Toronto Raptors favourites to beat Golden State Warriors in NBA Finals Game 6, says Mike Tuck
Read BBL legend Mike Tuck's take on Raptors @ Warriors Game 6 and watch the latest chapter of the NBA Finals live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Friday morning (2am)
Friday 14 June 2019 02:07, UK
Sky Sports NBA analyst and BBL legend Mike Tuck was born and raised in Canada and is a lifelong Toronto Raptors fan - read his take on Game 6 of the NBA Finals and the impact the Raps' playoff run is having in Canada.
Live NBA: Toronto @ Golden State
Who wins Game 6?
If you'd told me at the start of the season Toronto would be involved in a seven-game Finals series with the Golden State Warriors... this is a dream come true for me.
Although they lost, Toronto didn't do much wrong in Game 5. They handled the boards really well. Kawhi got it going at times. The time out Nick Nurse called with just over three minutes to go after Kawhi had gone on a personal 10-0 run and late-game execution (especially the final play when Kyle Lowry's corner three was partially blocked by Draymond Green) hurt them. The 'Hail Mary' shot wasn't a great look.
The Raptors have to play some defense in Game 6. In Game 5, the Warriors got some really good looks at the basket, especially at the end of the game. Toronto were not able to close out on them defensively.
I favour the Raptors in Game 6, but you just never know with the Warriors. If any team are going to fight back and push you to a Game 7, it's them. You can never count them out.
The Raptors have got enough to make sure they avoid being in a closely-contested game in the final minutes. They can't leave themselves in a position where Golden State are within touching distance heading down the stretch.
Most of the games the Raptors have won, they've consistently held an eight or 10-point lead most of the way.
The last five minutes are going to be crucial in this game. The Raptors have to attack early and build as big a lead as they can early on.
The Warriors are looking like the walking wounded right now. Kevin Durant is out. Kevon Looney, who does a lot of good work that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, is questionable for tonight as well.
For Golden State to have success in Game 6, they are going to have to rely heavily on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. This is the type of situation that the Splash Brothers are built for and are used to. I won't be surprised if they both come out gunning.
Draymond Green has to do what he does: be a defensive guy and be a playmaker, creating opportunities for others on offense, too. But he also needs to look to score himself and be aggressive going to the basket.
But the focus will be on Curry and Klay. Outside of them, who is going to put the ball in the basket for Golden State? They'll need Andre Iguodala to contribute at both ends of the floor - he needs to provide them with 15-18 points.
DeMarcus Cousins has had one half-decent game in this series. That injury is weighing on him right now. He doesn't have that lift and looks half a step slow. The Warriors need productive minutes out of him in Game 6. Role guys like Shaun Livingston and Jordan Bell have to contribute too.
It will have to be an all-round effort for the Warriors to deny the Raptors their first NBA championship.
Basketball booming in Canada
Basketball has had a lot of momentum in Canada for a few years now and this Raptors run is cementing that place as one of the most popular sports in the country. Hockey will always be king but basketball is running it a pretty close second, if not on an even keel right now.
When you look at the playoffs and you see the level of support Toronto as a city and Canada as a whole has for the Raptors, it's just insane. In Toronto, you have the Jurassic Park fan park outside the arena but then there are all these other mini Jurassic Parks popping up in Montreal, Vancouver and all the way over to the east coast.
It's great to see the whole country is getting behind the team.
Ever since Vancouver lost the Grizzlies to Memphis, the Raptors have been that one shining light for basketball in Canada.
The club has done a great job - from the management level down to the players - of putting themselves in a great position to succeed and done all the right things and they are reaping the reward for that now.
Game 6 takes place in Oakland in the early hours of Friday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
