Raptors: Kevin Durant expecting tough challenge from Toronto fans

The Toronto Raptors saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night against a solid Cavaliers team, but they don’t have a ton of time to sit around and sulk. Raptors fans will see their team embark on a brutal stretch of games that includes a tussle with Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. 

While Toronto hasn’t necessarily been dominant, nor in possession of the same championship expectations placed on Durant and the Nets, they did start the season off at 6-4 despite some very unfortunate injury luck. They should give Brooklyn all they can handle.

Last year’s temporary home in Tampa was just not conducive to enjoyable basketball. While the Raptors playing hours away from home and practicing in a hotel ballroom, opposing teams were greeted wuth a half-empty arena filled by fans without much of a dog in the fight. That won’t be the case on Sunday.

Durant is expecting to see a “ridiculous” crowd when he returns to Toronto, claiming that that the Raptors are a good team that Brooklyn will use to measure themselves against. With the Nets still trying to generate offense in a consistent fashion, Toronto’s home-court advantage might be enough to push them to victory if everything goes their way.

Kevin Durant is excited to play in front of Toronto Raptors fans.

In his career, Durant has averaged 29.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game in road games against the Raptors. While the raucous home environment might be too much for some players to handle, KD is one of the few that has been able to withstand the nonstop cheering and noise inherent in any Raptors home game.

While the Raptors did beat Brooklyn in two of their three meetings last year, neither team was on equal footing. Injuries sidelined every member of the Nets’ three superstars for large chunks of time, and with the Raptors dealing with their forced relocation to Tampa, neither team really gave their opponent their best shot.

James Harden seems to cosign Durant’s opinion, calling the Raptors “one of the best fanbases.” Harden has yet to play in Toronto as a member of the Nets, but he surely remembers what it’s like from his days in Houston.

Even without Kyrie Irving due to his ill-conceived vaccine protest, the Nets have one of the best collections of offensive firepower in the entire NBA, and even a defense that is as stout as Toronto may have some issues with them. It’ll be on the fans to scream their heart’s out and make life tough for Brooklyn.