Three teams the Toronto Raptors want to face and three they want to avoid
By Jason Mills
The reigning and defending NBA Champions, the Toronto Raptors, are being disrespected with Las Vegas betting odds at +2400x for the Raptors to repeat. However, the Raptors are currently second-best in the NBA’s Eastern Conference and third overall in the NBA.
As a top-five team in the NBA, there are three teams the Toronto Raptors will want to play and three they don’t in their quest to repeat as the NBA Champions. When the NBA resumes play on July 31st, 2020, in Florida, the Raptors will have already secured a playoff spot for the seventh consecutive year.
They do so, with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA. Also of note, the Raptors are a team that wins by committee, with no true superstar. Pascal Siakam is on a meteoric rise career-wise but everyone contributes to this team’s success at a high level.
There are flaws that the Toronto Raptors will have to overcome, although they are currently 46-18 on the season. The team has been injury prone this season specifically their older talent, like Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry, who combined have played 88 games. Raptors rookie, Terence Davis is the only player on the team to appear in all 64 games so far this season.
With an offensive rating of 111.6, the Raptors are middle of the pack in that category this season at 14th best. Their pace of play is rated at 100.6 just 13th best in the NBA. They need to maximize every possession and take care of the basketball but they are somewhat middling in this category at 13 with an average of 14.4 turnovers per game.
Ultimately, the Raptors are a dominant defensive team that can struggle at times on offense. As they prepare to resume a shortened 2019-20 schedule of just 72 games and then hopefully a long prosperous playoff grind the three teams the Raptors do want to face in the 2020 Playoffs are the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Three teams the Raptors may wish to avoid in the playoffs are the Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, and the Los Angeles Lakers.