TORONTO - The rebuilding Toronto Raptors were a revelation last season.
Picked by virtually no one to make any noise, the Raptors won 48 games to finish fifth in the Eastern Conference and gave the Philadelphia 76ers a decent fight before being ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
And so, team president Masai Ujiri chose continuity over an off-season teardown, believing his young team has what it takes to — eventually — be among the league’s best once again.
“We won a championship and now we’ve kind of stepped back, got hit and fell down a little bit,” Ujiri said.