Listen to That’s A Rap #39: Post-Game 5 vs. Warriors Reaction

The Golden State Warriors show some fight and eke out a narrow victory. The Toronto Raptors show they’re more than capable of dethroning the champs by owning the second half. Games 4 and 5 played out as you might have predicted, but not necessarily in the right order!

An entire nation was ready to erupt, but, alas, the champagne must remain on ice and one final trip to Oakland must now be made. If you thought the layoff between Games 4 and 5 were long, these next 50+ hours are going to feel like an eternity.

Allow us to fill 28 minutes of that eternity, as we vent our way through a Game 5 react pod.

On The Latest Episode:

Was Kevin Durant pressured into playing? What does his Achilles injury mean for his future?

The Raptors’ resilience kept them in this, but it was the Warriors’ championship mettle that won the game.

Sometimes numbers/analytics don’t work in a team’s favour. Nick Nurse’s decision to call timeout with 3:05 remaining — a timeout that would’ve been lost after the 3:00 mark — probably benefited Golden State a lot more. Questionable timeout usage resurfaced when the Raptors did not call a timeout on the final play of the game.

Shoddy officiating aside, the Warriors played their best game of the series. Demarcus Cousins stepped up once Durant and Kevon Looney went down with (re-)injuries. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson played lights out and carried Golden State from the literal brink of elimination.

Kawhi Leonard had a poor game, by his standards, but his 10-point outburst between the 5:13-3:28 mark of the fourth quarter almost propelled the team to the championship.

The Spanish Connection, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, took advantage of a depleted Warriors front court.

Toronto has a couple of items to clean up if they hope to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy on Thursday. Three-point defense (20 triples), lack of ball movement (only 19 assists), and the aforementioned timeout usage were all areas for concern.

Game 6 will look a lot like Game 3. Both teams will be relatively healthy, except for KD. Warriors will have a slight momentum advantage after stealing a narrow road victory. NBA fans will assume the Warriors will win at home....and the Raptors will answer appropriately!

2:00 - Headlines (KD returns)

4:25 - In My Feelings (effect of KD injury)

7:45 - Too Good (champs show desperation)

9:05 - Take Care (of our timeouts)

10:05 - Worst Behaviour (from the refs)

14:45 - Going Bad (injuries mount for the Warriors)

16:30 - Kawhi’s Plan

17:25 - Nice For What (bigs stepped up in losing cause)

21:00 - Started From The Bottom (improvements needed for Game 6)