Toronto Raptors losing Game 2 is an even bigger deal now
By Josh Hill
Toronto is up 2-1 in the NBA Finals, but losing Game 2 is an even bigger deal now.
If you’ve ever wanted to live in an alternate universe, the NBA Finals are here to make your dreams come true.
After a 14-point victory in Game 3 on Wednesday, Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors are two wins away from upsetting the Golden State Warriors and winning an NBA title.
The significance of this cannot be overstated. Part of our coping with the Dubs dominance over the past half-decade has involved imagining alternate dimensions where J.R. Smith doesn’t forget how scoring in basketball works or Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving don’t have injuries that sideline them back in 2016.
Watching what the Raptors are doing is what living out a ‘What-If’ scenario feels like. We are existing in an alternate universe rather than simply imagining one.
But as satisfying it is, the rabbit hole goes deeper. In an even further alternate universe than the one we’re in now, Toronto didn’t blow a Game 2 lead and are now just a single win away from one of the most shocking upheavals in recent sports history. Kawhi Leonard is this close to slaying two kings in one decade, thus crowning him unimaginable legacy riches. The Warriors dynasty ends not in triumph but with a stunning final act plot twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan blush.
That was almost our reality.
The Raptors losing Game 2 is even more significant now. There’s still a decent chance Toronto wins the series, but that’s a whole lot easier if you need just one more win (in as many as four more chances) to do it. In an alternate universe, Game 3 plays out in even more critical fashion because the Raptors have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead without Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant on the floor standing in the way.
Or, given the circumstances, perhaps one or both of them play and thus can’t return to however closer to full health they’ll both be in Game 4. Winning the second game of the series afforded the Warriors margin for error in resting Durant and Thompson. The dynamics of the remainder of this series are so incredibly different if the Raptors don’t blow Game 2.
They did, though. As sweet as it is to live in an alternate universe, the reality is Golden State is the Bond villain you kill when you have the chance.