You knew this was going to happen, right?
The past few weeks for the Toronto Raptors have been quite uncharacteristic — which is saying a lot considering the fake season in Tampa. The Raptors had been the league’s worst-ranked defense and were playing like a lottery team.
As the saying goes, the regular season is a marathon, not a sprint. While Toronto was experiencing the valley-est of valleys, they now look to be on the ascent of a promising peak. Fred VanVleet is looking very All-Star-worthy. The defense is looking much more coordinated. And the schedule is very home-friendly in December.