Although they did not have them all with them or aroused excessive interest among league analysts, the Toronto Raptors are outperforming the first weeks of the season with flying colors.
The Canadians occupy the eighth position of the Eastern Conference with a record of 6-5 after having lost the last two meetings. This is the first year without any of the pieces of his glorious stage after the departure of Kyle Lowry for Miami.
Still, the Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., the recently recovered Pascal Siakam or new faces such as Precious Achiuwa and rookie Scottie Barnes herald a not-so-pronounced transition period. That’s why VanVleet, the team’s second-leading scorer with 18.9 points, believes the Raptors are in contention for the playoffs.
In addition, the guard He also shared his individual goals in an interview for the outlet. SportsNet. “Being an All-Star,” said VanVleet. «I want to win all the prizes. Want to be All-Defensive. Those are the goals I have. The good thing for me is that I probably won’t get any of them if we’re not a good team or one of the best. “
The truth is that the Eastern Conference has climbed a notch on a qualitative level. In fact, the Raptors, despite occupying the eighth position, are only one and a half games behind the four leading teams: Miami, Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia.
Without excessive offensive references, the Raptors have opted for a game much more aggressive and suffocating on the other side of the court. Currently are in the top ten defenses in the NBA, present the second slowest rhythm and rank first in steals per game.
(Cover photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)