Toronto Raptors 112-117 Golden State Warriors: 5 talking points

Who would have predicted the Golden State Warriors to be 3-2 after five games in the 2017-18 regular season? I think it's safe to say, nobody.

Yet here they are, two losses in five games and sneaking in two of three wins so far. Golden State's room for error is so big and that's what has been saving them. They are not playing championship level basketball right now but their short hot scoring bursts as a team have been enough for them to register comeback wins against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Toronto Raptors.

Another huge problem for the Warriors is giving up leads. Last year, they were the best in the league at wrapping up games midway through the third quarter and then their bench would seal the deal. This year, although it's a small sample size, they've given up huge double-digit leads twice in three wins.

On Wednesday night (Thursday IST), against the Raptors, they did so again. The game became an exciting contest right until the final buzzer. We present to you the biggest talking points from the game:

#5 Klay Thompson's pledge to charity

Klay Thompson

The Toronto game was part of a 3-game home stand for the Warriors. Their starting shooting guard Klay Thompson wanted to make the most of it. Pledging money to charity to deal with the wildfires that Northern California has suffered in the early part of October.

During our next 3 home games, I'm pledging $1000 per point to North Bay fire relief. Join me by pledging any amount: https://t.co/IRUXEdItDM pic.twitter.com/oTAbssc1I5

— klay thompson (@KlayThompson) October 20, 2017

It's a great initiative by Thompson. After one game, courtesy of his 22 points, his contribution is at $22,000. The two remaining games from this homestand are against the Washington Wizards on Friday (Saturday morning IST) and the Detroit Pistons on Sunday (Monday morning IST).

#4 Late run saves clumsy Warriors

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant combined for a late 10-0 run to save the game.

With three minutes to go, the Warriors were down by five (122-107). Then. similar to their run in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals, Golden State went on a 10-0 run to save the game. Stephen Curry scored seven of those points while Kevin Durant knocked in a clutch three from the left wing to ensure the Warriors have a winning record for the first time this season.

They had left it late even against the Rockets, however there Durant's potential game-winning shot was called off as it was too late.

Going by the culture of the franchise, there should be no fear that leaving it late becomes a habit for this team. Having said that, through these five games, it's safe to say that they look far from perfect and have repeated mistakes across the wins and losses.

#3 The Raptors look deep

The Toronto Raptors

The Raptors were missing their starting center Jonas Valanciusnas but still gave the Warriors problems. Midway through the third, Golden State looked like they were running away with the game but the reserves kept it interesting. Forget damage control, the Raptors bench was instrumental in giving the team the lead around the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Backup center Jakob Poeltl was huge with his double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds, which included 11 on the offensive glass. Pascal Siakam was inserted into the starting lineup and he came up with a super-efficient contribution of 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes. C.J. Miles, who was big for the team in previous games, chipped in with 10 points as well.

Rarely does the Golden State's bench get beaten by its counterparts but last night, the Raptors reserves outscored them 37-18.

#2 Rebounding still an issue for the Warriors

The team needs to gang rebounds if their bigs are struggling.

It's surprising how all the recent super teams in the NBA have a problem or a weakness when it comes to the rebounding the basketball. The Warriors are no different.

In three of the five games so far, they have been outrebounded by their opponent. Of those three, they were beaten by the Houston Rocket, they escaped New Orleans with a narrow win and a late run saved them against the Raptors.

Defense wins champions, not offense. So the Warriors have relied on their offense to save them when they can't get it done defensively. That's not a good tactic though as their offense is more often than not fueled by their defense - defensive rebounds leading to fastbreaks.

In this game, Poeltl's energy and fight on the glass was primarily what led to the Raptors fighting back and taking the lead late in the game.

#1 Warriors are still going to win the 2018 NBA Championship.

Warriors showing off their championships rings on NBA opening night.

Get this - It's really difficult to get to four straight NBA Finals. The most recent team to do - 2014 Miami Heat - collapsed and looked tired in their Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs. The grind to among the last two teams standing in June is a mental and physical grind.

Add to that, the Warriors' striving for 73 wins in the 2015-16 regular season. It's a tough road and these are just small bumps because the Warriors' culture and attitude is built around winning and winning together.

They'll take their time to find their stride and get into a rhythm but they've deserved that. The Warriors have the confidence that irrespective of their seed in the Playoffs, they just need to be healthy to win the jewellery in June.