The Raptors have been the league’s best team during the first two months of the season.
At least in the short run, their gamble on Kawhi Leonard has paid off handsomely. They have the league’s best record and Leonard has reestablished himself as one of the game’s brightest stars. Leonard is averaging 26.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 3.0 APG and the Raptors hold a 2 1/2 game lead in the Eastern Conference standings.
Toronto has been equally as good on the road as it has been at home. The wins have come in bunches, with a pair of six-game streaks and a seven-game streak.
While the Leonard trade has worked out as well as the Raptors could have hoped, they’re far from a one-man band. Toronto has four other players averaging at least 13.0 PPG, led by the resurgent Serge Ibaka (16.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.4 BPG). Kyle Lowry‘s scoring numbers are down but he leads the league in assists (9.9).
Young players are also producing at a high rate, particularly big man Pascal Siakam (14.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG) and backup point guard Fred VanVleet (9.2 PPG, 4.4 APG).
The Raptors had a mini-slide recently, losing three of four, but responded with a 24-point road win against the Los Angeles Clippers despite Leonard sitting out with a hip injury. In fact, they’re 6-1 in games Leonard has missed.
However, we’ve been down this road before with the Raptors. They won anywhere from 48 to 59 games during the past five seasons but only reached the Eastern Conference Finals once under former coach Dwane Casey.
LeBron James had a lot to do with that but now he’s safely tucked away in Los Angeles. However, Boston and Philadelphia possess more star power than Toronto, and that’s often made the difference in a 7-game series in which flaws can be exposed and exploited.
That brings us to our question of the day: Can the Raptors reach the NBA Finals with the roster they have now or will they need another star to pair up with Kawhi Leonard?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
They can. 4 horse race in the east. Bucks, Celtics, Raps, and Celts, are the only teams that really have any chance at the ECC. If I was to put money on it I still think Celts should be able to put it all together and tough to bet against Brad Stevens in a best of 7.
You said the Celtics twice
Lol Celtics = Celtics
Celts = 76ers
I’m my dumb head
u forgot to mention philly.
Brad Stevens is a very good coach, and he’s been ahead of the curve on a lot of things. But the league has caught up.
He’s good, but he’s not that good. Top 10 maybe, but not top 5.
I was so hyped when the raps acquired Ibaka because I loved what he did for the thunder. I thought he was done by the end of last year. He’s re invented his game and he’s ballin out now. Same can be said for T.Ross in Orlando and I’m happy for him too. As for Kawhi , he’s though to read. I really hope he re signs in TO but I kinda doubt it.
And to answer the question, which I didn’t lol… Yeah they can make the finals easy. No LeBron in their way. And Kawhi>Demar x a lot
Yeah they could have made the finals last year with no LeBron, they’re even better now.
Except they didn’t and they are much better now … idk if you are trying to be sarcastic or not,
LeBron, who beat the raptors in the playoffs 3 years in a row , left the conference. The raptors are the best team in the league. Even while heavily resting Kawhi they are still out here beating all the best west coast teams on the road.
Raptors are looking GOOD.
They’re solid on both ends of the floor they’ve got great Wing players and Lowry’s playing pretty well.
They’ve got rebounding, scoring, one-on-one D and team defense. Solid.
Looking way better than any other team in the east. Right now at least.
When Lowry plays well, and their 3 pointers are dropping, they’re pretty much unstoppable.
But they’ve been winning while bricking 3s and with Lowry being not great too.
Yeah, Lowry stepped up against the clippers but he had been largely trash for a minute before that. Players like siakam and Jonas have been really stepping up. (yeah he’s hurt now whatever) … this team is so deep
CJ Miles was supposed to be the three-point shooter the Raps had been missing, but he’s been a bust so far. He nailed a couple against the Warriors last night, maybe he’s back on track.
He’s barely in the rotation
Last night was insane for the Raptors. I’m a fan, and have watched maybe 75% of their games so far (hard to get in Nebraska due to all the blackouts etc).
What’s crazy to me is how sloppy they’ve been playing, and how often they’ve had trouble with some basic switches on defense, or they’ve moved to the wrong spot on offense, or they’ve not grabbed an easy defensive rebound.
This is a Raptors team is that – for the most part – still hasn’t played very well yet. And they’re sitting in first place.
This is a very different system on defense than last year, and even the offense has some big tweaks to it with some better off-ball movement. I think that they have to be the favorite to come out of the East if they’re healthy.
I still think that people aren’t giving enough credit to the Bucks. This is a very, very good team with some super-underrated players. Plus they have the best player in the league.
The Celtics remain waaaaay over-rated. They’re a very good team, but they seem destined for a 3/4 seed this year. Though at least now they’re taking care of business in the easy part of their schedule.
The Sixers are also overrated and they have no bench. Until they fix that, they’re just not going to be able to keep up. Two generational stars and a guy who turns the ball over too much with no outside shot.
The Pacers are also criminally underrated. They’re a smart trade or signing away from making a push for the finals.