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NBA Finals 2019: Raptors vs. Warriors Game 6 TV Schedule, Live Stream and Odds
June 13, 2019
The Golden State Warriors fought off elimination in Game 5, but their series-extending win came at a massive cost.
Kevin Durant, playing for the first time in a month, scored 11 points in 12 minutes before exiting with a lower leg injury. As feared, the two-time Finals MVP confirmed he ruptured his Achilles.
With the Toronto Raptors coming to town for Game 6, the short-handed Warriors again face do-or-die stakes. Can splash siblings Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson lead another game-changing perimeter assault? Or will Kawhi Leonard take down another NBA dynasty?
We'll break down Game 6 after presenting the scheduling and latest odds, via VegasInsider.com, below.
2019 NBA Finals: Game 6
Who: Raptors at Warriors
When: Thursday, June 13, at 9 p.m. ET
Where: Oracle Arena
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Latest Line: Warriors -2.5
The Warriors are running on fumes.
Making five consecutive Finals trips can have that effect, but the exhaustion goes deeper than that. Golden State appears as shallow as ever. As a result, Curry and Draymond Green have been forced to log more than 40 minutes a night in this series, and Thompson isn't far behind at 39.
Andre Iguodala has been his sturdy self on defense, but his offense isn't there (36.1/25.0/50.0 shooting slash). DeMarcus Cousins has had some encouraging stretches, but he looks rusty after a month-plus absence with a quad tear. Kevon Looney is dealing with a chest injury that his him questionable for Game 6. Quinn Cook has been streaky. Shaun Livingston has been...well, not very good (minus-30 over 82 minutes).
The Warriors will have trouble extending their rotation beyond these seven (or six if Looney can't go). Andrew Bogut struggles defending in space. Jordan Bell has made some costly mental mistakes. Alfonzo McKnnie and Jonas Jerebko aren't making enough shots to trust them with floor time.
Most of the series trends are going against Golden State.
And yet, after watching this team wiggle out of a six-point deficit with less than three minutes to play, it's fair to wonder what (if anything) it will take to knock the Dubs down for the count.
"We could have thrown in the towel," Green told reporters. "We could have folded, but we didn't. I said it before: I've never seen this group fold. And that stands true still."
While there's no way to objectively measure the proverbial "heart of a champion," the Warriors are objectively scoring high marks in that category. That means any on-paper advantages the healthier, deeper Raptors may have aren't necessarily enough on their own.
For Toronto to close this out on the road—in the final game ever at Oracle Arena—Leonard must be brilliant.
That's not enough on its own, but the Raptors probably don't have a winning strategy without it. He's had a pair of masterful performances in this series, averaging 33.0 points on 51.3/46.7/95.0 shooting over Games 3 and 4, both of which were double-digit Toronto triumphs. The scoring margin for the other three games, in which Leonard shot 40 percent or worse, is a mere three points in the Raptors' favor.
If Leonard does his part, it's on the Raptors' role players to provide championship-level support.
That's been a struggle throughout this series. Save perhaps for super-sub Fred VanVleet, Toronto hasn't seen a lot of consistency from "the others." Kyle Lowry is shooting 39.1 percent for the series. Marc Gasol has a pair of single-digit point totals. After scoring 32 points in the opener, Pascal Siakam has averaged 15.3 on 39.7 percent shooting since.
The Raptors have more usable parts—they roster seven of the 11 minutes leaders in the series—but Leonard is their lone elite. If Curry gets rolling and Green, Thompson and/or Cousins follows his lead, which co-star (or co-stars, really) in Toronto can provide an answer?
With momentum and a home crowd on the Warriors' side and a superior roster on the Raptors', Game 6 already looks like an instant classic.