Toronto Raptors biggest advantages entering the NBA playoffs

3. Raptors are a gifted shooting team

One of the things that makes the Raptors so hard to beat is their talent on offense and gifted shooting. Lowry had one of his best seasons ever at age 34 with averages of 19.4 points and 7.5 assists. Lowry is as fearless and tough as an attacker as there is in the game. His dribble penetration opens up the three-point line and allows the team to put up 37 attempts a game from downtown. Lowry is also a tough finisher inside and isn’t afraid of contact.

Meanwhile, Lowry’s backcourt teammate Fred VanVleet is having his best season in his fourth year. VanVleet knocked down 39 percent of his threes this year on 6.9 attempts per game. VanVleet is capable of scoring from anywhere on the court, and his motor is always on. He’s also improved his passing greatly from a year ago.

Finally, Lowry’s all-star teammate Siakam is also a gifted player. Siakam may play power forward, but he’s capable of bringing the ball up the court and knocking down threes. Since the Nets struggle to protect the rim. Siakam should have some post-up chances in the series too. Siakam could have a big series statistically due to the Nets’ lack of size.

Those 37 three-point attempts the Raptors take were the sixth most in the NBA. But they converted 37.4 percent of those, which was the fifth-best. And seeing as how their top seven players in minutes all shot 35 percent or better, they figure to rely on the three-ball heavily in the half-court.