Toronto Raptors: Are the Raptors Legitimate Title Contenders?

With the Toronto Raptors already halfway through their seeding games with the NBA’s restart, the playoffs are set to begin on August 17th and fans can not wait any longer.

The Toronto Raptors have shown they aren’t a team to mess around with during the regular season and even through their seeding games in Orlando.

After winning the 2019 NBA championship and then losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in free agency, this team has beaten the odds and remained top of the league.

However, with the NBA having a handful of very talented teams is it safe to say the Toronto Raptors are title contenders or are they a tier below what they were last season?

The 2019-20 Season

There were a lot of questions heading into the Toronto Raptors 2019-20 season after losing two key players during the 2018-19 season and especially their 2019 championship run in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.

No one really knew if this team was going to repeat their season from last year and finish as a top-three team in the Eastern Conference, or finish in one of the bottom three seeds of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, or not even making the playoffs in general.

For me I had the Toronto Raptors finishing in the fourth seed in the East, and I am happy to say they shocked and surprised me and a ton of other people as well. They defined the odds and shut down all the haters saying they won’t make the playoffs because Kawhi Leonard left them, however, look at them now currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference and third in the league.

Multiple players have taken that next man up mentality this season and applied it on the floor which helped contribute on both sides of the ball and ultimately helped Toronto clinch a playoff spot before COVID suspended the season and continue their dominance from last season.

Production up and Down the Lineup

Like I said earlier with the departure of Kawhi Leonard the main question heading into the season was, where is the primary scoring going to come from? Is Pascal Siakam going to take another step in his career and help lead this team or is it going to be Kyle Lowry a guy who has been on this team for numerous years now and help lead points-wise?

This team has always been known for having a very good bench as they were nicknamed “the bench mob” a couple of years back and that trend still continues to this day as they get a pretty good amount of production out of their bench.

This 2019-20 season the Raptors averaged 31.6 PPG off the bench which only gets them at 25th in the league, however, the bench only plays on average 15.4 minutes a night which is 28th in the league. Bottom of the league in bench minutes however still producing in the low 30’s in the points.

The Toronto Raptors don’t need their bench to help them every night because they have enough starters to contribute and put up big numbers, players such as Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, and sometimes Marc Gasol when he starts. (Stats from HoopsStats.com)

Raptors Biggest Competition

With the Toronto Raptors among the best of the best in the league again this season, the question numerous fans and non Raptor fans are asking is, who is their biggest competition heading into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and even in the Western Conference? To keep it short and sweet here’s my opinion as the only teams that can put up a fight against the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, maybe Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Clippers

These are the teams I believe could put up a fight against the Toronto Raptors, there is only a small handful of teams in the league that can put up a fight against the Raptors in a seven-game series and there they are.

The Bucks are the league’s best regular-season team for the second straight year and have an MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster who just dominates the league. They took the Raptors to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals last year but ultimately choked a 2-0 series lead and are looking for revenge.

The Heat have emerged as a young team mixed with some veteran players and have shown true potential this season, and have also put up a fight against the Raptors in the regular season so far. With Jimmy Butler being the big fish on the team, surrounding him with young players like Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Kendrick Nunn this team have lots of skill and have yet to hit their true ceiling.

The 76ers have not met expectations this season in my opinion but are still a good team nonetheless. Losing Butler in free agency but picking up Al Horford made this team just as good and even bigger. With the likes of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris this team has the group to push Toronto to another potential game seven.

The Lakers shouldn’t really have an explanation, in my opinion, record-wise they are the best team in the Western Conference which is led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis with a supporting cast of Kyle Kuzma and numerous veteran players. Healthy Lebron James and Anthony Davis could lead this team to great things.

Lastly the Clippers, just like the Lakers they shouldn’t really have an explanation because they have two elite players on their team in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. However just like James and Davis if Leonard and George can stay healthy this team is arguably the best. With a supporting cast deeper than the Lakers, in my opinion, this Clippers team can maybe win it all.

Who do you think are the Toronto Raptors’ biggest competition? Is it any of the teams I listed or is it someone else, and do you think the Raptors are legitimate title contenders this year?