Title: Raptors’ box-and-one nearly allows defence to take Game 2 from Warriors
Date: June 2, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors turning to an unlikely defensive technique late in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and it nearly stealing them the game.
What got the Raptors to this point wasn’t working. The response was to get a little weird, and it very nearly helped them take Game 2 against the Warriors. The takeaway, as always: Embrace what makes you unique.
For the Raptors, that’s their defensive versatility and willingness to be unconventional on that end. It didn’t exactly work out in Game 2, which the Raptors lost 109-104 to tie the NBA Finals at 1-1 as it heads to Oakland. It definitely made things interesting, though, and it turned a game that was starting to look like a frustrating runaway into something to build on from here.