As the dust settles in the east, the Milwaukee Bucks have drawn the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals to see who will make their way to the 2019 NBA Finals.
With all due respect to the six other teams that filled the Eastern Conference bracket, it was destined to be these two at the end of the tunnel. This isn’t just speaking with 20/20 hindsight, but the fact is, the two best players in the East should have carried their respective teams to this point at the very least.
And they did.
The 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks have elevated their game entirely, in part to the introduction of offensive savant Mike Budenholzer as head coach, but mostly to the birth of this MVP candidate version of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With a dominant 8-1 record in the playoffs against both the Detroit Pistons (4-0) and Boston Celtics (4-1), the Bucks have yet to hit any speed bumps on their trek towards the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Enter Kawhi Leonard.
After moving the face of the franchise Demar DeRozan for what is essentially a one-year trial run, Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors had sky-high expectations going into the season to justify such a rash move.
So far, so good.
Kawhi Leonard has lived up to his billing as one of the greatest two-way players of all time and has almost single-handedly (credit to Pascal Siakam), carried the Toronto Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.
With what seems to be a battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object, the winner of this series may very well present the biggest threat to (presumably) the Golden State Warriors dynasty.