Toronto Raptors not getting enough respect heading into NBA restart
On the latest NBA odds, the Toronto Raptors find themselves in a familiar position and hopefully, it plays into their favour when they return to the court.
It seems like a customary theme to have the Toronto Raptors not earn some measure of respect when it comes to their chances to make it fair in the NBA post-season.
Years ago, you could make the case considering they had failed to meet expectations but you would think winning an NBA title would have changed that. Instead, the Raptors find themselves trailing a couple of teams in the Eastern Conference championship odds.
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According to Odds Shark, Toronto is trailing the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. While it’s easy to see why the Bucks would be ahead of Toronto since they are the clear cut favourite in the East but it’s tough to see why the Celtics are ahead of them.
Part of the explanation from the oddsmaker is Boston getting some healthy bodies back and a more favourable schedule to round out the rest of the regular season. Sure, if Boston gets ahead of Toronto it helps their chances but it also discredits what the defending champions have done.
Like the Celtics, the Raptors have had to deal with their fair share of injuries and despite that, they have been able to remain atop the Eastern Conference and make improvements despite losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Greem. There aren’t many teams capable of doing that.
Not only have the Raptors been a model organization team on the court but they have also made it a point to be leaders off the court with their focus on social injustice. When they get back to the hardwood, you can bet Nick Nurse is going to make sure the team makes use of the opportunity to get healthy, having options at his disposal that he didn’t have for most of the season.
If Toronto wants any chance of getting back to being on top, they will need star players to be star players including veterans like Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. However, it can’t be said how important Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet will be in all of this considering they are the future of this team.
Regardless, the Raptors find themselves in a familiar position and they don’t mind being looked over and this should hopefully play into their favour.
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What are your thoughts on the Raptors’ place on the latest NBA odds? Can they turn heads again and go on another championship run? Let us know in the comments below.