2019 Panini Toronto Raptors NBA Champions Basketball Cards

2018-2019 NBA Champions Toronto Raptors Set:   The blasters for these contain a complete 30 card set of the 2018-2019 NBA Champs Toronto Raptors.  I've always been curious about these and being a Kawhi Leonard fan I grabbed this box when I did a Dave & Adams purchase recently.  I think the 2017-2018 Warriors were the first team Panini did this with.  Speaking of the man this photo has him with the Championship Trophy as well as the trophy he took home for being the NBA Finals MVP.

  Most of the photos were taken just after the series ended though there are a few in game photos as well.  While static photos aren't usually a preference seeing players with the trophy after winning the Championship is pretty cool.

The design is basic but I like it.  The basketball texture look at the bottom is pretty cool.  

This was a fun series.  I didn't have a dog in the fight but it was hard not to root for Toronto who had never won a Championship.  Aside from Kawhi Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam were huge factors in them winning a championship and really stepped up their games. 

Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Danny Green also were key to Toronto taking home the Gold.  The backs had write-ups specific to each player and showed these were "limited" sets.  How they came up with 49,286 I'll never know.  These are pretty affordable and I'm really glad I picked one up. Maybe I'll track down one of the Warriors sets.  I love the NBA and have no issues being excited for players I like or different teams when they win it all.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards
15 - Player Cards (with Trophy)
8 - Highlight Cards
3 - Celebration Shots Cards
1 - Raptors Team Logo Card
1 - Raptors Team Card
1 - Nick Nurse Head Coach Card
1 - Kawhi Leonard MVP Card

Toronto Wins NBA Championship!

The Toronto Raptors are the NBA Champions after defeating the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals 4-2.  I watched a ton of NBA this year and it was so much fun and Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors were a big part of it.  They rolled the dice in the offseason to pick up Leonard and Danny Green for what may be a one year rental.  It worked and was worth it no matter what happens this offseason.  Brilliant move and it's hard not to be happy for this team.  Glad to see long time Raptor Kyle Lowry get to hoist the trophy.  If Toronto hadn't won the series who knows what this team would look like going forward.  Now, no matter what happens, he's a champion and his story is a happy one. It was also fun watching Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Danny Green and Marc Gasol play big parts in the series or in parts of the series.  

The Warriors were great in defeat.  If they aren't devastated by injuries this series is absolutely different but do they win?  I don't know.  What they showed in defeat is amazing.  It shows how great they are and the heart they have.  At times it was Stephen Curry and Draymond Green against all odds.  Props to the Warriors for another great season and showing what they are made of in these finals.  Quick side note - I listened to Draymond Green's interview after game 6 and he came across so different from what I think of him.  Great interview.  Smart dude.  Changed the way I look at him.

Now the offseason starts which will be wild.  Injuries to two of the top 5 free agents may or may not change the free agent landscape.  Me?  I give Durant and Thompson max contracts, injuries or not.  They are stars of this league and game changers.  I don't hesitate.  I'll be curious to see what teams do.  This year's free agent class is historically great and it should be wildy fun to watch.  The season may be over but the fun is just beginning.

NBA Finals Look - Golden State Warriors @ Toronto Raptors

Golden State Warriors vs Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals is a good match up to me.  I thought Milwaukee may be a little deeper but Toronto is an excellent defensive team and is as well on offense.  That said they'll play the juggernaut that is the Warriors.  Toronto does have have home court and we aren't sure where Kevin Durant is with his injury.  I love Kawhi Leonard and he's shown he is the beast we thought he was in this year's playoffs.  I'm not putting my money on Toronto yet but I really think they can give Golden State a good series which is all we can ask for.  And if a few breaks go there way maybe Canada sees their first NBA Championship.  I think the key will be the first few games when the Raptor will play at home and the Warriors may or may not have KD.  No matter how seasoned a team is, going down 2-0 in a best of seven is tough.  We just saw the Raptors recover winning four straight over Milwaukee but that isn't the norm.  Nor is Golden State.  They are so talented on offense and defense it is tough to see them losing.  They were down against Portland in game after game but just shook it off to come back in each game.  I'll take the Warriors in six games but would love to see Kawhi and Toronto take home the Championship.      

NBA Conference Finals

Oklahoma City vs Golden State – After their surprising dispatching of the Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder look to be a worthy opponent for the Golden State Warriors.  They were before that but their ability to defend and befuddle San Antonio makes you wonder how far they can go.  But how does that equate to a series against the Warriors?  OKC advanced to the Western Conference Finals with the help of a more traditional looking lineup including bigs Steven Adams and Enes Kanter playing a huge part.  Much discussion goes to how those bigs translate to what we expect to be a small Golden State lineup.  This works both ways.  While those bigs should have a difficult time playing defense against a shooting heavy offense of smaller players it would seem Golden State would struggle when those same big men were on offense.  Personally I’d rather play up on all the Warriors’ shooters and make them take mid-range jumpers which are only worth two points each or drive to the hoop in the hopes that the bigs can get to the basket in time to make a defensive play.  

Golden State will probably just play their game no matter who is on the floor against them.  Their shooters and offensive play stretches defenses to the breaking point making the bigs tough to leave out on the floor.  Doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten with bigs though.  Still the Warriors have shown they are the team to beat and pretty good at finding their shot, and making it, while playing excellent defense on the other end to compliment the effort.  I don’t see them losing this series but Oklahoma City should give them a nice run and challenge in most games though there will be a blowout somewhere in the series.  Golden State:  4-2

Toronto vs Cleveland – Toronto has not had a good first two rounds.  Kyle Lowry and Demarr Derozan have struggled finding little to no consistency hence two seven game series so far for them.  Still they won against Miami after losing Jonas Valaciunas for the series.  If they can get him back healthy I do think he can be a difference maker. Toronto still needs to get more from basically everyone to have any chance of making this a real series.  This team has been so frustrating to watch.  They’ve given up huge leads, played horribly in the last minutes of games and been lacking on defense.  Unless they can play like their regular season selves I am at a loss as to how they could even make this series interesting. 

Cleveland looks like world beaters right now and some would pick them against Golden State right now.  And why not?   They are shooting like they are Golden State East and with all three of their stars healthy they are tough to shut down.  You might be able to double one of them but you still have two guys on the floor who can win games.  LeBron is still playing big minutes in the playoffs (38 per game) but Kyrie Irving is shooting almost as many shots and Kevin Love is right behind them.  While Love can’t seem to make a two point shot he is hitting 44% of his threes (almost eight a game) but he is still bested by Irving who is hitting 53% of his three point shots (over 6 a game).  LeBron’s outside shot isn’t falling anywhere close to that but Irving, Love and the rest of the team is shooting so well he in’t needed at the three point line and should be able to take advantage of open lanes to the basket.  Cleveland:  4-0