Hats Off To the Raptors

We did it, New England! The Boston Celtics have won their matchup against the Toronto Raptors in a series that went the full 7 games. At first, I thought the Celtics would win in 5 games. The Celtics won the first two games of the series and there is really no home court advantage with all playoff games taking place in “The Bubble” in Orlando. All signs were pointing to a 4-1 Celtics victory, perhaps 4-2.

However, the Raptors persevered and made it a competitive series. Having lost Kahwi Leonard last summer in free agency after winning the NBA championship last year, it seemed like the Raptors would have attempted to rebuild. They have several guys on their roster who were at one point great players, some even all stars, but are all operating outside of their prime. Two exceptions would be Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, who are both 26. I would’ve thought that they’d try to trade Gasol’s expiring contract for young players or picks, instead he got minutes in this series.

One of the main factors in this series going down to the wire was the coaching. Nick Nurse is a great basketball mind and implements an impressive defensive strategy. It was nice to see the battle of great coaching minds between Brad Stevens and Nick Nurse. I hope to see the Raptors begin a rebuild this offseason. While my heart lies with the Celtics, I think the Raptors have a solid infrastructure to build a great team.

How should the Raptors go about this offseason? Was their playoff run this year good enough for them to try and contend next season? With the contracts of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka ending, is it time to find a new big man to play next to Siakam?

September 13, 2020. Uncategorized.