They're being criminally overlooked by the US media. Everyday my Youtube feed is full of hoops journos obsessing over the Lakers, but the Raps barely get any attention. Oh well, that just hardens the chip on their shoulders and motivates them all the more, right?
They look great. Their defense is freakin'
demoralizing, and if you needed any quantitative proof of that, here it is:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...tle-contenders
That, my friends, is how you win a championship in the age of the 3-pointer.
I'm loving the comparisons to the 2004 title-wining Pistons, but I'd go so far as to say that the Raps are even better because of the emergence of Pascal and the soon-to-be emergence of OG. Everyone's talking about how two great wings wins championships, that Kawhi and Paul George have got the recipe down, but Pascal and OG are knocking on the door in that conversation.
My only quibbles are the let-ups in offensive consistency. They let the Heat and the Magic make things closer in what should have been blowouts. If anything could hurt them, this will. Still, I'm totally on board for Raptors championship 2.0. My prediction? Raps over Clippers in 6 games. Kawhi's comeuppance and karmic payback will be sweet.
You heard it here first.