Pushing the more experienced Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games without Immanuel Quickley and Brandon Ingram was an accomplishment for the Raptors. Nevertheless, the team was not happy after Game 7, feeling like they should have won the series.
They will have plenty of chances to get revenge for that early playoff exit in the 2026-27 regular season and maybe even in the playoffs. LeBron James, who terrorized the Raptors the last time he was a Cavalier, could have gotten in the way of that revenge. Cleveland was one of the teams in the running to land him in free agency. He is a lot older now than he was the last time he played for Cleveland, but he’s still a good player and not someone the Raptors want to face regularly.
Instead of the Cavs, James chose the Philadelphia 76ers, giving the Raptors a better chance at their revenge for this year’s playoff exit.
The Cavs also lost players in free agency
The Cavs extended Donovan Mitchell and will sign Mario Hezonja, but otherwise their offseason has been pretty quiet. They still haven’t extended James Harden, Keon Ellis signed with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency, and Dean Wade also went to Philadelphia.
Wade was a key rotational player during the Cavs’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals. He started 14 games and averaged 22.6 minutes per contest. Against the Raptors, Wade’s defense was one of the reasons Ingram struggled so much to get to his spots or make shots.
Watching Wade sign with a conference rival is a tough loss in the role player department.
The Raptors, meanwhile, could become a lot better
Maybe having a healthy Ingram or Quickley was all it would have taken for the Raptors to beat the Cavs last season. However, they should get something way better than that if everything goes right: Kawhi Leonard.
If Leonard is healthy and playing as he did for the Clippers last season, when he averaged almost 28 points per game over 65 games, the Raptors will be a much better matchup for the Cavs’ big four of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. They were just one win away from upsetting them this year. With a healthy Leonard, the Raptors may not even need seven games in a rematch series.
But, of course, there’s still the chance of the worst-case scenario that the trade for Leonard doesn’t actually happen and the Raptors even struggle to make the playoffs in a revamped Eastern Conference.
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