Despite the departure of reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in the offseason, many still considered the Toronto Raptors to be a very competitive team entering the new season. After all, they are the defending champs, and surely, they weren't going to give up their title without a fight.
However, perhaps only few were able to foresee that Toronto was going to be as good as they are right now. It's way too early in the new campaign, but at this point, it's fair to say that the Raptors have indeed shown the heart of a champion.
Leonard is without question one of the best players in the game today. While his summer departure did not come as a complete shock for the Raptors front office, it still made it very difficult for them to fill the void left by the two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. After all, how do you replace a Top 5 player in the league?
Danny Green and his 10.3 points and 2.5 3-pointers also jumped ship in the summer, and while his exit was by no means as significant as that of Leonard, the departure of the two-time NBA champion is also something the front office could not ignore.
Nevertheless, the Raptors have had a tremendous start to the new season sans Leonard and Green, with the team currently holding a 7-2 record. Toronto are currently in possession of the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, second only to the league-best Boston Celtics, who are currently at 7-1.
Just when things looked very promising for the Raptors, they were thrown a curve ball. In a blink of an eye, Toronto lose two of their top guys during the same game. Kyle Lowry — who has been playing at an All-Star level with averages of 21.8 points (on 47.8 percent shooting), a career-high 3.6 3-pointers, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.1 steals — fractured his left thumb and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks.
In the very same evening — in a 122-104 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night — Serge Ibaka also sprained his right ankle. The 30-year-old veteran, who himself has been quite instrumental for Toronto's second unit, is currently out indefinitely, with his sprain being described as “pretty bad” by no less than head coach Nick Nurse.
At this point, all the odds seem to be stacked against a shorthanded Raptors side, but despite the unfortunate circumstance, the champs were still able to power through an impressive victory on Sunday night against a surging Los Angeles Lakers side.
Pascal Siakam, who has been as good as advertised for Toronto to start the 2019-20 season, led the charge yet again for his squad. His 24-point, 11-rebound double-double was enough to lead the Raptors to an unlikely victory in Staples Center on Sunday night. The Lakers have themselves been on a rampage thus far, but Toronto were able to snap L.A.'s seven-game winning streak in what was a very impressive display from the Canadian side.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, and say that the Raptors are looking like legitimate title contenders this season. They might somehow get there at some point in the season, but at the moment, the sample size is way too small to make such a huge assumption. One thing is clear, however: the Toronto Raptors have reminded the entire league that they are the defending champs, and that they shouldn't be counted out just yet.
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