Stopping the Golden State Warriors isn’t easy. What does make it easier, though, is having tried to do it before.

“As easy as it looks and seems,” Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green said Tuesday afternoon, “it’s a lot tougher when you actually get out there.”nfl nike jerseys for cheap

The Raptors went through their final light practice before the bright lights of NBA Finals media day shine on them Wednesday; Game 1 of the league’s championship round takes place at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. And as they prepare for the challenge of trying to stop Golden State in this series, they have the added benefit of four key players — Green, Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka — who have played against the Warriors in the playoffs.

That institutional knowledge is something the Raptors will hope to use to their advantage as they attempt to construct a game plan that will slow down the two-time defending NBA champions.

“It helps, in terms of knowing how great they are as an offensive team,” Ibaka said. “Sometimes it’s tough when you don’t know, and you just go out there and play with the flow of the game. [Then] they are going to beat you so bad.

“The fact we already know how great they are — not good, great — that helps. That helps us to be prepared mentally, and then watch tape to try to figure out what to do.”china nike nfl jerseys cheap

It’s one thing to try to figure out what to do on tape. It’s something else entirely to go out on the court and do it. Even when Golden State is playing at less than its best — like it did for large stretches of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers — the Warriors still can ramp up their intensity level in an instant and go on a double-digit run in what seems like a blink of an eye.

It is that ability to overwhelm an opponent that makes them so difficult to stop. Well, that and a collection of superstars, from Stephen Curry to Klay Thompson to Draymond Green, being on the court at the same time — even as another, Kevin Durant, waits in reserve as he continues to recover from a calf strain.