Warriors on having a new opponent in NBA Finals: “Finally!”
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OAKLAND — When the Warriors’ team plane departs Wednesday for the NBA Finals, it will fly right past Cleveland on the way to Toronto.
“Finally!” veteran guard Shaun Livingston said Monday.
The Warriors learned their Finals opponent on Sunday, but they’ve known since the playoffs began it won’t be the Cleveland Cavaliers for a fifth straight season. Golden State plays Game 1 on Thursday on the road against the Toronto Raptors.
A refreshing change?
“For sure,” Livingston said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
But this might come under the category of be careful what you ask for. The Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, won four straight against the Milwaukee Bucks after losing the first two games in the Eastern Conference finals.
“We’ve got a hell of an opponent,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Kerr said he and his staff presented the game plan to the players Monday morning before practice. There was a freshness to prepping for a new opponent.
“That was the exception. This is more the rule. You’re not supposed to play the same team every year,” Kerr said. “That was a special era, a special rivalry.”
The Raptors won both regular-season matchups against the Warriors, with Stephen Curry sitting out one game and Leonard the other. Kevin Durant had 51 points at Toronto, but he’s not available for Thursday’s opener.
Leonard is a focal point, and he should be motivated after leading the Raptors to the franchise’s first Finals berth. He’ll no doubt remember Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference playoffs when, while playing for the San Antonio Spurs, he went down to a season-ending foot injury after stepping on Zaza Pachulia’s foot.
The Spurs traded Leonard to Toronto after last season and the change lifted his game to a higher place still.
The 27-year-old forward is averaging 31.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals and shooting 51 percent in the playoffs. He converted 50 percent of his 3-point attempts through the first nine games of the postseason, but has cooled to 26.5 percent the past nine.
“It’s been pretty incredible,” Livingston said of Leonard’s postseason performance. “He’s obviously done what his team needed him to do, and above. He’s a great player that’s really lifted his team up.
“Looks like the trade worked out for him.”
Curry said the key to Leonard’s play at the offensive end is his ability to force defenders to play at his pace. “You try to speed him up, try to show him bodies or play him one-on-one, and he has confidence to get to his spot,” Curry said.
Leonard made his name initially in the NBA as a lock-down defender.
Curry said he has no idea whether the 6-foot-7 Leonard will be assigned to guard him at times, but he’s ready for whatever comes.
“He’s gifted physically with his strength and his wingspan and his footspeed,” Curry said. “Most good defenders, you can’t play into their hands. I know my strengths and how to go at it, so I’ve got to play to those.”
Up front alongside Leonard are veteran center Marc Gasol (8.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 40 percent on threes in playoffs) and 25-year-old power forward Pascal Siakam (18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds in the playoffs).
“Siakam looks like a young Draymond (Green) to me, the way he plays the all-around game,” Kerr said. “A two-way player, a big guy who can handle the ball in transition, a good passer, can make threes.”
Livingston compared Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (14.7 points, 6.4 assists in the playoffs) to Chris Paul.
“He’s definitely the heart and soul of their team. He also plays mind games out there, so you’ve got to be smart,” Livingston said.
Danny Green (6.8 points in the playoffs) fills out the starting backcourt but he has shot just 6 for 32 from deep in the postseason.
Third-year reserve Fred VanVleet has more than picked up the slack, hitting 14 of 17 shots from 3-point range over the past three games, coinciding with the birth of his second child.
Said Kerr, “Hopefully he doesn’t have any more children during the Finals.”