NBA Finals 2019: Game 1 TV Schedule and Latest Warriors vs. Raptors Prediction
After four days without playoff basketball, the 2019 NBA Finals begin Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The Toronto Raptors come into the series on a four-day layoff after coming back from down two games to win four straight against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Golden State Warriors have not played in a competitive game in over a week, as they finished off their Western Conference Finals sweep of Portland May 20.
In the last four NBA Finals, Golden State has won Game 1, but all four of those were at Oracle Arena.
In fact, Thursday marks the first time since 2013 (Miami) that an Eastern Conference team is hosting Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals Game 1 Information
Start Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app
Prediction
Toronto 110, Golden State 103
Game 1 presents Toronto with the best opportunity to take control of the series against the two-time defending champion.
Dispensing of Golden State is no easy task in the playoffs, but the Raptors have home-court advantage, carry a ton of momentum into Thursday and are facing the Warriors without two key pieces and off a long layoff.
The continuation of Kawhi Leonard's scoring tear is the first obvious key to success in Game 1.
Against Milwaukee, he averaged 29.8 points per game, and he has scored over 25 points in 15 games this postseason.
In his 10 home playoff games, Leonard is averaging 31.3 points per game and has eclipsed 35 points in four of those contests.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Warriors unequivocally view the 27-year-old as a bigger threat than Houston's James Harden because of his talent on both ends of the hardwood.
Leonard is expected to receive plenty of defensive attention from Golden State, which may include occasional double teams to help Klay Thompson.
At the start of the postseason, the Raptors struggled to fill the secondary scoring roles, but that improved immensely in the four straight wins over Milwaukee.
In the series-clinching Game 6, Leonard was joined by Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet in double digits.
If Toronto is able to get three players in double digits alongside Leonard once again, it will be in a great spot to take Game 1.
Danny Green also has the potential to be the Raptors' X-factor. He and Leonard have NBA Finals experience from their time with the San Antonio Spurs.
In the 2013 and 2014 NBA Finals against Miami, Green totaled seven double-digit performances for the Spurs.
But it is right to show concern over his shooting touch going into Game 1 since he has scored fewer than 10 points in each of his last eight games.
Even if Toronto receives a perfect all-around performance on offense, it might not be enough to fend off the Warriors.
Although they have not played in nine days, the Warriors still have a wealth of NBA Finals experience and have played great as a unit without DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant.
Leonard's defensive ability should take Stephen Curry or Thompson out of the game for stretches, which leaves his teammates to deal with the other guard and Draymond Green.
The Raptors did a nice job limiting Giannis Antetokounmpo's production in the Eastern Conference Finals, including holding him to 21 points in Game 6.
Slowing down one of the Warriors' stars might not be enough to allow the Raptors to pull away for a statement victory, but they could still hold a lead deep into the second half.
Golden State will likely be able to keep the game close because of its ability to score through a handful of avenues, but the Raptors can rely on the two-way ability of Leonard to finish off the game.
Throughout the postseason, Leonard has taken over games in the fourth and made plenty of clutch shots, including the series-clinching basket against Philadelphia.
Leonard has to be at a high level in the fourth quarter once again Thursday for the Raptors to win their first-ever NBA Finals game.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.
