Toronto Raptors Mailbag: First-round playoff questions

The NBA playoffs are finally here, and the Toronto Raptors have a first-round matchup with the Orlando Magic. We took to Twitter and Facebook to gather your best questions in this week’s Raptors Rapture mailbag.

The NBA playoffs are officially set. In the first-round, the Toronto Raptors will be facing off against the red-hot Orlando Magic in an exciting 2-7 matchup. No seven seed had a realistic shot at upsetting Toronto, but a young Magic team might give them a few close games.

So what are the biggest questions before the playoffs and before round-one? We decided to ask you guys in this week’s Rapture mailbag:

Raptor Girl SK (@raptorgirlSK) asks: Whose gonna be defending TRoss?

Terrence Ross serves as a sixth-man for the Magic, and determining bench matchups is always tricky. However, the Raptors have a few players who should be able to defend Ross without too many problems.

OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Kyle Lowry should all be able to defend Ross well, but Danny Green is the perfect matchup. He’s a master of slipping around screens, and Ross’ off-ball movement shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge. Provided someone else is handling Fournier, Green should be the first choice.

NBA Player Scout (@NBAPlayerScout): How will the Magic score on the Raptors? Do they have the firepower to keep up with Toronto?

The short answer is no.

It will be tough for the Magic to keep up with even a moderate Raptors scoring pace. Nikola Vucevic is there number one option, with Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon serving as 2A and 2B. None of those players scare Toronto, and the Raptors should be able to suffocate the Magic for long stretches of this series.

Orlando has some talent, but they’re still a few offensive pieces away from being a legitimate threat to playoff defenses.

Lucas Sims(direct message) asks: How far do the Raptors need to advance to have a serious chance at Kawhi Leonard?

We’re all speculating at this point, of course. But if I had to guess, I’d say a real series (six or seven games) in the Eastern Conference Finals gives the Raptors a puncher’s chance. If they make it to the NBA Finals, they’ll have a real shot.

Toronto’s at a disadvantage for a couple of reasons. If they prove they’re the best basketball situation, that may be enough to negate all of them.

Reigan Stan (@kish0u) asks: Pascal Siakam max contract?

For this exercise, let’s assume he signs an extension this offseason, something that seems very likely considering he has yet to make big-money yet.

He’s not getting a complete max. Toronto can offer that same value one year later with less risk, so there’s really no benefit to offering it a full year before he hits the market. He’s an upcoming restricted free agent, so the Raptors hold significant leverage.

For some precedence, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t get the max extension before the end of his rookie deal. He wasn’t this Giannis at that point, yet, but he was as good as Pascal is now and much younger. Siakam will be 30-years-old by the time his extension ends.

Without ever receiving a big pay-day, I would bet Siakam is pretty risk-averse. My guess is he receives something for four years nominally less than the max, perhaps 4-5 million with no player option at the end. He could also receive a little closer to the max, with a team option in the last year.

Klein Felt (@klinothedino) asks: What current Raptor would you ask to help you move?

It’s important to continue to answer hard-hitting journalistic questions such as this, even during the playoffs. A couple of names jump off the page, but I’ll state why those are wrong.

• Kyle Lowry – Similar to the refs, he’d start complaining to whatever leasing staff about how we’re getting ripped off and the elevator is being managed unfairly.
• Serge Ibaka – After moving, you just want to get a couple of pizzas and relax. All of a sudden Serge is whipping up some Bull Testicles in your new kitchen.
• Jeremy Lin – You think you’re getting a really good mover before he shows up. Except when he comes he is a complete disappointment. Anything he tries to throw in the trash basket misses by six feet.

The final answer is OG Anunoby. Quiet, strong, and someone who just does his job. OG might even make first-team All-NBA movers.

Do you have any Raptors postseason questions? Please leave some in the comments below and I will try to answer as many as possible.