Well, that didn’t go as planned for Toronto. It was a wild night, starting with a Kevin Durant return that saw him score 11 points in just 12 minutes, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 3-3 from downtown. But then he went down with another injury (gone for the rest of the Finals) and the Raptors clawed back to take a 5-point lead with just about 3-minutes to go, and then it all fell apart. Toronto fans and Drake, dejected. While they remain up 3-2 in the series you can feel a change in the wind as the reality of a Game 6 at Oracle arena likely equates an earthquake to tear down the Raps’ recent success.
Can Toronto stave off the Warriors attack at home and win the Championship on U.S. soil, or will the series get tied up 3-3 before heading back to Canada for a dangerous Game 7 against the well-seasoned (and current) champs? The sportsbook thinks the latter is more likely, favoring Golden State by 3-points (opening spread), although the Finals series pricing continues to lean towards a Toronto Raptors NBA Championship with -300 odds versus Golden State’s +220. Let’s see what’s in store for Game 6.
Betting Preview for Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors 2019 NBA Finals Game 6 on June 13, 2019
Where: ORACLE Arena, Oakland
When: Thursday June 13, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Toronto Raptors (+3) vs. Golden State Warriors (-3)
Series: Raptors lead, 3-2
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the Toronto Raptors (58-24 Regular Season)
They almost had it. Everyone expected Lowry’s 3-point shot to seal the deal on a miraculous playoff run but this isn’t the movies. Instead it hit the side of the backboard with a thunderous thud. But the entire game was pretty flat for the home team, wasn’t it? They trailed for 95 percent of the game, but most concerning was their response to Kevin Durant being on the floor which has many Raptors’ critics stating that they never really deserved to be this far ahead in the Finals in the first place. Them eventually recovering their deficit after Durant re-injured himself only serves to prove their point.
On the game, six Raptors were in double digits, led by Kawhi Leonard who didn’t score over 30-points this time, due to just 9/24 field goal shooting. He was instrumental in Toronto’s fourth quarter run, getting them ahead for the first time in the second half with some extremely clutch play, but then he made a bad shot selection with under 2-minutes to go (which if you notice, he tends to do) and the team could not come back against a Splash brothers’ pair of threes that delivered the final blow.
Toronto shot 44.7% on the night, but was pathetic from beyond the arc at just 25%, something you can’t do against the Golden State Warriors. They did have fewer turnovers, 13 to Golden State’s 16, and they even outrebounded the Warriors 54-47, although they didn’t pull down the ones they needed most in the final moments of the game.
After a loss this season (playoffs included) the Raptors are 15-16 against the spread (ATS) covering 48.4% of the time.
Toronto fans and Raps’ straight-up bettors should be worried about how they will respond to this deflating loss.
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (57-25 Regular Season)
The consensus was that Golden State was downright negligent (from a player rep perspective) in allowing to Durant play, but to be honest it was exactly what the Warriors needed to get out of their slump, even if it may have cost this summer’s free agent dearly. Durant’s short but brilliant return ignited his team, and in the end that 11-points of his made all the difference in the world, not just on the scoreboard, but in how the Raptors would play the rest of the game. You could see it in Golden State’s opponent’s eyes – they felt like pretenders to the throne.
The Warriors shot 46.3% on the night, led by Curry once again, who scored 31-points when it really mattered. Their 3-point percentage was even better at 47.6%. Head coach Kerr wasn’t happy with their 16 turnovers and being outrebounded, but he was even more frustrated by DeMarcus Cousins’ fourth quarter goaltending and fouls which peppered by Leonard’s awakening allowed Toronto to make a game of it in the final minutes. But alas Kerr can rest easy in knowing that he has Thompson (26-points) and Curry who know how to close out close games unlike any other in the league. Draymond Green nearly had another triple-double at 10-8-10 but he really needs to put more points on the board if Golden State expects to win this thing without Durant, which is now a fact as the all-star is indeed done until the 2019-20 season. That said, Green continues to frustrate Toronto offense and that just may be enough to give Golden State it’s back-to-back-to-back Championship, a prospect which begins anew with a likely Game 6 win.
Golden State is 29-39-2 ATS after a win, covering only 42.6% of the time.
Writer’s Prediction
It can only go one way here folks, Golden State wins with authority, 119-105, and forces a Game 7.
