3. 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers.
This is by far the biggest mismatch in the Raptors’ favor. Leonard’s defensive performance from the 2019 playoffs made him the perfect player to throw on LeBron James in a series. The Raptors also had big bodies inside to deal with Anthony Davis and the big Laker front court.
On the flip side, LeBron at that stage of his career might struggle to guard Leonard, leaving the Lakers with few other options to throw at him. Putting Davis on him would leave a huge hole in the paint Nick Nurse could exploit.
The Lakers would have issues with the Raptors.
The Raptors’ real advantage would have come in the backcourt. The combination of Lowry and Vanvleet going up against Rondo and Alex Caruso would have been a bloodbath (despite Rondo’s solid postseason performance). The Danny Green from 2019 was more reliable and nimble than the version from 2020 as well.
Make no mistake, the Lakers from 2020 were a fantastic defensive team, and…oh yeah…they did have LeBron. He might’ve lost the smallest of steps from the dreaded ‘LeBronto’ days though, and having Leonard go toe-to-toe with King this time around definitely would have changed things given the support around him.
Toronto’s depth and defense would have worn down the older Lakers, but they did have the King. Given all of the weapons Toronto had in 2019 against a Lakers team that wasn’t as deep as the stat sheet indicated could give the Raptors a win here.
Raptors in 6.