Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has told ESPN he was "saddened" by predecessor Loris Karius' mistakes in last season's Champions League final.

Jurgen Klopp's side have made it to the Champions League final for the second consecutive season and will face Tottenham in Madrid on June 1. Last season, they were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in Kiev, with Karius at fault for two of Los Blancos' goals.

- When is the Champions League final?
- Who qualifies for Europe from the Premier League?

And Alisson, who was in goal for Liverpool's semifinal opponents Roma last season, offered support to Karius.

Asked how he felt watching Karius' mistakes, he said: "I was saddened. We know the feeling of making a mistake in a competition as big as the Champions League; it's something that can stick with you for the rest of your career.

"But in life we always have the chance to make it better. I try to stay aware of everything. When I do something well, I don't let it get to my head. And when I make a mistake, I don't let it either."

Alisson joining as a replacement for Karius in the summer was pin-pointed as one of the main reasons behind Liverpool's improvement in form this season. But the Brazil international said he does not feel any extra pressure given Karius' mistakes -- and added that the responsibility is shared among the players.

"I don't think you can put it one guy's shoulders," he said. "The team has 11 guys.

"When we win, everyone wins. And when we lose, everyone loses. It wasn't Karius who lost that match, Liverpool did. This year we have a new opportunity, my first one.

"We will do everything to win and try to ease the pressure of being in the Champions League final."

Meanwhile, midfielder Fabinho said the Liverpool players are stronger because of their defeat in Kiev last season.

"We do not talk about what happened [in Kiev] in the dressing room much," he told ESPN. "I have not asked anyone what the days after the final were like either.

"But I think that having already played last season's final gives the team more experience. We already know the mistakes which need to be avoided.

"We are relaxed. It will be a different rival and our team is also different. We will do our best to win the final."

Information from ESPN FC's Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal

South Africa women will host Australia for three ODIs and as many T20Is in March-April 2020, soon after the completion of the T20 World Cup. The ODIs will be part of the ICC Women's Championship that aims to identify seven direct qualifiers for the 2021 Women's World Cup in New Zealand.

The fixtures unveiled on Thursday also included an itinerary for the emerging teams' tournament, in which South Africa will first host Bangladesh in three one-dayers and three T20s from July 23 to August 4.

South Africa have rewarded their best performers from the women's academy with berths in the emerging team, with the aim to build on their gains from last year's Emerging Tri-series against England Women's Academy and Australia's Shooting Stars.

"We are very excited to announce these two home tours, with more quality women's cricket being played on home soil, said Vincent Barnes, CSA's High Performance manager. "We've seen some thrilling performances recently from our national team and the Australia tour will be another opportunity for them to impress in South African conditions against elite opposition."

The exposure to an emerging tour is valuable as South Africa, semi-finalists at the 2017 World Cup, look to expand their talent pool in the country by tapping the grassroots. With the ICC indicating the possibility of staging an age-group World Cup for women soon, South Africa's step towards increasing their exposure to competitive cricket will be seen as a welcome development.

"There's a lot of cricket coming up for the Women's team over the next two years, with the T20 World Cup next year and the Women's World Cup in 2021, so it is important to ensure the development pipeline continues to produce and that is where the National Academy and the emerging side will prove to be pivotal.

"We have seen the likes of Nondumiso Shangase, Faye Tunnecliffe and Sinalo Jafta make their breakthroughs from the programme, going on to earn their national colours, so that is promising for the future."

South Africa's Emerging Team squad: Tazmin Brits, Faye Tunnicliffe, Lara Goodall, Saarah Smith, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Zintle Mali, Nonkululeko Thabethe, Jade de Figuerido, Nadia Mbokotwana, Nondumiso Shangase, Evodia Yekile, Nadine de Klerk.

Big Picture

With the World Cup wheels having been well-oiled by a mouth-watering opening match between South Africa and England at the Oval, two rather more distant contenders for the trophy kick off their official campaigns at Trent Bridge. West Indies and Pakistan are few people's picks for an appearance at Lord's come the 14th of July, but two teams that have the Cricket World Cup in their blood for very different reasons will look to add sweat and tears to that concoction and brew something special over the coming six weeks.

For West Indies, the World Cup is their reference point to glory, so sweetly timed was this competition's induction to cricket for that magical side which dominated the sport for the best part of 20 years it took them three editions and eight years before they finally let a trophy leave their grasp. It was 40 years ago when they last lay claim to one of these, and after all that time spent wandering in the desert, they may feel destiny has the Promised Land in reach once more.

How easy is it to forget, then, that but for a bit of Harare afternoon rain falling just the right side of DLS calculations one March day, this grand side would have been by a Caribbean beach, watching Scotland take the field against Pakistan tomorrow? Much water, if you will excuse the pun, has passed under the bridge since, and West Indies look a completely different side to that one, if only because off-field matters seem more under control than they have for many years.

The squad seems to have unity and togetherness, something they haven't been famed for, and a much-settled, respected captain in Jason Holder. The side's balance was evident in their crushing defeat of New Zealand in Tuesday's warm-up, a destructive batting display laying down a marker of sorts.

Pakistan have a strange relationship with the World Cup, particularly since 1992, where an odds-defying win crafted the team's reputation and gave them their brand of unpredictability. They come into the tournament having lost 10 ODIs on the bounce, in addition to a warm-up loss against Afghanistan - and a record against the top five that reads three wins in 23 since their famous Champions Trophy win in 2017.

The fast bowling, Pakistan's stock trade, has seen one after another lose form and effectiveness, with Mohammad Amir, once the prince of this generation, the heir apparent to Wasim Akram, only barely squeezing into the final 15. Hasan Ali is the obvious leader of the attack, though a bowling average of nearly 60 since the Asia Cup last year is worrying, and Shaheen Afridi is the only one to keep both average and economy rate respectable over this period.

The batting looks to have caught up somewhat to modern standards, with Pakistan becoming the first team to reach three consecutive ODI totals of 340 earlier this month against England (though they lost all three matches). In any case, they must be wary of a West Indies side that pummelled New Zealand's bowling attack for 421, and the batting is a department Pakistan are not about to outgun West Indies in any time soon.

The odds may not be in Pakistan's favour, but that was the case in 2017, too, when, having barely qualified for the Champions Trophy, they caught fire and singed England and India in the semis and final, laughing the face of logic. The squad that defied those odds carried 11 of the players that return to England with that trophy tucked under their arms, and will wonder why they should be rated any inferior to the teams they left in their wake just two years ago.

Form guide

West Indies LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

Shimron Hetmyer is the second-youngest in the West Indies squad, but is assured of his place in Guyana's cricketing history at 22. An Under-19 World Cup winning captain, Hetmyer showcased his array of hitting ability which he married with consistency when England came calling earlier this year in a series West Indires squared 2-2. It isn't just the average and the numbers - four hundreds and two half-centuries in just 24 innings - but the technique and obvious promise the left-hander possesses. The biggest stage of them all is another fine opportunity to showcase his abilities.

Fakhar Zaman's average since the Asia Cup in September 2018 has dropped down to 32; it had been 76 until then. His strike rate has taken a hit too - 91 against a career strike rate of 98, and so has Pakistan's ODI form in this period. With Fakhar assigned a role of a dasher, one that most others in the side aren't equipped with, his ability to execute it is likely to be directly proportional to Pakistan's fortunes at the World Cup.

Team news

Pakistan have a fully fit squad to choose from, with the only real question being the bowling combination they go with. Shadab Khan's fitness means one of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik could prove superfluous to requirements, though the vast experience of both means neither is an easy drop.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail/Mohammad Hafeez 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 6 Imad Wasim 7 Asif Ali, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali 11 Shaheen Afridi

West Indies line-up is harder to predict, with Shannon Gabriel the only bowler to play no part in the warm-up against New Zealand.

West Indies (possible): 1 Chris Gayle 2 Evin Lewis 3 Shai Hope (wk) 4 Shimron Hetmyer 5 Darren Bravo 6 Jason Holder (capt) 7 Andre Russell 8 Ashley Nurse 9 Kemar Roach 10 Sheldon Cottrell 11 Oshane Thomas/Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and conditions

Overcast skies are expected for much of the game at Nottingham, but rain should not play spoilsport. It also gives each side the chance to bowl first and pit their swing bowlers against the opposition to see if overhead conditions can be utilised to their advantage.

Stats and trivia

• Jason Holder is one of only two captains to have also captained his side at the previous World Cup; Eoin Morgan of England is the other one.

• This is the fourth time in six World Cups that Pakistan begin their campaign against West Indies. The previous three openers saw them win once, while West Indies triumphed twice.

Sussex have signed Alex Carey, the Australia wicketkeeper-batsman, for their Vitality Blast campaign. Carey will link up again with Jason Gillespie, his coach at Adelaide Strikers, for the tournament in England, which begins after the conclusion of the World Cup.

Carey is Australia's vice-captain and first-choice gloveman for the 50-over tournament, and has been capped 38 times in the white-ball formats since debuting in 2018. He helped Strikers to the 2017-18 Big Bash title and has experience of playing club cricket in England with East Grinstead.

"I'm very excited to get the opportunity to play with Sussex," he said. "I played for East Grinstead in the Sussex Premier League a few years ago and now to play for the Sharks in the Blast is super exciting.

"I've heard the fans are the best in the country and I can't wait to join Dizzy and the guys in July."

A pocket-rocket batsman and tidy keeper, Carey has a T20 career strike rate of 128.93 and scored his maiden hundred in the format last year. His arrival comes after Sussex allowed Michael Burgess, who kept wicket during the club's run to Blast Finals Day last season, to leave for Warwickshire.

"We're delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to Alex and excited for him to be linking up with us," Gillespie, Sussex's head coach, said. "He's been impressive opening the batting for the Strikers in the Big Bash and now he's getting experience in the middle order with Australia.

"He can certainly clear the ropes but he's also able to read and adapt to different conditions. That versatility will give us options on how best to utilise his batting in this year's Blast. Alex is also a world-class keeper so to have a player like him joining the Sharks is a real coup for the club.

"I know Alex well from the Adelaide Strikers and he knows Sussex well from his time playing league cricket in the county, so I've no doubt he'll fit in nicely in our dressing room."

Taking part in an "unauthorised" T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi has landed Uttar Pradesh batsman Rinku Singh in trouble, with the BCCI suspending him for three months.

The tournament in question was the Ramadan T20 Tournament, organised by Abu Dhabi Cricket earlier this month, in which Rinku led his team Deccan Gladiators to the title by smashing a 58-ball 104 and then picking up two wickets against New Medical Centre.

"Mr. Singh did not seek permission from the BCCI before taking part in the T20 league hence directly violating the BCCI rules and regulations," a BCCI statement said. "As per the BCCI norms, a player registered with the Board cannot play in any tournaments abroad without the Board's permission."

Rinku, the 21-year-old middle-order batsman and part-time offspinner, was in the India A squad for the ongoing four-day series against Sri Lanka, but the BCCI said he had been withdrawn for the second and final game, which starts on May 31 in Hubli. He didn't figure in the XI in the first game, which the Indians won by an innings and 205 runs.

"Mr. Rinku Singh therefore has been suspended with immediate effect for a period of three months starting June 1, 2019. He has been removed from the current India A squad set to play a multi-day game against Sri Lanka A starting May 31, 2019.

"The BCCI will not tolerate such violations in the future and strict actions will be taken if a player is found violating the BCCI rules and regulations."

Rinku, who made his name initially as more of a white-ball dasher, had a breakout season in the Ranji Trophy this past season, piling up 953 runs in ten games at an average of 105.88 with four centuries and three fifties. He was the third highest run-getter overall.

Derbyshire 139 and 214 (Madsen 51) beat Leicestershire 120 (Palladino 5-29) and 168 by 65 runs

Derbyshire's seamers needed less than a session to take the six wickets needed to wrap up a 65-run win in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.

Leicestershire resumed their second innings on 110 for 4, needing another 124 runs to win. Hassan Azad and Harry Dearden played solidly enough in the first half hour to give the home dressing room hope, although Azad did not add to his overnight score of 44 before he was dismissed.

With the score on 123, Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman asked for the ball to be changed. It was a risk, given it was his second, and therefore under the new rules this season, final such request, but the ball was changed and Luis Reece immediately obtained a little more swing, the left-armer finding the edge of Azad's bat and Wayne Madsen taking the catch. Reece then picked up the wicket of Dearden, winning a leg before decision with a full delivery into the pads.

Matt Critchley, at third slip to the bowling of Logan van Beek, juggled an edge from Dieter Klein four times before eventually hanging on. Lewis Hill and Will Davis edged Ravi Rampaul out-swingers to wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein, and last man Mohammad Abbas was bowled by Tony Palladino. It was the second wicket for the innings for Palladino, who turns 36 next month, and his seventh for the match as he added 2 for 30 to his first-innings 5 for 29.

Madsen, who made 47 in Derbyshire's first innings was the highest scorer for the match with his 51 in the second.

As the Golden State Warriors try to navigate the beginning of the NBA Finals without star Kevin Durant, team leader Draymond Green acknowledged that his role within the framework of the team is dramatically different without Durant on the floor.

"It completely changes," Green told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in an interview that will run Thursday on The Jump. "I have to be more of a scoring threat when Kevin's not out there. I have to -- I really try to push the pace more when he's not out there. When Kevin's out there, we all have the luxury of just saying, 'OK, that set didn't work, we still got this guy to just throw a ball into it and get out of the way.' That luxury isn't there anymore, and also I think with Kevin being out, we're trying to make up 37 points again."

Before Durant injured his right calf against the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 8, he averaged 34 points a game in the postseason. Durant's availability for the Finals remains in question as he continues rehabbing the injury.

"We're not going to make those 37 points again up just by walking the ball up the floor and thinking we're going to have the same trust running the set as if Kevin is on the floor," Green said. "So how do you make up those points? Get extra possessions, get the pace to where you want it to be, get some easy buckets. That's how you make it up."

In Durant's absence, Green is playing arguably the best basketball of his career. In 16 postseason games so far this year, Green is averaging 13.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Despite their success without Durant -- they've won five consecutive games without him, including a four-game sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals -- Green brushes off the idea that the Warriors are having more fun winning without the certainty that Durant brings to the game.

"I wouldn't necessarily say more fun, but it's just like anything in life," Green said. "If you go into something with a little more uncertainty, when you come out of it, it feels a little better. Because you got over the doubt. Whatever doubt it was that you was facing, you got over that. When Kevin's with us, I walk into the arena and I know how this game is gonna go. I know we're gonna win and whatever else you wanna add in to that, I know already. When he's not, I'm still extremely confident that we're gonna win, I'm still extremely confident that we're the best team walking in. But you gotta figure a little more out in order to win as opposed to when he out there. And so I think it gives you a little more joy initially when you finish that game.

"So you may have seen us over the course of the last few weeks celebrate the Houston series in the second round a little bit more than we would normally celebrate a second-round series win. You may have seen us celebrate sweeping Portland a little bit more than we would normally celebrate sweeping someone, because it's a different feeling. You go into those games, and it's like, 'Yeah, we're very confident that we're gonna win,' but it's not as certain as it is when Kevin is with us."

Green also doesn't believe the Warriors should be concerned about the notion of whether they are including Durant enough in their day-to-day activities as he continues the rehab process.

"I personally don't really put too much thought into making Kevin feel included, because this is his team," Green said. "He's a part of this ... everything we've done here, he's a part of. So I think there's so much noise that comes about, like, 'Oh, are they better or worse without Kevin?' Can we stop the conversation? Because it's idiotic. Do we play a different brand of basketball when Kevin's not out there? Absolutely. But you'd be idiotic to think that we shouldn't. We have to play a different brand of basketball, but the whole notion of, 'Are they better or worse with or without,' that's where all the noise comes from.

"And so it's like, 'Oh, you all need to keep Kevin a part of it.' Well, I disagree with that, because Kevin is a part of this. He's been a part of this and everybody else creates the narrative of, 'It's us.' And then, 'It's Kevin' or 'It's the Warriors.' And then, 'It's the Warriors with KD.' No. It's still the same team."

To that point, Green reiterated that he and Durant have moved on from their verbal altercation in November at the end of an overtime loss to the LA Clippers at Staples Center.

"I think I just have looked at it from a different perspective," Green said. "It wasn't necessarily that him being a free agent bothered [me]. We all go through that in this profession. It was more so the fact of, 'Are you with us or not?' That bothered me. But what I'll say is, after I had that moment, one thing Kevin told me is, 'Dude, you have to block out all of that. You see me coming here and work every day. You see me give my all to this team. You see everything, every second of every day. The media is gonna say what they want, but you see everything, you know I'm here, you know I'm with you.'

"And it allowed me to focus on that. It allowed me to focus on what I see, what I can control and not what I can't see per se and what I can't control. And so I think that was just the point for me of where I had to look at it from a different standpoint. I had to stop listening to all the noise."

In the short term, Green, who told Nichols he has lost almost 25 pounds over the past few months, said he is only focused on trying to win the organization's third straight NBA championship. He knows Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is a very talented player, but he still doesn't believe Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs could have beaten the Warriors in the 2017 Western Conference finals, even if Leonard had stayed healthy. Leonard injured his left ankle in Game 1 and did not play again after coming down on Warriors then-center Zaza Pachulia's foot.

"I don't know," Green said. "I mean, possibly, but I personally don't think that Spurs team had a chance to beat us. But they were playing well in that game. It's a seven-game series. But nonetheless, I'm sure he feels that in some way, shape or form, but he's still got to go out and play the game, as do we."

The 2019 NBA Finals pits a dynasty against an upstart franchise making its historic debut on basketball's biggest stage.

The Golden State Warriors enter Game 1 (Thursday, 9 p.m. ET on ABC) as the favorites in part because they are led by three of the best jump shooters on the planet. The Toronto Raptors have Kawhi Leonard, the first non-LeBron star to get his team out of the Eastern Conference since 2010. And both teams boast top-five offenses thanks to terrific shooting.

In a make-or-miss league, these two teams are still standing because their stars make a ton of big shots. Let's highlight the six shot types that will swing the NBA Finals -- the most important looks for each each team's most important players.

Don't let Steph get looks on the left wing

Inside Stephen Curry's most important shot:

Curry's keys to the Finals

Since Kevin Durant went down against the Houston Rockets, we've witnessed the resurrection of the full Steph Curry experience, which is electrifying to watch and terrifying to try to stop. Just ask the Portland Trail Blazers. They watched Curry break the NBA record for points scored in a sweep by averaging 36.5 per game.

Portland had no answer for Curry out on that left wing or in the pick-and-roll. Curry orchestrated more than 31 picks per game against Portland, yielding a ridiculous 1.23 points per chance, per Second Spectrum tracking. Toronto has to do better than that, and it starts on the perimeter. If Curry is getting his 3s, the Warriors are very difficult to beat. If he's not, Toronto could shock the world. Golden State is 37-8 in playoff games when Steph hits five or more 3-pointers, but just 38-23 when he makes fewer than that.

Who will spend the most time defending Curry? Over the past three seasons, no Raptor has checked him more than Kyle Lowry. Curry is averaging 33 points per 100 possessions when that happens and the Warriors are generating 124 points per 100 as a team, according to Second Spectrum tracking. That's not good enough. But until KD comes back, the Raptors have one less superstar to worry about, and they can allot more defensive resources to the Splash Brothers.

In Durant's absence, Toronto may choose to put Lowry on Andre Iguodala and devote a bigger, longer defender like Danny Green to Curry. Green has a ton of experience against these Warriors and should be able to suppress and contest some shots that Lowry can't.

The Raptors have a lot of good options for a tough situation, especially if Durant is sidelined. Nick Nurse made the biggest adjustment in Canadian basketball history when he pivoted Kawhi Leonard to Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3, stifling the world's best interior force for the rest of the series. Nurse and the Raps now must find ways to shut down the league's best perimeter scorer.

Could we see Leonard take a shot at defending Curry in crunch time?

Then there's Klay on the right side

Inside Klay Thompson's most important shot:

Thompson's keys to the Finals

As if those Curry 3s weren't scary enough, the Raptors also have to worry about Klay Thompson.

The Splash Brothers fit together like a glove, and opponents must confront the terrifying symmetry of their long-range shooting. Just as Curry led the NBA in scoring from the left-wing 3 area, Thompson led the NBA in scoring from the right-wing 3 area. It's not fair that one team has both of these fellas! Just ask the Blazers, who watched as the Steph and Klay averaged more than 27 points per game on 3s alone in the Western Conference finals.

Stopping Thompson means preventing clean catch-and-shoot looks. Again, easier said than done, but if Toronto can find ways to clog passing lanes and stay close to Klay off the ball, they'll have a chance of hindering his production from downtown.

Yet another side effect of the Durant injury is how Klay gets his looks. Nobody assisted on more Thompson 3s this season than Durant, whose passes led to 67 of Klay's made triples, according to Second Spectrum data. With Durant out, Draymond Green has been the primary assister on 3s for both backcourt stars, so any efforts designed to suppress splashes need to account for Draymond's dishes. If the Raptors fail to contain them, their chances are bleak -- the Dubs have a 12-3 playoff record when Curry and Thompson score at least 25 points each.

Between the regular season and the playoffs, the Splash Brothers have combined to sink more than 5,000 3s. While many teams have designed defensive game plans to slow down these daggers, few have ever succeeded.

What about KD?

Inside Kevin Durant's most important shot:

Durant's keys to the Finals

The Splash Brothers are the most dangerous 3-point shooting duo the league has ever seen, and they are scary enough by themselves. But another thing that makes this dynasty so nasty is they also have the world's best 2-point scorer in Kevin Durant.

Recall, Durant was the leading scorer in these playoffs before getting hurt. If Durant plays, the Raptors have three guys to throw at him. While Durant is dangerous coming off those midrange picks, Toronto can at least try to switch between these dudes:

Toronto and Golden State played twice early in the season. One was a Raptors blowout win without Leonard, the other an OT victory for Toronto. There's only so much we can read into these two games -- Marc Gasol was still in Memphis, for instance -- but Durant was unstoppable.

He scored 81 points on 53 shots. Those points came from all over the floor. The Raptors forced him into tough looks, and it just didn't matter. The average player would have been expected to shoot a 46.1 effective field goal percentage (eFG) given the shot quality, but KD had a 64.2 eFG, per Second Spectrum tracking. So even if the Raptors open this series with some answers for the best shooting duo in NBA history, KD will present his own kind of problem whenever he's back.

Curry (No. 1), Durant (No. 2) and Thompson (No. 5) made up three of the top five players in quantified shooter impact this season, according to Second Spectrum tracking. This means that of the 52 NBA players who attempted at least 1,000 shots, Golden State's star trio was among the very best at producing a significantly greater eFG than expected given the shot quality.

The Raptors can't let these guys get to their favorite spots.

Kawhi right in the midrange

Inside Kawhi Leonard's most important shot:

Leonard's keys to the Finals

Leonard is by far the Raptors' most important player on both sides of the ball. On defense, he saved their season by stifling Antetokounmpo in the last four games of the Eastern Conference finals. On offense, he is averaging 31.2 points per game in the postseason. No other Raptor is even averaging 20. To call him their MVP would be a massive understatement.

Leonard's shot chart is similar to Durant's -- he can and will score from everywhere. How will the Warriors try to contain him until KD returns?

In the playoffs, Leonard's 55.9 overall eFG falls to 46.0 percent on isos -- and that number gets even worse when he's forced into a jumper (39.2 percent), per Second Spectrum. Iguodala, Thompson and Draymond Green need to do their best to keep Leonard out of the paint when they're left alone against him.

The same goes when Kawhi is the ball-handler in pick-and-roll -- a play that lead to 1.09 points per chance for Toronto (trailing only Steph Curry among players with at least 200 postseason picks). Leonard can hit that midrange pull-up, but if it's contested it might be the least bad of the evils facing Golden State's defense.

Lowry's egalitarian shot creation

Inside Kyle Lowry's most important shot:

Lowry's keys to the Finals

If the Raptors have any chance against the Warriors, players other than Leonard need to be great. Even if Durant doesn't play, Golden State still has two incredible scorers that we know can get it done in the playoffs. Who will be Toronto's second fiddle?

Lowry is a good candidate. After all, he's a five-time All-Star. However, Lowry is not a big-time scorer, and he's nursing a thumb injury. Lowry is averaging 14.7 points per game in the playoffs while shooting worse than 45 percent from the field. His greatest impact happens elsewhere -- all those assist opportunities, a great 30.1 assist rate, Toronto's second-best net rating.

As a shooter, Lowry is most active at the top of the arc. During the regular season, over a third of his shots come from that area. But out of 44 players who tried at least 200 3s from up top, Lowry ranked 41st in efficiency. So while he loves that look, it's an unrequited love affair.

That's his personal swing shot in this series.

Siakam's tricky corners

Inside Pascal Siakam's most important shot:

Siakam's keys to the Finals

Lowry's favorite target as a passer this postseason has been Siakam, a man with a simple shot chart. Blending corner 3s and rim attacks is a strange mix, but it's a combo that has propelled Siakam to new heights. He's the Raptors' No. 2 scorer and a matchup problem if he can find that corner range.

He'll also be critical to Toronto's pick-and-roll defense, which has been the best of any team in the playoffs.

The Raptors are giving up a postseason-best 0.74 points per chance on 1,038 total picks. Leonard, Siakam and Danny Green are the primary defenders on ball-handlers, and all three of those guys are terrific ball-screen stoppers. If Siakam nails his corner 3s and slows down Golden State's screens on the other end, Toronto can hang.

Leonard is the postseason MVP, but Toronto needs to generate shotmaking elsewhere to have a chance at an upset. Siakam and Danny Green must hit corner 3s, Lowry can't disappear and role players such as Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet must provide meaningful contributions.

There's no room for error against these Warriors, but there wasn't much against the Bucks either.

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the World Cup 2019 opener between England and South Africa, being played at The Oval. Please refresh the page in case the blog doesn't automatically load for you.

Australia Test captain Tim Paine says he is not a man of faith but admits he has prayed more than once in recent times for a fully fit James Pattinson ahead of the Ashes series in England.

While Australia's ODI side is about to begin their World Cup defence in England, Paine is on the other side of the world quietly preparing to plot England's downfall in the Ashes series which follows in August.

"I'm not a religious man but I have said a few prayers when I've gone to bed at night in the last couple of months to make sure he's fit because I think he can clearly add a lot to our Test match team," Paine said in Melbourne on Thursday.

"I think the England guys have seen him bowl a lot in county cricket in the last couple of years. At times he's been quite devastating and I think that will be at the back of their minds. I think at times in this Ashes series, if he's fully fit, he's going to be a real weapon for us."

Pattinson is in England currently as well, on a stint with Nottinghamshire which is due to end on June 15 when he joins the Australia A one-day team for five 50-over games and three four-day games in the UK that will take place during the World Cup and prior to the Ashes, although those could well change.

Pattinson has not played since Nottinghamshire's Royal London 50-over Cup match against Northamptonshire on May 6 due to a niggling side strain, missing Notts' semi-final loss to Somerset and two four-day county championship fixtures in the meantime, but he is close to making a return.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Pattinson met with Australia coach Justin Langer in Southampton last week to map out a plan over the coming months, which is likely to include more four-day cricket for Nottinghamshire before the Australia A four-day matches in July.

Pattinson played his last Test for Australia in February 2016, a full 20 months before Paine was even reinstated as Australia's Test match wicketkeeper following a seven-year absence.

Pattinson hasn't played a Test in England since the 2013 Ashes series but a successful spine surgery after years of repeated stress fractures has helped him back to the cusp of Test cricket following a sensational finish to the Sheffield Shield season for Victoria.

Paine was also enthused by the news that Josh Hazlewood was in career-best shape following his World Cup selection snub.

"I think he was a bit stung," Paine said. "He's got a pretty good case, his numbers in one-day cricket are outstanding. He's a World Cup winner. I must admit when I've seen him speak about missing out, I think he is a bit dirty.

"I've seen some footage and some numbers on his fitness in the last three or four weeks, he's in the best condition he's ever been in and I think he's going to be cherry ripe come the first Ashes Test which is going to be really exciting for us."

Paine believes Hazlewood is primed for a big Ashes campaign after taking just 16 wickets in the unsuccessful 2015 series when much was expected of him.

"I think Josh knows himself, he was the one who brought it up. He said he didn't handle it well and I'm sure he's learnt a hell of a lot," Paine said. "He's a hell of a bowler and he's now had four more years of international cricket and I'm sure he knows exactly what he needs to fix to improve how he went in the last Ashes [in England]."

Paine himself has enjoyed a lengthy break having not played since Tasmania's Sheffield Shield season ended late March. He will captain the Australia A four-day squad in England but that does not commence until July 3. Next week, Paine will head to Brisbane with all members of the two Australia A squads taking part in a training camp with the exception of those, like Pattinson, who are currently in England.