Toronto Raptors expose Nets’ flaws, Durant situation baffling

The Toronto Raptors scrapped and clawed their way to a victory against the Brooklyn Nets on a night that saw a lot of drama both on and off the court.

Kevin Durant was ruled out as a starter for the game while they determined whether a close contact tested positive. He was allowed to return to the court until the test finally came back positive forcing Durant to miss the rest of the game.

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While this put the Nets at a disadvantage in the fourth quarter, the fact Durant was allowed to play and putting those he came in contact with at risk is the bigger concern. This is also not the first time Durant was forced to miss games due to health and safety protocols.

Regardless, the story on the court was the Raptors perseverance during a tough game where Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell drew blood while struggling to draw foul calls. Fortunately, the Nets’ biggest flaw was on display and the Raptors took full advantage.

The often struggling Pascal Siakam scored 33 points while Lowry also had 30 as the Raptors won 123-117. A performance like that shows the Raptors can make a push to the playoffs especially when they shoot 50.5 per cent from the floor.

Even more important is how the Raptors did their best to limit the Nets early and did their best to keep them at bay when they tried to make a comeback. Toronto realized that if Brooklyn was going to put most of their on offence, it would expose them on the defensive side of the ball.

Toronto Raptors: Kevin Durant situation puts doubt on future games

The big question the Raptors will need to answer is what the league plans to do about the Durant situation.

For now, they will be travelling to Atlanta to take on the Hawks and will be tested twice. However, that doesn’t exactly explain why the game wasn’t halted.

Toronto could be fortunate and come out of this without anyone testing positive but the fact that this is a situation at all is one the league is going to have to avoid down the road.

It’s rather unfortunate considering how entertaining the game was to watch but most will be forced to talk about Durant’s situation which certainly puts a dark cloud on the Raptors and Nets going forward.

What were your thoughts on the Durant situation? What did you think about the Raptors’ performance against the Nets? Let us know in the comments below.