The Toronto Raptors Are The Biggest Threat To The Cavs
The Toronto Raptors are the biggest threat to knock off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference
Fresh off winning their first NBA Championship, the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked great this season.
Smartly, the Cavs have pretty much kept their team intact this past summer. LeBron James looks better than ever and point guard Kyrie Irving’s game continues to grow. We know Cleveland’s roster is loaded with shooters and committed to playing defense.
At the same time, nearly every Eastern Conference team is gunning for the defending champs or even just a shot to knock off LeBron and the Cavs in the postseason.
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The Boston Celtics signed all-star big man Al Horford; the Indiana Pacers traded for point guard Jeff Teague and promoted Nate McMillan to head coaching duties; the New York Knicks traded for point guard Derrick Rose, signed shooting guard Courtney Lee and center Joakim Noah.
However, the team that has the best chance to dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers is the Toronto Raptors. Other than re-signing all-star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and extending the contract of head coach Dwane Casey, the Raptors have pretty much kept their championship roster together – with the exception of losing Bismack Biyombo in free agency.
The first step in successfully stopping the Cleveland Cavaliers, you must have an answer for LeBron James. That’s where DeMarre Carroll steps in. Carroll has proven in the past that he can, at the very least, help slow down LeBron.
Outside of Carroll, the Raptors have another solid defender in Patrick Patterson. His size and quickness allows him to be effective when switched onto smaller players. Expect to see a mixture of Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll guarding LeBron this season – and in the playoffs.
In addition to slowing down LeBron, the Toronto Raptors also have the firepower to keep pace with the Cavs on the offensive end.
Toronto’s backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan is one of the best duo’s in the NBA. They each can lead the team and put up great numbers. DeRozan has been on a scoring rampage this season; he’s averaging 34.0 points per game through nine games. Not only that, but DeRozan has scored at least 30 points in 8 of the 9 games this season.
He’s playing like somebody that is on a serious mission.
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Neither team have great centers, which is a huge weakness for the Raptors. Yet, at the end of the day, Toronto can match up with Cleveland’s roster the best. With the talent they have offensively and defensively, Toronto is the team you should bet your money on because they simply have the best chance at defeating LeBron James and the defending champs out East.