'' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. ''At the end of the day, we're all brothers and it's a small brotherhood and you never want to see a competitor like him go down.''

The atmosphere will be raucous for Game 6 on Thursday night. The Raptors are getting a second swing at winning a title. The Warriors are looking to make sure they end their Oracle era with a victory.

The joy that should have come out from one locker room on Monday night will, for certain, be exhibited by someone on Thursday night.

''We're going to give everything we got,'' Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. ''I would like to say I would guarantee the win - who knows how it's going to end up - but we're going to give everything we got. We're going to fight, we're going to compete, and I know if we get a chance to talk to him the next two days, that's what he would expect.''

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday?s 6-pack

Wagering matchups for the US Open:

? Dustin Johnson (-$170) vs Patrick Cantlay

? Brooks Koepka (-$150) vs Eldrick Woods

? Aaron Wise (-$125) vs Jason Dufner

? Henrik Stenson (-$115) vs Gary Woodland

? Ian Poulter (-$120) vs Bubba Watson

? Matt Wallace (-$130) vs Graeme McDowell

Quote of the Day
?Your indifference cost these men and women their most valuable commodity: Time! It?s the one thing they?re running out of.?
Jon Stewart, advocating for additional funding for the 9/11 victim compensation fund

Wednesday?s quiz
Who was the last President of the US who had previously been the Vice-President?

Tuesday?s quiz
Dodger P Clayton Kershaw played center on his high school football team; Lions? QB Matthew Stafford was the QB on that high school team.

Monday?s quiz
Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game began in 1985.

**********************

Wednesday?s List of 13: Mid-week musings??.

13) Surprised to hear that the Oakland Raiders will be featured this summer on Hard Knocks; figured that they would wait until next year to feature the Raiders, when they move to Las Vegas.

12) Mets had two men on, no one out Tuesday with Jeff McNeil up; Bronx plays the 3B in for a bunt, and Mets? TV guy Gary Cohen exclaims, ?They?re playing in for a bunt!!! Doesn?t anyone scout?!?!?!?

Words aren?t out of his mouth and McNeil homers to right-center. I?m guessing Bronx coaches and staff won?t be too thrilled when they hear about Cohen?s comments- they are in first place after all, while the Mets are???the Mets.

11) There were 13 homers in the Arizona-Philly game Monday night, which is a major league record for one game.

10) Interesting to follow Twitter late Monday night and Tuesday with reaction to Kevin Durant?s injury; lot of people suddenly became medical experts.

Without knowing the inner workings of the Warriors, am guessing the decision comes down to Durant and the Warriors? trainer, with Durant having the final say.

What follows now really could alter the NBA?s entire offseason; what teams will throw major $$$ at a big star with a very serious leg injury? Will he get a shorter deal and have to prove himself healthy before he breaks the bank again?

9) With Game 6 in Oakland Thursday, it bears repeating that Toronto had a 6-point lead and the ball with 3:00 left Monday with a chance to win its first title, but lost at home.

Crowd will be fired up for Game 6, the last NBA game ever in Oakland? the Warriors have a new arena for next year, across the bay in San Francisco.

8) Royals-Tigers are playing a game in Omaha, Nebraska Thursday, in advance of the College World Series. Teams played Tuesday-Wednesday in Kansas City.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Giancarlo Stanton homered (was 2-4) in a Class A rehab game.
? Orioles? P Alex Cobb (hip) is out for the year.
? Tigers? SS Niko Goodrum left Tuesday?s game (bruised knee).

6) Memphis Grizzlies hired Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach; he was Mike Budenholzer?s assistant in Milwaukee this season and in Atlanta for five years. Jenkins will the Grizzlies? 4th coach in the last five years.

5) Saints signed DE Cam Jordan to a 3-year contract extension that is worth $52.5M with a maximum of $55.5M that includes $42M in guarantees.

4) FOX Sports produced its US Open promo, but didn?t include the person who won the last two US Opens, which was surprising to Brooks Koepka, who won the last two US Opens.

?We?re amazed that I wasn?t in it, just kind of shocked. Somebody probably got fired over it ? or should.?

3) Most home runs, first 67 games of a career in Major League history:
1. Jose Abreu, 25 (2014), 2. Cody Bellinger, 24 (2017) 5. Pete Alonso, 22 (2019)

2) Detroit Tigers have Jack Morris as a TV analyst this year and he is very good, especially when he talks about pitching. Very honest; I learn something every game.

1) Zack Greinke has thrown 89 pitches this season that were under 70 MPH, 25 more than any other pitcher in the major leagues.

 

[Cnotes53]

Analysis: Even being injured Durant leads free-agent pack
June 12, 2019
By The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) This was already going to be a summer filled with fireworks in the NBA.

Nothing has changed.

Kevin Durant's Achilles injury, the severity of which isn't yet confirmed, means he probably won't be able to play much - if any - next season. But this is a testament to how much he overshadows much of the NBA landscape: Durant will still likely dictate how the free-agency dominoes fall this summer.

Durant could exercise his $31.5 million player option and stay with the Warriors, and that's likely going to be his worst-case financial scenario. He could opt out and sign a longer deal to stay in the Bay. Or he could opt out, sign elsewhere and start collecting massive checks from either the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets or Los Angeles Clippers or someone else.

Kyrie Irving's decision could hinge on what Durant does. Kawhi Leonard's decision could be affected by what Durant does. How the Knicks, Nets, Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and all the other teams who have cap space will start spending their money on June 30 ... it all will be determined, at least on some level, by what Durant does.

If he stays in Golden State, that's more money for everyone else.

If he hits the open market, it'll be about what team wants to gamble.

Here's a tip to those teams that wanted Durant before he got hurt again in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

If the opportunity presents itself, sign him.

Free agency usually isn't about just one year. It's about the long haul. Durant is only 30 years old. He's not a high-flyer who plays above the rim all the time. He's not a plodding big man. He's not someone with a lot of gray in the goatee. He's a world-class scorer and jump-shooter in his prime. A year from now, if the recovery from the Achilles injury indeed takes that long, he'll be far from over the hill.

''This is a devastating injury for a basketball player, but Durant can return to be the same or very close,'' Dr. David Chao, a longtime NFL team physician, practicing orthopedic surgeon and now a sports medical analyst with a large following wrote Tuesday. ''This does not mark his downfall as an elite player.''

In the short term, it just means Durant's NBA Finals are over. Game 6 is Thursday night, and the Warriors trail the Toronto Raptors 3-2 in the title series.

In the long term, it might mean so much more - including the possibility that his time playing for Golden State is over.

Achilles recoveries for basketball players have typically taken about a full year. Even if it turns out to be a partial tear, it's still a tear. Some team was going to pay Durant a lot of money in 2019-20 and some team still will, probably without the immediate on-court services of perhaps the best player in the world in return.

The first decision is the medical course of action.

The financial course of action will be decided soon after.

All will not be lost next season for the team that has Durant on its roster. That team will apply for, and get, a disabled player exception that will allow them to sign someone else for probably about $9 million and not have that count toward the team's cap.

That player won't be of Durant's caliber, because so few players are. But a year or so later, the team would have Durant.

There's risk with any signing. And signing any player that will command so much of a team's salary cap while facing a grueling rehab would seem particularly risky.

''He's going to come back stronger though,'' Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. ''That's the kind of fighter he is.''

The Nets swung a trade earlier this month to clear enough cap space for two max contracts this summer - and there's no doubt that they would love Durant to take one of those spots, possibly alongside Irving. The Knicks have been mentioned as a hopeful in the Durant sweepstakes for months. The Clippers were expected to make a pitch for him as well. The Warriors surely want to keep him.

The chatter about Durant's injury indicates it's all a mystery now, although it really shouldn't be.

Players have made comebacks off Achilles surgery, with relative levels of success.

DeMarcus Cousins, Kobe Bryant, and Rudy Gay all came back; Cousins hasn't regained past form yet. Dominique Wilkins had an Achilles tear happen to him at the peak of his career and he arguably was good as ever afterward. Elton Brand, now leading the Philadelphia 76ers' front office, had it as a player and said he was never the same. Christian Laettner went from a star to a role player when his Achilles ripped.

''I've been there,'' 15-time golf major winner Tiger Woods said Tuesday at the U.S. Open. ''I've had it to my own Achilles. I've had it to my own back. I know what it feels like. It's an awful feeling. And no one can help you. That's the hard part.''

Woods fought his way back toward the top of his sport, and is the reigning Masters champion.

Durant isn't going to let an Achilles injury end his reign as one of the game's best. Teams would be foolish to think otherwise.

 

[Cnotes53]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Prop bets for the US Open:

? Over/under for winning score: 277.5: under -$120

? Lowest round by any player: 64.5: over -$130

? Will Brooks Koepka finish in the top 10? No -$135

? Will Dustin Johnson finish in the top 10? -$110

? Will Adam Scott finish in the top 20? No -$140

? Will Jordan Spieth finish in the top 20? Yes -$130


**********

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud??

13) Why does there always have to be someone to blame? People today always need someone to blame when something bad happens.

Kevin Durant got hurt Monday night; all I see on Twitter is ?Whose fault is it??

The Warriors trainer? Their GM? Durant? His agent? Russell Westbrook?

Sometimes stuff just happens, then people have to react/adjust to it. This was no one?s fault.

12) Durant already had his injured achilles tendon operated on; that was quick.

11) Of the top 100 top-rated TV programs of 2018, 64 were NFL games.

10) Tuesday night was the first time the Pittsburgh Pirates allowed four home runs in an inning since 1956, when the New York Giants did it, with a young Willie Mays hitting one of them.

9) This week at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, a gambler bet $44,000 that Phil Mickelson won?t finish in the top 5 at the US Open at Pebble Beach; if he wins his bet, he banks $4,000.

8) Reds opened the first inning Wednesday with back/back homers (Senzel/Votto), first time they did that since 2001, when Alex Ochoa/Barry Larkin did it.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Padres sent P Chris Paddack to Class A ball, just to rein in his innings.
? Arizona put P Jon Duplantier (shoulder) on IL.
? Marlins put P Jose Urena (back) on IL.

6) Something you don?t see much anymore; a defensive tackle on the Baltimore Ravens was so out of shape at minicamp that the team set him home, basically after stretching exercises. With so much money at stake nowadays, players get tend to stay in shape year-round.

5) Tennessee Titans will retire Steve McNair?s #9 and Eddie George?s #27 this fall; McNair?s #9 will be the first #9 ever retired by an NFL team.

4) Back in January, the St Louis Blues were having a bad season and fired their coach; a gambler in Las Vegas wagered $400 on them to win the Stanley Cup, at 250-1 odds. Probably seemed like throwing money away to most, but today the guy cashes a ticket worth $100,000.

3) Braves 8, Braves 7 (11)? Game ended around 12:30 am; teams have a 12:10 first pitch today, so lot of people better sleep fast.

2) Brewers 6, Astros (14)? Mike Moustakas hit the deciding home run in the 14th inning. Milwaukee batters walked once, struck out 24 times in this game, and still won.

1) Wednesday night, a person paid $69,287.21 each on the Warriors? website for two courtside seats (total: $138,574.42) for Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Someone should tell this person that the games are on TV.

 

[Cnotes53]

<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commercial-photography/"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/UFlcK9y.png" alt="Commercial Photography"></a>

 

[Cnotes53]

531Toronto -532 Golden State
TORONTO is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games versus very good shooting teams - making >=48% of their shots over the last 2 seasons.




NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, June 13

Toronto @ Golden State

Game 531-532
June 13, 2019 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
131.528
Golden State
127.559
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 4
207
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 3
211 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(+3); Under




NBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, June 13

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TORONTO (73 - 32) at GOLDEN STATE (71 - 32) - 6/13/2019, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 218-271 ATS (-80.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
GOLDEN STATE is 44-57 ATS (-18.7 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 36-51 ATS (-20.1 Units) as a favorite this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 19-31 ATS (-15.1 Units) in home games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 12-22 ATS (-12.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 36-52 ATS (-21.2 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 21-31 ATS (-13.1 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 37-46 ATS (-13.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 6-4 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 6-5 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, June 13

? Toronto had the ball up six with 3:00 left at home in Game 5, but lost.

? Toronto is 5-2 vs Golden State this season, 3-0 in Oakland.

? Road team won last four games in this series.

? Warriors were +6 in 12:00 that Durant played in Game 5; he is out now.

? Over is 5-3 in last eight Raptor-Warrior games.

? Four Raptor subs who played in Game were a combined -14.

? Golden State?s three starters other than Curry/Thompson shot combined 16-40 from floor last two games.

? This is the Warriors? last game in this building; they move to SF next season.




NBA

Thursday, June 13

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toronto Raptors
Toronto is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games
Toronto is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
Toronto is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 11 games on the road
Toronto is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Golden State
Toronto is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Golden State
Toronto is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing Golden State
Toronto is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Toronto is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Toronto is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Toronto's last 12 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Golden State Warriors
Golden State is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Golden State is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Golden State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Golden State is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Golden State's last 21 games at home
Golden State is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Toronto
Golden State is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing Toronto
Golden State is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Toronto
Golden State is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games when playing at home against Toronto
Golden State is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto
Golden State is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Golden State's last 12 games when playing at home against Toronto

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday's Top Wager
June 13, 2019
By Bookmaker
by Kyle Markus

NBA Finals Game 6 Preview

Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors

It has been a roller coaster of emotions for the Golden State Warriors the past couple of days. They extended the NBA Finals with a one-point win in Game 5 but learned after the contest that Kevin Durant likely tore his Achilles. Golden State will head home for Game 6 without the superstar forward but needs to re-focus and play well in order to knock off the Toronto Raptors and force a do-or-die Game 7 back in Toronto.

This has been a fascinating series and Game 6 promises to be more of the same. The Warriors are the slight favorites but the Raptors won both games in Oakland earlier in the NBA Finals so they will be feeling confident that they can pull off another upset and clinch the championship in NBA gambling.

Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors will be held at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 13th, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

We'll have NBA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.

Odds Analysis

The Warriors are listed as the slight three-point favorites to win this game and extend the series to a winner-takes-all Game 7. Golden State is -148 on the moneyline while the Raptors are the +123 underdogs. The scoring total is listed at 211 points, with the ?over? currently getting more of the action in NBA gambling.

The road team has won the past four games of this series and Golden State needs to halt that trend to keep its hopes of a three-peat alive in NBA odds.

Last Time Out

The Raptors led by six points with only a couple of minutes left, but Klay Thompson and Steph Curry both connected on some huge three-pointers to lift their team to a 106-105 victory in Game 5. Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry had a shot to win the game at the buzzer but Draymond Green blocked it to secure the win.

Curry had 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Thompson added 26 points, including seven three-pointers. Center DeMarcus Cousins gave the Warriors a nice boost off the bench, making some big plays in both halves that were sorely needed.

Kawhi Leonard started the game slowly but had an unreal run in the fourth quarter to pit his team to the lead. However, Leonard couldn?t get his shot off in the final couple of minutes and his teammates went cold from the floor.

Injury Report

Durant had 11 points in 12 minutes and seemed poised for a huge performance in Game 5 but he injured his Achilles early in the second quarter and left the game. Durant is obviously done for the rest of the NBA Finals and now there is concern that the injury will affect a big chunk of the 2019-20 season.

The Warriors are hoping to have center Kevon Looney, who re-injured his chest in Game 5 and sat out the final part of it. Looney isn?t the most skilled player but he helps with defense and rebounding and is a key piece. Keep an eye on his status for Game 6.

Free NBA ATS Picks

The Warriors have been through a lot and will need to regroup for this one. While this one should be close throughout, it is hard to imagine Golden State losing a third game at home in the NBA Finals. Look for Curry and Thompson to score at a high level once again. The Raptors will stick close but will falter down the stretch.

The Warriors are the pick to win this game and cover the spread in NBA betting lines. The ?over? is the better call on the scoring total.

NBA ATS Pick: Golden State Warriors 109, Toronto Raptors 104

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, JUNE 13
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

TOR at GS 09:00 PM

GS -2.5

O 211.5

 

[Cnotes53]

https://www.covers.com/Editorial/Ar...99cb4301|53d85236-4cc7-42b4-a68e-6e5ced4dfa25

 

[Cnotes53]

Warriors' reign ends as injuries pile up
June 14, 2019
By The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) In the end, they were just battered and broken.

And now, they're beaten.

The Golden State Warriors are champions no more.

The reign ended Thursday night in the last game they'll ever play at Oracle Arena, one where they entered without Kevin Durant and left without Klay Thompson. The roster depletion was just too taxing, even for warriors like the Warriors to bear, and they lost Game 6 of the NBA Finals 114-110 to the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto won the series 4-2, finishing it off a few minutes after Thompson used crutches to hobble out of Oracle and into perhaps an uncertain future. He got hurt in the third quarter, fouled on a dunk attempt and landing awkwardly on his left knee - which buckled in a manner that's often a telltale sign of big trouble.

He left the game, then limped out of the tunnel and returned to the court - drawing raucous cheers - so he could shoot his free throws, allowing him to possibly return after being evaluated. He made both shots, the Warriors then took a foul a few seconds later and Thompson retreated toward the locker room again. A few minutes later, the word came: Thompson was done for the night.

The reign was done not long afterward.

Golden State still had a chance, even in the final seconds. Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with about 6 seconds left that would have given the Warriors the lead. The actual ending came several minutes later after long delays following a technical on Golden State for calling a time-out it didn't have and then a long review of a foul on Toronto's inbounds pass with less than a second left.

The Raptors didn't mind waiting.

And for the Warriors, it just prolonged the inevitable.

Thompson finished with 30 points, even missing the fourth quarter. Andre Iguodala scored 22 points, Curry had 21 and Draymond Green finished with 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists.

It wasn't enough.

It was a sad farewell to Oracle for so many reasons. The 2,070th and final game in that building that the Warriors called home for 47 seasons. The first game since Durant had surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles. The last loss of the season. The end of the quest for three straight championships. And if all that emotion wasn't enough, now there's fear for Thompson's future.

Thompson will be a free agent on June 30. The Warriors have said they want to keep him, and they likely still will. But if he has a major knee issue now that would be on top of the injury that will likely keep Durant - another probable free-agent-in-waiting, maybe the biggest domino that will fall this summer to start an expected player-movement bonanza - off the court for all of next season.

The irony with Thompson's injury is he doesn't get hurt. Thompson one of the most durable players in the league. He strained a hamstring earlier in these finals and missed one game. He may have done a number on his knee on Thursday and was still lobbying to stay in the game.

He was gone before the Raptors' celebration. When the Warriors start play next season at the new Chase Center in San Francisco, there will be no banner to raise, no rings to hand out. An era is over. A new one will have to begin.

 

[Cnotes53]

King of the North: Kawhi Leonard wins Finals MVP
June 14, 2019
By The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Kawhi Leonard's first season with the Toronto Raptors started with his now-infamous laugh.

It ended with him getting the last laugh.

The best player on the league's newly crowned best team is an NBA Finals MVP for the second time. Toronto finally sits atop the basketball universe, with Leonard averaging 28.5 points in a six-game finals victory over the Golden State Warriors to lead the Raptors to their first championship.

He arguably ended any debate about who the best two-way player in the sport is at this moment.

''This is what I play basketball for,'' Leonard said. ''This is what I work out for.''

The King of the North, as they've been calling Leonard in Toronto, was King of the Playoffs. He's the third player to win Finals MVP with two franchises, joining only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James.

''I think he's the best two-way basketball player in the NBA,'' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. ''He just goes. You know, I've seen some stuff from him this year that you just say, `Wow.' You do. You say, `Wow.' You appreciate the work that he's put in. He works extremely hard at his game and works extremely hard on his body. And he loves this basketball thing. Loves it.''

Perhaps never more so than Thursday night.

After missing most of last season with a leg injury, after having his commitment questioned, after getting traded to Toronto, Leonard returned to basketball's mountaintop. He thrust both arms high into the air when it was over, letting out a scream of joy. He even allowed himself a tiny smile when he hoisted the MVP trophy.

''He's just a competitor,'' Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. ''We respect that, for sure. He's shown that again this entire playoff run.''

Giannis Antetokounmpo will probably win the NBA's MVP award in a couple of weeks. James Harden and Paul George are the other finalists. And while all three of those players had marvelous regular seasons, the postseason was Leonard's personal showcase.

He scored 732 points in the playoffs. Only Michael Jordan (759) and LeBron James (748) ever scored more in a single postseason. Leonard finished with 14 games of 30 points or more in these playoffs. The only players with more in a single postseason are Jordan (16 in 1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (16 in 1995) and Kobe Bryant (15 in 2009).

''Without a doubt, the best thing about this thing is that somehow I wound up on the sideline getting to watch this guy play up close,'' said Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who won an NBA title in his first season as a head coach in the league. ''It's really cool.''

Leonard was the unquestioned leader. When the Raptors lost Game 2 of the NBA Finals at home and surrendered home-court advantage in the series, Nurse walked into a very glum locker room and reminded his team that it merely needed to win either Game 3 or Game 4 at Oracle Arena to reclaim control of the series.

Some nodded in agreement.

Leonard was not one of them, saying, ''Let's go get both.''

They got both.

And then, on their return trip to Oracle for Game 6, they got one more. They closed Oracle with a title-clincher.

''I don't know that any people will argue with me that he's the best two-way player in the NBA,'' Raptors President Masai Ujiri said.

Getting Leonard was just one of a bold series of moves Ujiri made in the last 12 months. He fired last season's coach of the year in Dwane Casey and hired Nurse. He traded away three players at midseason for Marc Gasol. And he took the risk that Leonard would be both happy enough and healthy enough to take the Raptors to the newest and highest of heights.

The trade that sent DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for Leonard was high-risk, high-reward. Leonard was acquired on July 18 and formally introduced as training camp was beginning on Sept. 24. He can become a free agent on June 30 and he'll almost certainly make in excess of $32 million next season no matter how long a deal he ends up signing - and whether that's in Toronto or someplace else.

''This is the place for him,'' Ujiri said.

Regardless of what's next, Leonard's memorable postseason won't soon be forgotten.

There was the four-bounce-off-the-rim, at-the-buzzer jump shot from the corner to beat Philadelphia in Game 7 of the second round. A 15-point fourth quarter to lift the Raptors past Milwaukee in the pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. A 17-point third quarter at Oracle Arena in Game 4 of the finals, as the Raptors took control of the game and the series.

''You can always see in his eyes that at any given time he can kind of take over,'' Pascal Siakam said.

Leonard can be thought of as enigmatic or anti-social.

He's not really either of those things. He's just quiet.

His path has not been an easy one. He wasn't highly recruited in high school. By the time bigger colleges were calling, he was committed to San Diego State. He wasn't even a lottery pick, getting taken No. 15 in the 2011 draft - behind the likes of Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Jimmer Fredette and Alec Burks, none of whom averaged 10 points per game for their NBA careers.

He rarely opens up about anything. He doesn't talk about his private life. He hardly ever discusses the murder of his father, which happened when Leonard was playing in high school. He scored 17 points in a game the day after his father was shot and killed, perhaps the ultimate proof that he's always been capable of blocking out everything else when he steps onto a court.

''Once it happened, I thought about it a lot,'' Leonard said. ''But as I got older, I pretty much just really stopped thinking about it. I think it just gave me a sense and feel that life and basketball are two different things and just really enjoy your time and moments. Like I always say, this is basketball; just go out there and have fun. These are going to be the best years of my life, playing this game.''

The best year yet just happened.

And with Leonard just entering his prime, there might be much more to come.