Raptors launch title defense with little respect, few expectations
By Phil Watson
You have to go back to the 20th century to find a defending NBA champion being written off, but that’s where the Toronto Raptors start from in 2019-20.
The last time the defending champions of the NBA got this little respect, Michael Jordan had just retired for the second time. But for the Toronto Raptors, there are few expectations they can follow up their 2019 NBA title with a second consecutive Larry O’Brien Trophy next June.
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The Raptors rode a playoff performance for the ages from Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to the franchise’s first championship, dethroning the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in six games.
And therein lies the rub. Leonard decided that Board Man would get paid by the LA Clippers. Danny Green — second in the NBA in 3-point shooting last season and acquired with Leonard in the July 2018 blockbuster trade that sent the Raptors’ all-time leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, to the San Antonio Spurs — also headed west to the Los Angeles Lakers.
So other than losing a two-time Finals MVP and 40 percent of your starting lineup, how was your summer?
The Raptors didn’t make any big, splashy moves this summer, opting to fit rotational pieces into the gaps in the roster and banking on (a) Pascal Siakam being ready to be the guy rather than just a guy and (b) Norman Powell showing he can make the leap to the first unit.
Toronto did sign Kyle Lowry to a one-year, $31 million extension to keep him locked in through the 2020-21 season, but otherwise their moves this summer were not huge. There was no home-run swing in an effort to replace Leonard with another superstar.
Coach Nick Nurse enters his second season after guiding the Raptors to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season, but Nurse was able to succeed in the postseason where his predecessor — former Coach of the Year Dwane Casey — could not.
There still seem to be more questions than answers for the Raptors with the season opener — and the banner and ring ceremony, which should be lit — just around the corner.
So what can we expect from the down-but-not-out champs in 2019-20?