Season Predictions
Regular Season: The Raptors are defying odds somewhat yet again, as they compete for the #2 seed in the East as the regular season winds down. Led by one of the better backcourt duos in the league with stars PG Kyle Lowry and SG/SF DeMar DeRozan, Toronto also features many other key players in propelling them to their current stance. They look to beat out Cleveland and Chicago for the spot behind Atlanta in terms of seeding out East. This seems likely, as Chicago recently lost superstar PG Derrick Rose to yet another injury (prayers to him), while the Cavaliers continue to sort out some chemistry issues and may even rest their starters towards the end of the regular season. The pieces are all there for Toronto to one-up themselves from their #3 seed last year.
Projected Record: 53-27
Playoffs Round One
Toronto Raptors (#2) vs. Miami Heat (#7)
This is actually a much closer matchup than the seeds indicate. Toronto is inches away from falling to #4, while the Heat could easily be that high if they weren’t constantly ravaged by injuries throughout the season. Unfortunately for Miami, those injuries lead into the playoffs, as superstar PF/C Chris Bosh is out for the season with scary blood clots on his lungs (prayers to him). Still, their backcourt featuring stars PG/SG Goran Dragic and SG/PG Dwyane Wade should make for a very interesting battle with Lowry and DeRozan, as the two best guard duos in the league (not named “The Splash Brothers”) go at it. Miami might have a little bit of an edge in that department actually, just due to their advantage in playoff experience and especially for the three-time champion Wade, but I’ll say they cancel out. The Heat’s small forward, Luol Deng, has plenty of playoff experience from his days as a Chicago Bull and is superior to whatever combination of SF/PF James Johnson and SG/SF Terrence Ross the Raptors can throw at him. Up front, Miami lacks depth at power forward after injuries to Bosh and backup PF Josh McRoberts, but still has the emerging star C Hassan Whiteside. Though Raptors C Jonas Valunciunas matches up well with Whiteside, this is more than enough to cover for Miami’s lack of a power forward. The Heat do have plenty of new additions on their roster and actually lack some chemistry compared to Toronto, but make it up with a considerable edge in playoff experience. Toronto is absolutely capable of winning this series, as they have home court advantage as well as a few others, such as Wade’s shaky knees. However, as the Brooklyn Nets showed last year, if you have the playoff experience, despite the age, you can beat the Raptors. A thrilling series to watch, no doubt, but I believe Miami can pull off the upset. Toronto will be back next year, and you can bet Lowry will be hungry to capture that elusive playoff win.
Series Prediction: Miami wins 4-3
Regular Season: The Raptors are defying odds somewhat yet again, as they compete for the #2 seed in the East as the regular season winds down. Led by one of the better backcourt duos in the league with stars PG Kyle Lowry and SG/SF DeMar DeRozan, Toronto also features many other key players in propelling them to their current stance. They look to beat out Cleveland and Chicago for the spot behind Atlanta in terms of seeding out East. This seems likely, as Chicago recently lost superstar PG Derrick Rose to yet another injury (prayers to him), while the Cavaliers continue to sort out some chemistry issues and may even rest their starters towards the end of the regular season. The pieces are all there for Toronto to one-up themselves from their #3 seed last year.
Projected Record: 53-27
Playoffs Round One
Toronto Raptors (#2) vs. Miami Heat (#7)
This is actually a much closer matchup than the seeds indicate. Toronto is inches away from falling to #4, while the Heat could easily be that high if they weren’t constantly ravaged by injuries throughout the season. Unfortunately for Miami, those injuries lead into the playoffs, as superstar PF/C Chris Bosh is out for the season with scary blood clots on his lungs (prayers to him). Still, their backcourt featuring stars PG/SG Goran Dragic and SG/PG Dwyane Wade should make for a very interesting battle with Lowry and DeRozan, as the two best guard duos in the league (not named “The Splash Brothers”) go at it. Miami might have a little bit of an edge in that department actually, just due to their advantage in playoff experience and especially for the three-time champion Wade, but I’ll say they cancel out. The Heat’s small forward, Luol Deng, has plenty of playoff experience from his days as a Chicago Bull and is superior to whatever combination of SF/PF James Johnson and SG/SF Terrence Ross the Raptors can throw at him. Up front, Miami lacks depth at power forward after injuries to Bosh and backup PF Josh McRoberts, but still has the emerging star C Hassan Whiteside. Though Raptors C Jonas Valunciunas matches up well with Whiteside, this is more than enough to cover for Miami’s lack of a power forward. The Heat do have plenty of new additions on their roster and actually lack some chemistry compared to Toronto, but make it up with a considerable edge in playoff experience. Toronto is absolutely capable of winning this series, as they have home court advantage as well as a few others, such as Wade’s shaky knees. However, as the Brooklyn Nets showed last year, if you have the playoff experience, despite the age, you can beat the Raptors. A thrilling series to watch, no doubt, but I believe Miami can pull off the upset. Toronto will be back next year, and you can bet Lowry will be hungry to capture that elusive playoff win.
Series Prediction: Miami wins 4-3