The Golden State Warriors return home for Game 6 of the NBA Finals and while it may have a somber mood due to the loss of Kevin Durant, it may still harbor some joy as it will be the final NBA game ever to be played at Oracle Arena. They take on the Toronto Raptors, who are looking to clinch their first NBA championship in franchise history.
The Warriors opened as 3.5-point favorites (since moved to -3) with a total of 210.5.
Raptors vs Warriors Game Center
Standout Stats
- Three-point shooting has been essential to the success of both teams and when looking at Game 5, it was the Warriors who dealt the death blow. The Warriors shot 47.6 percent from behind the arc, marking the first time in this NBA Finals that they shot better than 40 percent from three-point range.
- For the Raptors, their three-point shooting put them in a hole in Game 5 as they shot 8-for-32 from deep (25 percent). It’s not a coincidence that both of their losses in this series have come in games in which they’ve shot less than 30 percent from behind the arc.
- The Raptors’ offense has usually sputtered in road playoff games but they came out in a big way in Games 3 and 4 at Oracle Arena. The Raps shot 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc for their best shooting performances of the series.
- While the Warriors are 6-4 SU in 10 postseason games at Oracle Arena, they’ve only covered the spread in three of those contests. The Raptors, on the other hand, have now won three straight games in Oakland dating back to the regular season.
- Stephen Curry continues to own the Raptors as he’s averaging 29.7 points in 21 career games vs Toronto, which is his highest average against any team in the NBA.
- Turnovers have been a huge issue for the Warriors in this postseason and they’ve given the ball away an average of more than 16 times per game in this series. Draymond Green leads the Warriors with 22 turnovers through five games of the NBA Finals.
- The total opened at 210.5 and the UNDER has hit in seven of the Raptors’ 10 road playoff games (average combined score: 207.3) and in the last two games of this series.
My Best Bet for Raptors vs Warriors
Warriors -3
Of course I’m taking the Warriors. Did you really think with Kevin Durant out that I would now back the Raptors? Guess again. I think the momentum has shifted back in Golden State’s favor and now they get to return home to a raucous crowd that will know the stakes of it being the last NBA game played at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors’ three-point shooting came alive in Game 5 and I think they’ve got enough firepower with their three remaining all-stars to outlast the Raptors in Game 6 to push this series to 7. I would also recommend taking the Warriors’ -1.5 first-half spread if you want to double down.
