Toronto Raptors: Previewing the five most important games of November

The Toronto Raptors have begun the season hot, setting a new franchise record for the longest unbeaten streak to begin the year. A jam-packed November is highlighted by five key matchups.

Last year, the Toronto Raptors began their season with a 4-2 record through the first month, the pair of losses coming to San Antonio and Golden State.

With wins in not only their three biggest games of October this year but seven of their first eight games, the Raptors are looking like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Alongside the team success, the Raptors boast two of the East’s leading stars thus far in Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry. With the former being recently added, the chemistry displayed by the team thus far is ahead of schedule.

Leonard has led the team offensively, scoring 31 per game on an efficient 61-percent true-shooting percentage. With a hamstring injury limiting him to nine games last year, the forward has been forced to take multiple rest games already. With the regular season rendering secondary fpr the Raptors, the trend figures to continue.

The other star for the team, Lowry, has already shown growth in new Coach Nick Nurse’s system. The ability to facilitate in Nurse’s spacing offense has allowed the guard to average 18.5 points and 11.1 assists, with the passing numbers serving as career highs. The average also puts him atop the NBA leaderboard.

With the two leading the way, the Raptors produced the third highest offensive rating in the league, adding to the league’s fifth highest net rating.

With eight of their 82 games decided thus far, here are the five matchups that will headline the team’s second month: