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Give thanks to Adam Silver, as he has been able to find a way to finish off the NBA season. We should also praise Masai Ujiri, as he has set the Raptors up for plenty of continued success.
Starting on August 1st the Raptors will start to tear up the NBA Bubble by dominating their upcoming opponents. However, the Raptors do face ace a daunting schedule of the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Denver Nuggets. It has been widely stated that the Raptors have one of the most difficult return schedules. However, Toronto Raptors fans need not fear as the Raptors will most likely pick up exactly where they left off and continue to anger the haters by continuing to succeed.
The following article will examine multiple aspects of the Raptors’ season in an attempt create an accurate bubble preview.
Los Angeles Lakers
Statistics:
Stats wise the Raptors are a better defensive team than the Lakers. Defensive ratings have the Raptors ranked at 2nd while the Lakers are ranked at 3rd. The Lakers are overall a better offensive team, although they lack 3-point shooting. Offensive rating has the Lakers with the 4th best offense in the league and the Raptors are ranked at 11. However, the Raptors are a better 3-point shooting team than the Lakers as the Raptors are tied for 3rd, and the Lakers are sitting at 12th. However, these rankings may fluctuate as they were based on a regular season that was last played over 3 months ago. Also, as any self-respecting Raptors fan will tell you, the Raptors have been constantly battling injuries throughout the season and so their offensive and defensive ranking is theoretically higher than actually shown.
Prediction:
The Raptors have a 50% chance of winning this NBA Bubble match-up. However I genuinely have no idea who is going to come away with the victory for this one. The number of factors that go into this match-up means that it is nearly impossible to predict. Luckily for both the Raptors and Lakers, this is a game that they can lose and not feel totally dismayed by. And maybe, just maybe, Raptor fans will get to watch Siakam break Anthony Davis’ ankles again.
NO ONE IS SAFE AROUND @pskills43 pic.twitter.com/p1vYqSxpTU
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 11, 2019
Miami Heat
Statistics:
When looking at the statistics, one can see that Heat and the Raptors are similar in many ways. Both teams rank high when it comes to defensive and offensive ability. While the Heat have a higher offensive rating than the Raptors, the Raptors are a better defensive team. Both the Heat and the Raptors are top of the league when it comes to 3-point shooting as the Heat are tied for 1st, and the Raptors are tied for 3rd. However, when it comes to defence, the Raptors are rated at 2nd in the league, while the Heat are ranked at 12th.
Prediction:
There is a 70% chance that the Raptors win this NBA Bubble match up. The two losses that the Raptors suffered at the hands of the Heat, required the injuries and a shooting anomaly. A fully healthy Raptors team should be able to shutdown the Jimmy Butler lead Heat. The Heat are a very promising team, and they should be a threat soon enough, but it won’t be this year.
Boston Celtics
Statistics:
Much like the Heat, the Raptors and Celtics stats are incredibly similar. The biggest gap between the two teams is found in offensive rating, where the Celtics are in 5th place and the Raptors in 14th. When it comes to defensive ratings the Raptors are the better team, as they are ranked 2nd in the league. However, the lower ranked Celtics are nothing to scoff at, as their defence is still 4th in the league.
Prediction:
The Raptors have a 75% chance of winning this NBA Bubble match-up. This is the most important game for the Raptors and Celtics, as they will both want the second seed. Having the second seed would allow the first-round match-up to be either the Magic or Nets. No offence to either of those teams but they are a guaranteed sweep. This match-up would finally see the Raptors facing the Celtics at full health, and with the knowledge that they have to win. The Raptors seem to perform well under pressure and thus should be able to win this match-up.
Milwaukee Bucks
Statistics:
The Bucks are ranked as a better team than the Raptors in every category except 3-point shooting and opponent’s points per game. When it comes to the 3-ball, the Raptors are tied for 3rd place, while the Bucks are ranked at 11th. The Raptors are the best team in the league when it comes to opponent’s points per game, while the Bucks are in 5th place.
Prediction:
There is a 50% chance that the Raptors will win this NBA Bubble match-up. Their victory is largely dependent upon the Raptors level of rust and whether or not they are healthy. It could also be possible that the Raptors and Bucks will both choose to rest players before the playoffs and could be a couple men down.
Philadelphia 76ers
Statistics:
Much like the Magic, the Raptors are better than the 76ers in every category, The Raptors offensive and defensive ranking is better than that of the 76ers, as well as the Raptors overall rate of play. The closest the 76ers come to matching the Raptors is that of offensive rating, where they are three positions below.
Prediction:
The Raptors have an 80% chance of winning this NBA Bubble match-up, as they have shown that when they are fully healthy and locked in, the 76ers are a minor threat. The 76ers may have been a dangerous team last year, but that is no longer true (ZERO POINTS JOEL EMBIID)
Final Thoughts
When all is said and done, the Raptors will most likely end up with a record like 7-1 or 6-2 in the NBA Bubble. The worst record that a healthy Raps team could end with is 5-3. All in all, the Raptors will continue to dominate and continue to be an opponent that other teams fear.
