Five most anticipated games for the Toronto Raptors in 2019
With the NBA schedule released on Monday afternoon, we look ahead to some of the most interesting matchups for the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Now that the NBA schedule has been released, it feels like the leagues, so-called, “dead period” is finally coming to an abrupt halt. The start of the season, though so far away, now feels relatively closer and a little more real. Just like 29 other teams in the league, the Toronto Raptors await their fate.
From now until October 22 – the start of the new season – story arcs will be built, with revenge cast in stone, while other teams begin new chapters heading down not so linear passages. One thing is for certain, just like every year, the NBA will provide an ample amount of entertainment.
For the Toronto Raptors, this season is the start of a new, and considerably interesting, chapter. Without a doubt, the Raptors are still one of the most talented teams in the NBA, but without Kawhi Leonard – the reigning Finals MVP – there is a lack of buzz around the league. Still, a championship core remains and the Raptors aren’t going to lie down easily. That’s their modus operandi.
Nick Nurse has taken the team to new and exciting heights, by-passing the Dwane Casey era of uninspiring and, usually, forced isolation possessions, opting to run with a pass-heavy, pace-and-space style of play that has become commonplace in the three-point era of the NBA.
How this season will shape up with a new cast of intriguing prospects and marginalized afterthoughts will be something to pay close attention to. Conventional wisdom suggests the Raptors are in for a noticeable decline, but as long as the likes of Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam grace the hardwood in Toronto, anything is within punching distance.
There is so much to dissect in an 82 game season, and it’s your prerogative to decide how many of those games actually matter within the grand scheme of things, but there will always be something to pay attention to in the NBA.
With that, here are the Toronto Raptors’ five most anticipated games of the regular season.