LONDON -- Aston Villa are back in the big time. Three seasons after being relegated from the Premier League, one of English football's aristocrats are back where many believe they belong after defeating Derby County in the EFL Championship playoff final, 2-1, to reclaim their place among the elite.

Of course, the reality is that no club has a divine right to play and succeed at any level of the game, but some clubs really should be too big to fail and Villa -- seven times champions of England and European champions in 1982 -- certainly fit that category. Only five English clubs (Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham) have won more major trophies than Villa, who will play their 106th season of top-flight football when they return to Premier League action in August. Only Everton (117) can top Villa on that score.

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They were also cheered on at Wembley by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and future king of England, and are co-owned by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, the latter a joint-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. Edens saw the Bucks lose their NBA Eastern Conference finals series against the Toronto Raptors at the weekend, so Villa's success will certainly soften the blow of that basketball disappointment.

On a financial level, at least, nothing comes close to winning a Championship playoff, with Villa's finances guaranteed to be boosted by at least £170 million ($215 million) by winning this game and securing a passport back to the Premier League. But despite everything that is weighted in their favour -- history, a huge fan base and wealthy owners -- the hard work really does start here for Aston Villa.

Yes, Birmingham's biggest club are back among their fellow giants in the Premier League, but since being relegated at the end of the 2015-16 season, Villa have had it tough. They have been bought and sold twice, players have come and gone and, due to the terms of the sale of the club from former Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner to Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia in June 2016, current owners Sawiris and Edens face a £30m payment to Lerner following promotion to the Premier League and a further £10m if they remain in the top flight for the next two seasons.

Having just been assured of at least £170m by winning promotion to the most lucrative league in world sport, the money owed to Lerner may sound like loose change, but when you are competing in the Premier League, every pound counts. Villa will need to back manager Dean Smith with substantial funds if they are to survive their first season back among the big boys. Of the last five Championship playoff winners, only Huddersfield Town have been able to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. But even the Terriers couldn't survive Year 2, with the club finishing bottom of the table this season.

Queens Park Rangers and Fulham both reacted to promotion by making wholesale changes to their squads, but relegation followed regardless. Huddersfield, Hull City and Norwich all attempted a more prudent approach, but it only worked for Huddersfield and they paid the price this season anyway.

So what about Villa? Four of Smith's starting line-up at Wembley were players currently on loan to the club while a fifth, Kortney Hause, was introduced from the substitutes' bench late in the game. Of the five loanees, Axel Tuanzebe (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Bournemouth), Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) and Anwar El Ghazi (Lille) have been key figures in the promotion campaign; if they are to play a part for the club next season, Villa must spend to either buy them or loan them once again merely to keep the current squad intact.

Spending money to stand still is not an ideal recipe for playing in the Premier League, especially when the former owner is due £30m of the promotion windfall, but if those players are recalled by their parent clubs, Villa will have to replace them. Yet manager Smith, a boyhood Villa supporter who arrived from Brentford last October, is confident that Sawiris and Edens will back the club with substantial funds this summer.

"We've got two owners who have got a lot of money and are in it for the long haul," Smith said. "The potential now is massive."

On the evidence of their 2-1 win against Derby, secured with goals from El Ghazi and John McGinn -- the latter a £3m bargain buy from Scottish club Hibernian last summer -- Villa will need to strengthen in every department to ensure they stay up next season. McGinn has been outstanding for Villa this season -- check out his EFL Goal of the Season stunner against Sheffield Wednesday last September -- but Premier League survival will not be achieved by making smart recruits from Scottish football. Villa will have to aim higher and spend more.

It's not all gloom, of course. By winning promotion, they can at least rest a little easier about the future of captain Jack Grealish, who has arguably been the most consistent player outside the top flight this season. With a £60m escape clause in his contract, the 23-year-old midfielder was almost certain to leave Villa Park this summer if the club failed to win promotion. But now that they are back in the Premier League, Grealish can be the foundation on which all the other bricks are laid by a club with a big history and big ambition.

It won't be easy, and survival will be the priority next season, but Villa have a better chance of staying up than most playoff winners. That said, they know better than most, and from bitter past experiences, that even Aston Villa are not too big to fail.

Worcestershire 64 for 3 (Ferguson 37, Helm 2-14) trail Middlesex 221 (Malan 45) by 157 runs

Middlesex struck back with the ball after being dismissed for 221 on the opening day of their County Championship match against Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road.

The visitors were bowled out in 66.2 overs after being put into bat with Charlie Morris and Josh Tongue continuing their impressive start to the season. Morris, the leading wicket-taker in Division Two, picked up three more scalps to take his tally to 23 and Tongue also added a further trio of wickets to lift his total to 15.

Only Middlesex skipper Dawid Malan, who had recovered from a groin injury suffered on England duty earlier in the month, and keeper John Simpson batted with much authority, scoring 45 and 35 respectively.

Tom Helm bowled a fine new-ball spell for Middlesex, which brought him two wickets, and then Callum Ferguson fell just before the close for an aggressive 37, meaning Worcestershire will restart tomorrow on 64 three 3.

Batting was a challenge for the bulk of the day in the first meeting between the two counties since 2015 with the ball nibbling around sufficiently to keep the bowlers interested and occasionally keeping low.

It is the start of successive home games for Worcestershire against three of the pre-season favourites for promotion along with themselves in Middlesex, Lancashire and Sussex.

They were without all-rounder Wayne Parnell (hamstring) but welcomed back Tongue after a one-game injury absence while fit again Malan and Tim Murtagh - available after international commitments with Ireland - returned for Middlesex.

Morris broke through in his first over of the day as Max Holden played half forward and nicked through to Ben Cox for no score.

Sam Robson was lbw to a Tongue delivery which kept low and Nick Gubbins was bowled by Ross Whiteley.

Malan, who suffered his injury blow in the ODI against Ireland, and Steve Eskinazi, looked to be repairing the pre-lunch damage during a partnership of 62. But Whiteley enjoyed a second success when Eskinazi was leg before for 27 and then Malan departed in the same fashion to Morris after striking six fours in his 91-ball knock.

James Harris became another lbw victim in the next over from Ed Barnard. Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones added 31 before the latter went for a cut against Joe Leach and fell to a sharp first slip catch by Riki Wessels.

Tongue accounted for Helm (1) and Nathan Sowter - the fifth player of the innings to fall lbw.

Simpson was largely responsible for taking Middlesex past the 200 mark until he ballooned a simple catch to Whiteley on the off side against Morris, who finished with figures of 15.2-2-53-3. Tongue took 3 for 49, with Whiteley, Leach and Barnard the other wicket-takers.

When Worcestershire batted, Daryl Mitchell and George Rhodes were both caught behind off Helm during a fine opening spell.

Ferguson reeled off a succession of boundaries, including three in an over from Harris. He dominated a partnership of 53 with Tom Fell but after making 37 was lbw to Roland-Jones to leave the game evenly poised. Fell remained defiant and was unbeaten on 18 from 86 balls by the close.

It was probably fitting that victory should be achieved with a six. So overwhelming was this performance that England, having completed victory with 195 balls to spare, took to the nets to ensure they gained the workout they required from the day. It was efficient, ruthless and encouraging. As their captain, Eoin Morgan, put it afterwards: "We're ready; we've been ready for a week."

You have to take performances in these warm-up games with a pinch of salt, of course. This close to the tournament, the primary aim of both sides is pretty much to get through without incurring injury. England had some fortune with the toss, too, which enabled their new-ball bowlers to gain assistance from the surface. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's captain, Gulbadin Naib, was the first to admit his side "made mistakes" and "didn't take responsibility" with the bat. South Africa will, undoubtedly, offer far sterner opposition for England.

But it is, perhaps, worth contrasting England's state of mind now with their state of mind going into the 2015 World Cup. Hoping they might, somehow, stumble over a winning formula at the last minute, England changed their captain, their opening attack and their batting order on the eve of the event. They held meeting after meeting in an attempt to find an answer despite the fact it had become increasingly plain that they were wedded to a method - and selections - that had become outdated. Within days of the start, they had been beaten by New Zealand with an eye-watering 226 balls unused.

Now? England go into the tournament as the favourites. They have, with the bat in particular, pushed the boundaries of what any of us thought was possible and they have a settled, confident team. They don't need meetings to find a formula; they just need to deliver.

"In 2015, we had just come out of the tri-series where Australia beat us up and down Australia," Morgan said. "We beat India once, which got us through to the final, but we were beaten again there. We were constantly trying to find a formula that might work in the group stages. We were having a lot of meetings and chats.

"Tomorrow I'm playing a lot of golf. Then we'll practise on Wednesday and play on Thursday. It's a huge compliment to be considered favourites this time. I would much rather that than not even be considered as contenders."

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More important than the result was the latest health bulletin from the England dressing room. As thing stand, it seems England should go into the tournament with all 15 players available for selection. The scans on Mark Wood's foot showed nothing of concern - he bowled on the outfield here before play - while Morgan's finger injury had improved to the extent that, while he did not field, he was scheduled to bat at No. 4. Adil Rashid also returned and, while he conceded he would require "lots of stretching and painkillers" to get through the tournament, he insisted he was fine to bowl all his variations at full intensity.

It might prove relevant that England's spinners out-bowled Afghanistan's here. These two sides meet again in about three weeks on what we now know will be a used Old Trafford surface. Bearing in mind that Afghanistan's main weapon is the leg-spin of Rashid Khan - he was brought on for the fourth over here - that is not ideal from an England perspective. But the manner in which they played him here - taking three fours and a six off his five overs - underlined their substantial improvement against spin in recent times and suggested there should be no great fears.

England's spinners, by contrast, claimed four for 89 in 21 overs with Joe Root, enjoying a relatively rare bowl, suggesting he could prove a valuable addition to the attack with his all-sorts of leg-breaks, off-spin and variations in pace and angle. Mohammad Nabi's off-spin - thrashed for 34 in three overs - fared much worse, with Jason Roy in devastating form.

"It does a huge amount for confidence when Jason is hitting it as well as that," Morgan said. "It imposes our game on the opposition and feeds right through the changing room. The aggressive authoritative way he plays builds a lot of confidence. And Jonny Bairstow is the same. When you play as convincingly as that it builds confidence in the hard work you've done, both in training and in the game. And it gives us the afternoon and evening to switch off."

Thursday's game - against a strong South Africa side - is far from straightforward. But most of the England side - the top six and the two spinners - picks itself, while it seems Chris Woakes, Wood and Archer will form the basis of the specialist seam attack. They are settled, confident and as ready as they could reasonably hope to be. It is hard to imagine any England team has gone into a World Cup in better shape.

Usman Khawaja staked a late claim to one of Australia's top-order batting slots despite an injury scare during their five-wicket victory in their World Cup warm-up match against Sri Lanka in Hampshire.

Khawaja hobbled off the field after a ball struck him flush on the left kneecap. He was fielding at mid-off when he dived to his left to stop a ball that had been driven firmly by Jeevan Mendis off the bowling of Steven Smith. Khawaja limped off the field after receiving treatment from the medical staff but was cleared to bat in Australia's innings.

"It's fine, embarrassing more than anything," said Khawaja, after the match. "It just hit the side of my knee and I couldn't put any weight on it. I'd try to get up, Gaz [Nathan Lyon] was telling me to just lie down, but I was saying I'm not going to lie down, I'm going to get up, but I'd try to get up and I couldn't. My knee collapsed underneath me because of where it hit, I went off, iced it and after about 25 minutes I felt all right, it's a bit sore now but nothing structurally wrong.

"When I walked off I was laughing, I was in pain but I knew there was nothing serious about it. It was the same knee I had a reco on, so we were a bit careful about going back on the field just because it was collapsing a little bit but I was alright when I went back out there."

Opening the batting with Aaron Finch, Khawaja went on to comfortably steer Australia towards Sri Lanka's total of 239 for 8 in the 45th over with an innings of 89 off 105 balls.

Coach Justin Langer has rotated Khawaja, David Warner and Shaun Marsh in their World Cup warm-up matches, as they attempt to settle on their best batting line-up. Warner was left out of the team against Sri Lanka, amid reports he had complained of tightness or soreness to his upper leg, giving Khawaja one last chance to impress selectors before the World Cup kicks off.

Warner's absence during the year-long ban for his involvement in the Newland's ball-tampering scandal allowed Khawaja to cement his place at the top of the order, forming a formidable opening partnership with captain Finch.

But after six warm-up matches played since Warner's return, the final makeup of Australia's batting order is still very much open to interpretation. Khawaja has opened four times and Warner on three occasions, although Warner may have had another opportunity at the top in Hampshire if he hadn't been forced to sit out the match. Khawaja has batted at No.3 once and Warner twice while Marsh - who made 34 off 46 balls before holing out in the deep - has floated between batting at No.3, 4 and 5.

"I do love opening, absolutely," said Khawaja. "That's where I've batted my whole life in one-day cricket. But at the end of the day it is about winning games and doing the best for your team.

"I'd much rather get a duck and win then me get 100 and lose. It doesn't matter what happens, where I play, if I play, if I don't play, if I'm running the drinks, I'm going to try and contribute to the squad.

"I know what the changeroom feels like when you're winning and what it feels like when you're losing and the winning one I'll take any day of the week."

Australia have now won their past fourteen matches, a streak that began during their tour of India in March and continued through their series against Pakistan in the UAE, and then in their warm-up games against New Zealand in Brisbane and the West Indies, England and now Sri Lanka in England. While Pakistan were not at full strength and the following matches were not official ODIs, such a run will give them welcome confidence as they head to Bristol for their opening World Cup game against Afghanistan on Saturday.

"I thought the Indian series in Australia was, from what I saw from the outside coming into that series - obviously we'd lost a lot of one-dayers before that, was a turning point for us because we probably should've won that series and we didn't," Khawaja said. "But they're one of the best sides in the world and we gave them a real run for their money.

"Then we went over to India and lost the first two games and won the series. We all had that confidence even though we lost the first two games that we could compete and actually beat these guys.

"Once we started doing it we got that winning feeling back. Winning is a habit, we say that a lot amongst the team, hence why we try to win all the (warm-up) games we're playing in, just to keep that habit going. We might've lost that habit before but hopefully we've found it again leading into the World Cup."

Serena Williams' opening matches at any Grand Slam are always on the radar. And while the 23-time Grand Slam winner's play made the ultimate statement on Monday, Williams' fashion statement in first-round play at the French Open made plenty of headlines as well.

Shortly before posting a first-round win over Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia, Williams debuted her latest apparel designed for her by Virgil Abloh in partnership with Nike.

This coming a year after her black compression-material catsuit caused controversy -- the outfit drew criticism from French tennis officials that resulted in backlash and support for Williams.

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Let the Roland Garros begin. Here is my French Open look designed by @virgilabloh and @nike.

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 26, 2019 at 6:00am PDT

Williams did not sport a full gown when she walked out onto Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, but a scaled-down version with the words "mother, champion, queen and goddess" in French as part of the print.

At last year's French Open, Williams wasn't only trying to make a fashion statement when she wore the outfit that she called her "Wakanda-inspired catsuit," referring to the fictional nation in the film "Black Panther."

The full-length leggings were also worn for health reasons. In what was her first Grand Slam tournament since giving birth to her daughter nine months earlier, they were a precaution after a health scare related to blood clots.

French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli later said the outfit would no longer be accepted. "One must respect the game and the place," he said.

Williams downplayed the comments at the US Open, saying she no longer needed to wear the leggings because she found that compression tights also work to keep her blood circulating. (She wore tights at Wimbledon, when she made it to the final.)

As for Monday's match against Diatchenko, Williams got off to a slow start, committing 14 unforced errors before dropping the first set 2-6.

Williams quickly regrouped during the break, overwhelming the 28-year old Russian in the second set 6-1.

The three-time French Open champion gave Diatchenko no quarter in the third set, shutting her out 6-0 to cap the 90-minute victory.

Williams arrived in Paris having withdrawn from each of her past two tournaments because of a balky left knee, and the one before that because of illness. She had played only nine matches all season, and so her pursuit of a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title -- fourth at Roland Garros -- is no sure thing.

While Williams showed no obvious signs of her recent knee problem in the early going, she didn't look up to her best, either. Her movement wasn't ideal, and she often reached for shots instead of thumping them.

After her mistake-filled first set, Williams committed six unforced errors in the second set and just four in the third. Her winner count went the other way: from five in the first set to nine in the second to 11 in the third.

Williams will now face the winner of the Dalila Jakupovic-Kurumi Nara match in the second round.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn't slept well since the Bucks' Game 6 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Neither has Khris Middleton or George Hill. There is too much to replay for their whirring minds to stand still: the missed shots; the lack of late defensive hustle; the turnovers.

Milwaukee's disappointment wasn't immediately replaced by reflection. When Middleton took his seat at the news conference podium less than an hour after their season ended, he wasn't thinking about what they achieved. He wasn't thinking about the strides they made or the fact that they had gotten out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.

"I did think, 'How did we get here?' as in, 'How did we lose so fast?'" Middleton said. "You reflect first on the series, then the game, then the season."

One by one on Monday afternoon, the Bucks players walked over to the corner of their practice facility to ruminate on their season. Many of them talked about being disappointed. Most of them addressed the Bucks' free-agency decisions this summer.

The Bucks fell short of the Finals appearance they so desperately wanted -- losing to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals -- but this was a special season for a team that won only 15 games just a few years ago.

Still, this is a team that won a league-best 60 games. Antetokounmpo played his way to being a favorite for this year's Most Valuable Player award. The bitterest moment of Milwaukee's season took place in Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, but it was also the arena where Middleton found out he would be named an All-Star for the first time.

"It's tough the way we went out," Middleton said. "But I'm still proud of the season we had as a whole."

The Bucks' front office has decisions to make this summer. Three starters -- Brogdon, Middleton and Brook Lopez -- are all either unrestricted or restricted free agents. The team will also have to decide whether or not to bring back Nikola Mirotic and Hill.

Brogdon said that he will wait and see when it comes to his restricted free agency this summer. Hill, whose contract is only partially guaranteed, said that money has never been the most important thing for him. Middleton, who is a restricted free agent, said, "It's family first and fit second." Lopez said he would "love to be back." Antetokounmpo was adamant that he wants the roster to remain intact.

"I want everyone back," Antetokounmpo said. "Great fricking team -- unselfish players that play basketball the right way. They're winners. We had a great atmosphere. We didn't have no -- I want to be polite. I want to say the A-word -- we didn't have no buttheads. Obviously, I want everyone back. I am going to let my teammates know that."

Realistically, though, he knows that the chances of that happening are slim. For now, the players will take a break. Hill said he probably won't watch the Finals. Mike Budenholzer said he likely won't either. Antetokounmpo said he will stay out of the gym for a week, or maybe two if he doesn't get restless. Middleton said he will take a month off. Brogdon said his summer goal is to trim down and be in better shape by the beginning of next season.

For the first time in a year-and-a-half, Antetokounmpo walked around Milwaukee on Monday. He saw the buses that flashed "Go Bucks" on the side and the skyways that had his face plastered on to them. The city, he realized, had truly embraced this team.

"I don't promise we're gonna get 61 next year," Antetokounmpo said. "But we're gonna put ourselves in a place to be a championship contending team for many more years to come. And there's not a lot of teams that can say that in the league -- there's one, two, three, four teams that can say that -- but we're gonna put ourselves in that situation for many more years to come."

Murray State's Ja Morant, the most sought-after guard of the 2019 NBA draft class, wanted to sign a shoe deal with Nike, and he got his wish.

After turning pro in early April, Morant insisted on not even meeting or engaging with any other brands during the negotiation process, before signing a multiyear, multimillion dollar footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Nike. The contract was agreed to in advance of the May 14 draft lottery, according to industry sources.

"All my life my parents worked for a check," he wrote on Instagram. "Now I'm proud to say I work for the check. #Nike #NikeBasketball"

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All my life my parents worked for a check. Now I'm proud to say I work for the check. #Nike #NikeBasketball

A post shared by Ja Morant (@igotgame12_) on May 27, 2019 at 8:27am PDT

While he may be "working for" Nike by wearing the brand's well-established basketball sneakers at the next level, the Memphis Grizzlies are expected to be his NBA employer. Duke's Zion Williamson is the presumptive No. 1 pick. If drafted at No. 2, as many expect, Morant is projected to earn $39.56 million over a four-year rookie scale contract length, according to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks.

Morant would make $8.72 million during his rookie season, with 5 percent raises the following two seasons. The final year of his rookie contract would see a dramatic 26 percent raise, to $12.01 million.

Sources at rival brands worry that as NBA rookie scale contracts continue to exponentially escalate at the top of the board, players will be less swayed to sign away from Nike over a few hundred thousand dollars difference per year between company offers.

Nike is in the midst of a $1 billion, eight-year league partnership as the official jersey and apparel outfitter, that for the first time features a brand's logo along the NBA uniforms in games. Over 67 percent of the league wore Nike sneakers last season, with another 7 percent wearing the company's Jordan Brand subsidiary on court.

After wearing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signature sneakers throughout his two seasons at Murray State, the 19 year-old Morant will be joining a crowded roster of Nike athletes. The brand currently boasts five signature shoes for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Paul George, Durant and Irving, with Giannis Antetokounmpo's anticipated Zoom Freak 1 shoe launching this summer.

The brand is also exceptionally high on its rising young core of Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic, De'Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Kyle Kuzma. Doncic, Booker and Kuzma will all be sneaker free agents later this fall, with Nike looking to re-sign all three.

Throughout his short window as a pro after his All-America sophomore season, Morant and his family have shown to make swift and decisive decisions. Morant's father, Tee, was a high school basketball teammate of Hall of Fame guard Ray Allen at Hillcrest High in Dalzell, South Carolina. The two remained close over the years, with Allen helping to provide guidance and advice at different points of the younger Morant's recent rise through the college ranks. Allen began his 18-year NBA career with Nike, before being hand-picked as one of the first five players to represent Michael Jordan's "Team Jordan" roster of athletes.

Rather than sit through a series of presentations and meetings with prospective agents before declaring for the NBA draft, the Morant family trusted Allen's advice to sign with his longtime agent Jim Tanner. As president of Tandem Sports + Entertainment, Tanner has also represented several additional Hall of Fame and All-Star level players.

As the shoe deal process got underway in late April and into early May, Morant followed a similar line of straightforward thinking, expressing "zero interest" to meet with any company outside of his target, Nike.

TORONTO -- The Raptors' Danny Green is well aware of how much he struggled in the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The problem for Green is that everyone else he knows is aware of it, too.

"Just keep shooting," Green said Monday, when asked how he gets himself out of a shooting slump. "Don't think about it. And it's hard not to think about it because everybody in the world's telling you don't think about it, [and] everybody you come across [is telling you] keep shooting it.

"People text me to 'Don't think about it.' I know that. ... I'm not second-guessing myself.

"But just keep shooting, don't think about it and try to block out the noise from the media, your inbox, and everybody else that tells you not to think about it."

Everyone in Toronto was thinking about Green's struggles against the Bucks, as the typically reliable veteran shooter -- Green shot 45.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc in the regular season -- was a dismal 4-for-23 (15.3 percent) from behind the arc against Milwaukee, including missing his 14 of his last 15 attempts.

Had Toronto been told Green would go into that big of a slump before the series, the Raptors wouldn't have felt confident about their chances. But Green was fortunate in that Fred VanVleet -- who had been mired in his own horrendous slump from the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers through Game 3 against the Bucks -- turned things around in a huge way over the final three games of the series.

While Green literally couldn't hit a 3, VanVleet virtually couldn't miss, going 14-for-17 from the floor from Games 4-6 -- after his second child, Fred Jr., was born between Games 3 and 4 -- to allow the Raptors to win four straight games and advance to the first NBA Finals in franchise history.

"I got some clean looks," Green said. "I just didn't get the rhythm that I was hoping to get. But Norm [Powell], and Fred, they got some pretty good looks because they handle the ball more, they had more ball handlers on the floor at that time where they could attack and find each other. They got some open looks and they got a rhythm and, obviously, some of the time, they weren't guarding Norm as a shooter and then he started hitting some and then they started playing him closely and they both attacked the basket and his game is getting to the rim, getting to the basket.

"But he hit some big shots for us. And then Fred, just him just being active and moving ... thank God for Freddie, Jr. He got some good looks and he was just knocking them down."

For the Raptors to do what many think is impossible, however, and beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, they are going to need Green to return to his old self. While VanVleet could operate effectively next to Kyle Lowry in place of Green in Toronto's backcourt against Milwaukee, that will be more difficult against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

On top of that, Green is one of several key Raptors -- along with Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol -- who has faced Golden State in the postseason. That institutional knowledge is something Raptors coach Nick Nurse is hoping to lean on as he begins preparing to try to slow down the two-time defending champions ahead of Game 1 here at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.

"Yeah, I think it helps, obviously," Nurse said, adding that assistant Adrian Griffin also has faced the Warriors multiple times after working under Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City the past two seasons. "I think the one big thing that you need to go in there with is that you can guard them, right, and those guys at least have them played.

"There's a lot of good ideas from a lot of guys, and we certainly open our ears and listen to our guys. Why wouldn't you, man?

"They're the ones out there. They're the ones that have been through it already before."

As the series against the Bucks wore on, though, Green was out there less and less. The Raptors simply couldn't afford to see him miss shot after shot.

That will be infinitely more difficult against a team with the combination of experience and firepower that Golden State possesses. Toronto will be hoping that a new opponent and a new series will allow Green to get back to what he spent all season doing for the Raptors: making shots.

For Toronto to have a chance, they'll need him to.

"I think it's a new series for Danny," Lowry said. "I think that series happened a certain way. It's over with now. I don't think that even matters. I don't think anything that happened the last series matters, besides us finding ways to win games. That's what we take from that series. Danny will be fine.

"Game 1, he'll be ready to go."

Golden State Warriors star forward Kevin Durant has officially been ruled out for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.

Coach Steve Kerr said Monday that the Warriors are undecided whether Durant will accompany the team to Toronto.

Durant, who has been battling a calf injury he suffered in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets, still has not been cleared for any on-court activities with his teammates, according to Kerr.

Kerr also said injured center DeMarcus Cousins remains questionable with a torn quad. Cousins went down in the first quarter of Game 2 of the Warriors' first-round series against the LA Clippers back in April.

The Golden State Warriors face a new NBA Finals opponent for the first time during this dynastic run.

How well do the Toronto Raptors match up with the defending champs? What are the most important things to watch for each team in this series? How likely is it that the Raptors push the Warriors to the brink?

Our experts break down the things they're most excited to watch, make picks for the best player in the series and predict the final result.

More: NBA Finals preview | How Toronto got here

1. What are you most excited about heading into this Finals matchup?

Jackie MacMullan: I'm excited to see if Kawhi Leonard can continue his postseason stealth mission and make this a series. What if the Raptors legitimately put a scare into the Warriors? Does it matter what they do in terms of Leonard's future with Toronto? The drama continues and will only heighten as Leonard delivers more clutch performances.

Brian Windhorst: I'm hoping -- maybe against all hope -- for a long series after the past two years. Although long-term I'm optimistic about Giannis Antetokounmpo's potential, at the moment, Kawhi Leonard is a more developed weapon. He's the basis for hope against the Warriors' championship machine. Having him as the foil gives the best chance for a competitive series.

Jorge Sedano: We have a fresh, new matchup. We knew this was coming when LeBron James left the East, but it's another thing to finally visualize it. Plus, for the first time during Golden State's run, the Warriors will not have home-court advantage. How that will factor into the series is intriguing, and so is the coaching matchup. Steve Kerr's legacy is already cemented. Nick Nurse is one of the more interesting personalities coaching in the NBA, but he's also a helluva coach. The adjustments (and occasional gambles) he made during the Eastern Conference finals paid off and got Toronto here.

Tim MacMahon: Can Kawhi cap maybe the best mercenary season in NBA history by carrying the Raptors past a dynastic team? If so, it would cement Leonard's legacy as an all-time great. He has been the most dominant force so far in this postseason, serving as an efficient go-to guy and a lockdown defender and proving to be well worth the price Toronto paid in the trade for him, regardless of his decision in free agency.

Kevin Pelton: Leonard finally getting his chance against the Warriors. He was deprived of that opportunity by Zaza Pachulia's foot in 2017, and with Leonard playing perhaps the best basketball of his career, I can't wait to see him against Golden State -- particularly if we get Kawhi vs. Kevin Durant at some point in this series.

2. What's the most important thing to watch with the Raptors in this series?

Windhorst: Their supporting players -- namely Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet -- have to cobble together some consistency. As a group, they have a tendency to be boom-or-bust, and there's no margin for error against Golden State. The other thing to watch is if they can take advantage of home court and get ahead in the series. That has long been an issue for this franchise.

Pelton: Whether Danny Green can rediscover his range. Toronto beat Milwaukee despite Green's shooting 19 percent (6-of-32) from the field while starting all six games, largely because VanVleet replaced him down the stretch. Against the bigger Warriors, playing VanVleet alongside Lowry will be tricky. Green's size is needed to match up with Golden State's wings, so the Raptors will have to get some contributions from him on the other end.

MacMahon: How will the Raptors respond to the Warriors' feared Hamptons 5 lineup? This is assuming Durant gets healthy soon enough to play a significant role in the series. Can Gasol match up with Green at center? For that matter, can Ibaka? We know the Raptors can thrive playing big. Can they succeed against the best small-ball lineup of all time?

MacMullan: The Raptors need to establish a consistent contributor besides Kawhi in the half court. Will Danny Green ever hit another 3? He hasn't knocked one down since May 20 (he's 0-for-8 since), and it has gotten so cringe-worthy that Toronto fans groaned in pained unison with every miss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The good news for The North is that VanVleet came around just in time.

Sedano: Can Kawhi continue his current dominance? The Warriors can throw a ton of looks at him between Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant (should he return in this series). Undeniably, defending the Warriors is the most important thing. However, if Kawhi continues to roll, Pascal Siakam keeps ascending, Lowry makes Stephen Curry work on both ends and they get timely contributions from the rest of their supporting cast, the Raptors can make this a series.

3. What's the most important thing to watch with the Warriors in this series?

Pelton: How they integrate Durant and/or DeMarcus Cousins if they're cleared to return midseries. Adding such talented players on the fly in the midst of a competitive series is tricky, but the Warriors have experience with it, given the time both Curry and Durant have missed in past postseasons. Last year, Iguodala returned between Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals. Golden State even managed such a transition with Kerr when he came back to the sideline before Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

Sedano: Durant's health is clearly the most important factor in this series. If he's healthy, it's probably not very competitive. If he isn't, the series will be prolonged. As great as Curry, Thompson and Green have been in his absence, the Warriors have outscored opponents by about five points per 100 possessions over 440 minutes in these playoffs with that three-man combination on the floor. That isn't a huge margin. They've gotten moments or minutes from Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook and Kevon Looney while KD has missed time. They'll need their mantra, "Strength in Numbers," to continue to be more than a slogan.

MacMullan: If I'm Kerr, I'm plopping Steph Curry in the front row of the film room, splicing together a reel of his senseless, impulsive, ticky-tack, reach-in fouls, and forcing him to watch it. Twice. Toronto will attack Curry and force him to defend. He's no good to the Warriors on the bench.

MacMahon: Let me put on my Captain Obvious cap: When Durant returns and how he looks feels pretty important. Go ahead and point out Golden State's remarkable success with Durant out and Curry in the lineup. The fact that the opponent features a fellow former Finals MVP at small forward makes this just a bit different.

Windhorst: About the only thing in the scouting report that seems to affect the Warriors is physical play. And, listen, it doesn't always work, and it's easier said than done. But it will be in the Raptors' game plan to attack the rim and try to bully Golden State as much as possible. Defensively, this means rough play with Curry on the perimeter. In theory this works, but in practice, it's hard to break the champs' rhythm.

4. Who will be the best player in this series?

MacMahon: Leonard has had the best overall postseason, but nobody is in a better groove right now than Curry, who averaged a cool 35.8 points with a 66.3 true shooting percentage while the Warriors went 5-0 since Durant went down. It stands to reason that the offense will still run through Curry even when Durant returns and tries to shake off rust with the stakes as high as possible.

Pelton: Curry. Taking nothing away from Leonard, the MVP of the playoffs thus far, I think the Warriors are better equipped to contain him with Iguodala and perhaps Durant than the Raptors are to deal with all the value Curry provides Golden State's offense with his playmaking and gravity. I also wonder whether at some point the effect of fatigue and whatever happened with his leg in the last round will catch up with Leonard, who has played 100 more minutes in the playoffs thus far than Curry and 66 more than any Warriors player (Klay Thompson is their leader).

Sedano: Curry. The two-time MVP will get his opportunity to put to rest the narrative that he underperforms in the Finals. I believe that stuff is overstated. He has averaged 27.3 PPG while shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3 and 93 percent from the line to go with 5.9 RPG and 5.4 APG in his four previous Finals trips. With Durant missing time, this will be the prime opportunity to put that narrative to rest. To beat a Raptors team on a roll, the Warriors are going to need every ounce of Curry's greatness.

Windhorst: There are a whole bunch of MVPs and Finals MVPs and future Hall of Famers in this series. From game to game, you'll probably see greatness in different shades all over the place. But only one team has an MVP in reserve, which means the Raptors need Leonard to be great for them to have a long-term chance.

MacMullan: In spite of my caution regarding Curry's funky defensive discipline, this feels like his opportunity to earmark this series as his own. He's on a tear, Kevin Durant is on the mend, and though Kawhi has been the best postseason player to date, remember the play from Game 6 against Milwaukee on which he had a clear lane to the basket, hesitated and opted to pass. He did that because he's hobbled and doesn't possess his usual explosion.

5. Who will win this series and in how many games?

Sedano: As he has battled his own playoff demons, Lowry has had some memorable performances in this postseason. Nonetheless, he has yet to be matched up with someone as good as Curry to this point. Couple that with the different looks the Warriors can throw at Kawhi, and I have Warriors in six.

MacMullan: I'm taking the Warriors in six, but my respect for what Toronto has accomplished in these playoffs is immense. The Raptors are tough, together, resilient, well-coached and unflappable. They came back from 15 down twice to kick Milwaukee to the curb, and they believe they belong here. What more can you ask?

Windhorst: I don't make predictions, but I'd strongly advise the Raptors to not think they can survive playing from behind early in the series again. They survived being down 2-1 and 2-0 in the past two rounds, but I wouldn't bet on pulling something like that off against this opponent.

MacMahon: I've got Warriors in six.

Pelton: Golden State in six. Even without Durant, I think the Warriors are capable of earning a split in Toronto, putting themselves in position to close out the series by winning three games at Oracle Arena. As good as the Raptors have been defensively in the postseason, I don't believe they have enough consistent scoring threats to keep up with Golden State's higher-octane attack.