Stephen Curry is still one of the best players in the NBA. He, alongside Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant formed one of the most formidable super teams in the history of the league. The 2017-19 Golden State Warriors team was unstoppable. They were not only the kings of the West but also the entire NBA.
So, whenever a team stopped them during the playoff stages, it was very notable. This has only happened only two times.
Once in 2016 when LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers made a stunning comeback to win the Finals 4-3. The next time it took place was in 2019. An unheralded Toronto Raptors beat the dominant Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the NBA finals to win the trophy.
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One of the architects of that win, Pascal Siakam revealed how they defended the great Stephen Curry. The current Toronto players revealed that it was hard to face that team and Curry.
He said, “We just gotta triple-team Curry. Then, we all like, not saying the other guys are not good but yo I just don’t want Curry to get 50. That’s it. The rest we can fight. We’re going to scrap. We will always played them well. When we matched up, it was a good matchup for us… They had more guards. We had the personnel to do it.”
He continued saying, “I can’t just watch him just come off screens and shoot from half court knowing that it’s going in… I will let their third or fourth-best player score rather than their best player getting what they want.”
2019 Toronto Raptors Team
Siakam, Kawhi Leonard, and the Toronto Raptors won the NBA finals in 2019, beating that Golden State Warriors team to do it. Leonard was awarded the finals MVP as he scored 28.5 points per game and had 9.8 rebounds per game.
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Pascal Siakam was his second in command. He scored almost 20 PPG and had 3.7 assists with 7.3 rebounds per game. He had a higher field goal percentage than Leonard. 50.5% of his field-goal attempts went in that year.
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These two alongside Kyle Lowry led the franchise to their first NBA title. Coach Nick Nurse also played a very pivotal role for the team.
Will the Raptors win it again? Will they come back against the 76ers? We will have to wait and see for the next game.