#1 AGAIN
Midway through the current NBA season, the Toronto Raptors regained the #1 position in the East and in fact they are #1 overall and the first team to win 30 games this season. Heading into Tuesday’s game against Atlanta their record is 30-12.
After being blown out by the Spurs (125-107) they came back to beat Milwaukee 123-116 and Indiana 121-105. In Milwaukee Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam each had 30 points (a career high for Siakam). Ibaka contributed 25, Norm Powell 22, VanVleet 21 and although Antetokounmpo had 43 points for the Bucks the team was no match for the Raptors. Coming home to host the Pacers on Sunday, jubilant fans welcomed the return of point guard Kyle Lowry. He played 31+ minutes scoring 12 points with 8 assists. Kawhi Leonard was rested but eight Raptors scored in double figures. Powell again stepping up with 23 and looking nothing like the Powell of last season. The Raptors deserved the 16 point win.
As the second half of the season begins hopefully there will be more consistency, better defence and no more serious injuries. If the Raptors want to be in contention for the Eastern Championship and a trip to the NBA Finals they’ll have to maintain the motivation to play consistently for 48 minutes. The Bench must improve and the starters need to develop the rhythm necessary to sustain any lapses that are bound to occur. Currently the team is 26 out of 30 teams in 3-point shooting, a non-championship statistic for sure. That has to improve just to keep up with the rest of the league. On Tuesday hopefully they’ll start by showing Atlanta that they’re serious contenders.
