Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors Game 5 Pick

The Toronto Raptors (73-31) will once again host the Golden State Warriors (70-32) for Game Five of the NBA Finals in the Great White North on Monday, June 10th, 2019. The game will be televised on ABC for national audiences with a scheduled tip-off time of 9:00 PM ET. Toronto now stands just one game away from winning its first ever NBA Championship after it took a 3-1 lead sweeping Golden State in their two-game home-stand. In Game Four on Friday, the Raptors defeated the Warriors 105-92 to cover easily as a five-point underdog.

Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors Overview

Golden State Warriors

Golden State’s offensive acumen continues to deteriorate as we saw the Warriors held under the 100-point threshold for the second time this series. In all other playoff games combined, Golden State did not fail to cross this boundary. The Warriors were without the services of all-star Forward Kevin Durant in Game Four as he has not taken the hardwood since Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Toronto Raptors

The man of the match in Game Four is none other than a Raptor legend in the making, Forward Kawhi Leonard. “The Klaw” led the charge in Oakland on Friday as he contributed a double-double consisting of 36 points and 12 total rebounds.

Reasons to Avoid Golden State

The question is whether or not a banged-up Golden State will try to fight their way back into this series or simply lick their wounds and call it a season. The Raptors hit over 50% of their field goal attempts in Game Three while Golden State could not even hit 40% of their field goals despite being known as the greatest shooting team in NBA history. If there was a position for Toronto to let-down that has come and gone in Game Four. The follow-up of both teams in Game Four would suggest Toronto’s defense is starting to have their way in this series as they once again slowed down the most prolific offense in recent history. The ebb and flow of this series has an eerily similar taste to the Eastern Conference Finals as the Raptors dominated the back-stretch of the series once their defense got their claws into the Milwaukee Bucks. With this being said, Golden State is a tough sell in this situation despite being the two-time defending champion.

Reasons to Back Toronto

One could appreciate how Golden State does not fear hostile environments and how they can still bring their “A-Game” despite playing in less than accommodating conditions. However, the Great White North will be a factor in this contest as the fan base has already been instrumental in determining the outcome of critical games in multiple stages of the post-season. Look no further than Game Seven against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Game Six against Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals. Toronto will be rocking, and all can be rest assured that they will inject themselves into this match to power their Raptors to a first-ever NBA Championship and send the entire country of Canada into bedlam. It is tough to go against Toronto by virtue of the home court advantage alone.