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The Golden State Warriors are headed to the NBA finals once again. Golden State will face the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors Eastern Conference Finals series. Regardless of who they play, the NBA finals will start on Thursday, May 30.
The Warriors were able to advance to the NBA finals despite the absence of All-Star Kevin Durant. Draymond Green noted that it is Durant’s advice that helped him find another gear in the playoffs.
“It’s just directing the energy towards somewhere else,” Green noted to ESPN. “Directing it to more positive things. I can play with the same passion and aggression and not argue with referees. It’s funny because when the stuff happened with Kevin earlier this year [after an emotional blowup at Staples Center] he said, ‘Every kind of gives you this pass like, ‘Oh, that’s Draymond. He’s emotional.’ But he said to me then, ‘You’re not emotional. I’ve seen you lock in and not say a word to the referees. Like, I’m not giving you that pass.’ And that’s kinda stuck with me too. And so, like I said, I just try to really be mindful of that.”
Golden State will get some much needed rest as a number of key players recover from injuries including Durant, Andre Iguodala and DeMarcus Cousins. Either the Bucks or Raptors will have homecourt advantage against the Warriors in the NBA finals. Golden State will be the favorite whoever they face. After closing out the Blazers, Curry admitted the team thought about the extra rest.
“We saw how long that break was going to be, and we wanted to take advantage of it,” Curry told ESPN.
NBA Finals Schedule 2019
Here is a look at the projected NBA finals schedule, per Sports Media Watch.
| DATE | GAME | TIME(ET)/TV CHANNEL |
| Thurs., May 30 | Game 1 | 9 p.m. ABC |
| Sun., June 2 | Game 2 | 8 p.m. ABC |
| Wed., June 5 | Game 3 | 9 p.m. ABC |
| Fri., June 7 | Game 4 | 9 p.m. ABC |
| Mon., June 10 | Game 5 | 9 p.m. ABC |
| Thurs., June 13 | Game 6 | 9 p.m. ABC |
| Sun. June 16 | Game 7 | 8 p.m. ABC |
Warriors vs. Bucks Would Put the No. 1 Seeds Against Each Other
If you ask Vegas, the Bucks are still the favorite to face the Warriors in the finals. It would be the No. 1 seeds in both conferences squaring off. Milwaukee still has a lot of work to do with a 2-1 lead on the Raptors, but it would present the top two teams over the NBA season against each other. Either way, we know the Warriors will face a difficult test against either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard.
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Warriors vs. Bucks/Raptors: NBA Finals Opponent & Schedule