OAKLAND, CALIF.—Maybe it was the shooting-technique tips from Shaquille O’Neal. Maybe it was the gravity of the situation. The Raptors certainly won’t overanalyze the hows and the whys of a certain breakout shooting performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. They’ll simply thank Danny Green for leading the barrage with a 6-for-10 onslaught from behind the arc and hope there’s more to come.
And maybe, somewhere in the bowels of Oracle Arena, team president Masai Ujiri might offer a sly smile that reminds the basketball world about the obvious upside of the less-celebrated half of Toronto’s return on the Kawhi Leonard trade.