The NBA doesn't have a clear favorite to win the championship this season. That is a stark contrast from recent seasons when the Golden State Warriors were at the height of their powers and were considered as being the heavy favorites to win it all.

While the competition is open, Shaquille O'Neal doesn't see the Toronto Raptors as being a contender. He pointed towards the fact that they lost Kawhi Leonard in the offseason and that they won't have the ability to take over games in his absence, resulting in ‘zero' chance of repeating as champions.

It doesn't seem like the Raptors do stand much of a chance of putting together a playoff run as they did in 2018-19. While Pascal Siakam could take a leap forward, they lack enough dynamic talent to be able to form a formidable enough adversary for teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Raptors are currently projected to deploy a starting unit that consists of Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, O.G. Anunoby, Siakam, and Marc Gasol. That should be a solid lineup but they are going to need Anunoby, in particular, to take multiple steps forward as a player. Spending last season learning from Leonard should have served as a helpful resource for him.

As for their bench, the Raptors will likely use a combination of players headlined by Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, and Terence Davis. There is still solid depth but they may need to add more of a scoring punch at some point during the season.

Simply put, the Raptors will still be a respectable team that could finish with a solid seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, they lack enough talent to be title contenders.