It’s tempting to assume the Raptors are all the way back. Why not? They absolutely exploded in the second half of Friday night’s Kings game, with most everyone who played making some sort of positive impact. What’s more, Toronto did it without Kyle Lowry, the team’s most obvious engine of success. Taken altogether, it’s not hard to believe that energy could now carry over into tonight’s showdown with the Golden State Warriors.
These are not the capital-W Warriors, but they still employ a healthy Steph Curry and Draymond Green, which counts for a lot. In fact, the team currently has a better record than Toronto’s, achieving their 5-4 standing with a few recent big wins — including, ah-ha, an explosive outing against those aforementioned Kings, and a solid victory over the Clippers on Friday in which Curry put up 38 points.