God’s Plan: 4 reasons the Toronto Raptors aren’t just a tease this year
By Chris Conner
The adversity
It would be a little irresponsible to say people have wished bad on the Raptors. We’ll just say there hasn’t been much optimism. Whether the rosters, player development, or coaching is to blame, Toronto hasn’t been a consistently elite franchise. They’ve shown positive glimpses but never have been able to put things together.
No one has beaten LeBron in the East over the past seven seasons, but there have been teams that appeared close, and closer than the Raptors have. The Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics were the main threats. They all not only had deep playoff runs, but they provided multiple tough challenges for LeBron. The Raptors haven’t joined that class yet, and that has forced many to question if it’s time to break up important pieces.
Instead this season, the Raptors are playing their best basketball of the DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry era. That shows what adversity can do for a club, and it’s an important trait in any championship contender. Detractors may not prefer the Raptors to finally break through, but they seem to have different plans.