Before Sunday afternoon's contest between the Charlotte Hornets and the visiting Toronto Raptors, Hornets head coach Steve Clifford was very aware of exactly how good the Raptors are from top to bottom on their roster. Coach Clifford was especially impressed by the Toronto bench this season and for good reason.
According to a tweet on Sunday from broadcaster Eric Smith of Fan 590 in Toronto, Clifford said that the Raptors have the deepest bench in the Eastern Conference.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford says Toronto has "the deepest bench in the East."#Raptors #RTZ
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) February 11, 2018
One could easily say that the Raptors have the deepest bench in the entire NBA, and they certainly made another case for it today with Toronto's 123-103 blowout victory over the Hornets at Spectrum Center. Toronto, down 10-0 out of the gate to the Hornets, really kicked it into gear in the second half and led by as many as 36 points.
In just 18 minutes of action off the bench, Raptors small forward C.J. Miles absolutely lit up the Hornets with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from behind the arc. Backup point guard Fred VanVleet also scored in double figures with 10 points and four assists, while power forward Pascal Siakam came off the bench for nine points, five rebounds and two assists in the victory.
The Raptors, who won their fifth straight game in convincing fashion, are now 39-16 and still mathematically have the best record in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Boston Celtics (40-17), who host the Cleveland Cavaliers this afternoon. This team is going to be a serious threat in the playoffs with the amount of roster depth they have from top to bottom.