10 things from Raptors-Warriors Game 3

OAKLAND, Calif. — Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 123-109 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

One — You can apply all the caveats to the result. The Warriors were without two of their three best players, and every possession was a struggle. But it wasn’t as if the Warriors just spiked the game — the Raptors needed to take it from them. Stephen Curry played the best playoff game of his illustrious career with 47 points and seven assists, and prideful champions in Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and even Andrew Bogut weren’t exactly going down without a fight on their home floor. Yes, the Warriors weren’t at full strength, but full credit to the Raptors for staying locked in and maintaining a lead throughout the entire 48 minutes.

Two — Kyle Lowry followed two quiet showings at home with a masterful performance on the road. Lowry not only drilled five 3s — several of which answered runs by the Warriors — but he also consistently generated open looks for his teammates by getting into the paint and creating havoc. Lowry recorded nine assists, including at least one to each of the six other rotation players who saw extended minutes for the Raptors, but he could have easily gotten over double digits if it wasn’t for a few 3s rimming out. Thompson being sidelined allowed Lowry to get free against Shaun Livingston, but this was very much also a change in mentality for Lowry who was aggressive throughout the game. He needs to play at this level for the Raptors to close out the series.

Three — Marc Gasol thoroughly dominated DeMarcus Cousins in the center match-up. It was clearly a concerted effort by the Raptors to attack Cousins whenever possible, and Gasol was the weapon of choice, as the otherwise pass-first center took four shots and hit two free throws in just the opening six minutes. Cousins got off to a rough start in each of the first and third quarters, and it forced Steve Kerr to ultimately limit his minutes. And without Cousins as a secondary option, Kerr was forced to extend Curry’s minutes (he finished with 46) and it made the Warriors easier to defend. All in all, this was a masterful performance by Nurse.

Four — Bogut gave the Warriors great minutes in the second quarter, which was the only time the Raptors’ offense sputtered. Bogut, along with some help from Green, was able to effectively trap Leonard on the perimeter, and it forced turnovers and bad shots that fuelled the Warriors’ transition game. Bogut was also effective at plugging the paint against Pascal Siakam by just hanging back around the rim. However, that was solved in the second half as Nick Nurse shifted the offense away from Leonard and had Fred VanVleet and Danny Green bomb away from the perimeter. Bogut would always drop back, which gave the Raptors wide-open looks.

Five — The Warriors are just in dire straits with the center position. Kevon Looney is typically good for Amir Johnson type plays, but his status for the rest of the series is in question after banging into Leonard. Jordan Bell is just clueless. Cousins is completely hit or miss and he was the worst player on the floor by a mile in Game 3, and the option to downsize with Green at center isn’t palatable until Durant comes back. Golden State just can’t field five useful players at the moment, and it’s dragging down the team as a whole. Of course, this problem goes away once Durant returns, but until then the Raptors will always have a point of weakness to attack on offense.

Six — Nurse’s move to replace Green with VanVleet in the starting lineup to start the second half was smart on two fronts. One, VanVleet is the best defensive option against Curry, and he didn’t want a repeat of Game 2 where Curry just puts the entire defense in a scramble and the Warriors go on a massive run because of it. Two, Green had three fouls which meant he couldn’t guard Curry with full intensity, and Lowry was getting torched in the first half. Curry still had 15 points in the third in spite of the switch, but that just speaks to his greatness because all of those baskets were heavily contested.

Seven — Green stepped up in a huge way with six 3s in 27 minutes. Two of those were difficult shots where he leaned forward inside the arc and somehow still got it to drop, but most of his looks were easy opportunities in transition. With Curry going all out on offense, he just wasn’t as focused defensively in either half court or transition, and Green was able to shake free repeatedly. Green is now the only player in Finals history to shoot over 50 percent from 3 with a minimum of 50 attempts.

Eight — The Raptors finally got a good performance out of Serge Ibaka, even if it was really just one incredible shift. Ibaka got a few easy baskets off passes from Lowry, and it sparked his energy defensively. Ibaka was a menace around the rim with six blocks on the night (two were uncalled goaltends, but nevertheless the effort was there) including two swats on Curry’s floaters. Ibaka won’t feature prominently in a series that demands quick decision making, but he’s at least better than whatever the Warriors are tossing out at center for the moment, so it’s on him to impact the game and be a positive in his limited minutes.

Nine — In order to beat the Warriors at full strength, the Raptors need to find some way to make life easier for Leonard. The tandem of Iguodala and Green have effectively kept Leonard in check in all three games, and it’s really in all the other matchups where Leonard goes at a center on switches or against the helpless Alfonzo McKinnie where he’s been able to rack up points. The Raptors should know by now that hard double teams will be coming Leonard’s way, but unlike how the Warriors capitalize from the extra attention on Curry, the Raptors aren’t generating the same secondary offense. Part of that is on Leonard for being a beat late on most of his passes, but his teammates also need to be more alert in relocating so there’s an immediate outlet to press their advantage.

Ten — Despite falling down 2-1 in the series, the Warriors still aren’t stressed. Green said with a smirk on the podium last night that his team will win the next three games and that “good times” would ensue at Oracle Arena. But in reality, the pressure is really on the Warriors to quickly get their act together. The Raptors have won 10 of the first 12 quarters in the series, and they showed in Game 3 they’re not going to play down to their competition. The Warriors not only need to get everyone healthy, but it’s also on Kerr and Curry to figure out how the offense will operate once Durant is back into the mix after a month off with injury. Until this point, the entire offense has been centered around Curry’s movement, so the question now becomes if Durant can also be at his best within that system. It’s hardly a guarantee that they’ll win the series.

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