The Toronto Raptors have surprisingly established themselves as one the elite teams in the Eastern conference and perhaps throughout the entire league after a stellar first half of the 2017-18 NBA season. In fact, they currently own the NBA's best record. However, not everyone is impressed with their 41-16 start.
During a public shootaround before the All-Star Game, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard DeMar DeRozan were discussing their marvelous start. But that is when Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Jimmy Butler crashed the interview to jokingly belittle their effort thus far.
Before pitchforks are thrown, keep in mind that Butler was only playing around as evidenced by the reaction of Lowry. It's all fun for these stars at this point of the season.
The Raptors went on a seven-game tear to enter the All-Star break as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It is likely for that reason Butler felt the need to jokingly knock DeRozan and Lowry down a few pegs.
Meanwhile, Butler's Timberwolves have certainly been nothing to sneeze at as of late either.
Despite stumbling into the break, Minnesota currently owns the fourth seed in a juggernaut Western Conference with their 36-25 record. Butler had become accustomed to squaring off against the Raptors' star backcourt duo after spending his first six seasons in Chicago. However, things are likely much more easy-going between the two now that he is in the West.
Regardless of records, Butler, Lowry, and DeRozan will be joining forces on Team Stephen under the new All-Star format. Their squad enters the game as heavy underdogs against Team LeBron. However, they are hoping that the team chemistry within their unit could be one of the intangible factors that would help them pull off the upset. Not only are both Raptors on the team, but Butler is joined by teammate and center Karl-Anthony Towns as well.
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