Raptors HQ (2019)
Josh joined Raptors HQ during the 2017-2018 season; following that season, the Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard and went on to win the 2019 NBA championship. Pretty good timing!
The following six articles are highlights from Josh’s coverage of the 2019 NBA Playoffs, and from the lingering championship afterglow.
The Shot Revisited: You just can’t skip a Game 7
On the anniversary of Kawhi Leonard’s miracle four-bounce game winner, Josh wrote about how even fans feel the pressure of a Game 7, how that pressure made him remember the last time he attended a Game 7, and how it made him consider — momentarily — not attending this one.
Five thoughts on last night’s Game 6: Raptors 100, Bucks 94
As he does for every Raptors game, Josh wrote a Five Thoughts recap following the Raptors’ emotional, series-clinching win against the Milwaukee Bucks — a win that sent the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Finals.
This article was selected for “Best of SB Nation NBA.”
Five thoughts on last night’s Game 1: Raptors 118, Warriors 109
Josh continued his Five Thoughts column through the 2019 NBA Finals. This entry, following Game 1, attempted to capture the feeling of being at an NBA Finals game — Josh’s first, the Raptors’ first, and the first ever held outside the United States.
This article was selected for “Best of SB Nation NBA.”
10 Straight: Kawhi Leonard’s Forgotten-yet-Unforgettable Game 5 Run
Kawhi Leonard nearly won Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals all by himself. Josh wrote about how time stood still as Leonard unleashed one of the great fourth-quarter scoring outbursts ever.
A strange, new feeling: On the end of a winning season (finally)
Following Toronto’s victory in the 2019 NBA Finals, it took Josh a while to figure out exactly what it was he was feeling. The Raptors had never won an NBA title before, obviously, making this experience an entirely new one.
Waiting for the glorious release of emotions in Game 6 of the 2019 Finals
For SB Nation’s “Sports Moments that Made you Cry” series, Josh wrote about how the long delay in the final minutes of the 2019 NBA Finals robbed the Raptors’ victory of much of its emotion… at least for little while.
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