It is fair to say that the Toronto Raptors shocked the world of basketball in reaching the NBA Finals during the 2018/19 season, let alone going on to end the Golden State Warriors’ dominance of the championship game.
It was the first time that the Raptors had been crowned NBA champions in the franchise’s history, and they headed into the 2019/20 campaign fearing the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’.
And yet… everything has gone rather swimmingly so far.
Nick Nurse’s outfit has avoided key injuries to this point and sits top of the tough Atlantic Division, so far besting the likes of the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76’ers in the race for the play-offs.
It has not been completely plain sailing, but when writing up a mid-season report on the Toronto franchise’s efforts so far there would certainly be more superlatives than curse words on the page.
But how far can they go? Can they join the LA Lakers, Miami Heat and the Warriors in winning consecutive NBA Finals’? The sportsbooks aren’t overly positive on that front, and those interested in the NBA betting at William Hill will note that the Raptors, at the time of writing, are still available at +200 to win the Atlantic Division, +1100 to claim the Eastern Conference and +3000 to win the NBA championship.
Are those quotes pessimistic? The Atlantic Division will surely be closely fought until the final throes and throws, but the pedigree of the Raptors in these big games is second to none.
And, lest we forget, they have plenty of star quality to call upon.
Lowry Turns Back the Hands of Time
Preparing to turn 34 in March, Kyle Lowry is nearer the grave than the cradle as far as elite-level basketball is concerned.
It took him more than a decade to reach the top of the NBA, and yet Lowry is showing no signs of slowing down and remains a key figure for the Raptors.
He is a five-time All-Star, but generally, the 33-year-old hasn’t received the recognition he deserves throughout his career – with Jim Boeheim once describing him as ‘the best team player out of everybody’ during the US national team’s romp to the gold medal at the Olympic Games of 2016.
But finally, pundits are getting turned on to the fact that Lowry is a premium performer in the NBA.
