2020 NBA Playoffs - Potential Road for the Toronto Raptors

On June 4th, the Board of Governors agreed to bring 22 NBA Teams back to finish the 2019-2020 NBA season. The NBA will still have 16-team playoff format but allowing six teams to battle for the final playoff spot. Teams that are 6 games back or less, will qualify for the play in series. Those six teams will play 8 regular season games and whoever finishes in the eighth seed will get their run at an NBA Championship. All teams will be playing at the ESPN Sports Complex in Disney World. It will be very interesting to see all teams playing at one location. The Defending Champs Toronto Raptors are going to have a tough road ahead especially without superstar Kawhi Leonard. Here is the potential match ups the Raptors would have to beat in order to repeat as champions.

Kyrie’s Brooklyn Nets

If Covid-19 never came through North America and both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were out for the season, this series would be a breeze in the park for the Toronto Raptors. Reports have said that Kevin Durant will not play until next season. This leaves an opportunity for the Raptors to come out of this series with a win. Kyrie Irving could make this series interesting if he does return to play. Before Kyrie was injured, he averaged 27.9 points while shooting 53.9% from beyond the arc. Regardless if he plays or not, I still believe the Raptors can win this series.

Luke’s Pick – Raptors in 5

Kemba’s Boston Celtics

The Celtics always give the Raptors a hard time, must be a Boston thing! The Celtics only trail the Raptors by 3 points in the standings so this will make this series very interesting. The season series between the two teams is 2-1 for the Boston Celtics. There was supposed to be one final game left as division rivals play each other four times in the regular season. If the Raptors want to win this series, they will need to shut down the likes of Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. They will need to play tight defense and shooters like Freddy and Kyle will need to hit clutch shots when the time comes. Without superstar Kawhi Leonard, they will need to keep their heads in the game for the full 60 minutes. If the Toronto Raptors are going to win this series, it’s going right to the end.

Luke’s Pick – Raptors in 7

Giannis’ Milwaukee Bucks

This is where the road gets very tough. Milwaukee has been the best team all season with a 53-12 record entering the 2020 Playoffs. Once again, Giannis Antetokounmpo look like he will walk away with another NBA MVP as he averages 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. The Raptors can match up with the rest of the Bucks team but when you mix in Giannis, it makes it very difficult for the Raptors to win four games in this series. People may say, the Raptors beat the last year but we are missing a key player in Kawhi Leonard that helped the Raptors win four straight games against the Bucks team. The Raptors have yet to win a game against the Bucks this season. There were two more regular games scheduled for these two teams so who knows how those would have played out. As a big Raptors fan, I would love to see the Raptors win this series but have a hard time believing they can do it for a second straight year.

Luke’s Pick – Bucks in 6

IF.....

The Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks and advance to the NBA Finals, they will most likely be playing another great team in the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lebron's LA Lakers

This team has been dominant all season with a 49-14 record going into these playoffs. Anthony Davis and Lebron James could arguably be the best duo in the NBA because of their skill and size. Each of these players can take control of a game and individually win games on any given night. Even though the Raptors have won the only game these two have played, this is not an ideal match up for the Toronto Raptors. When you have a versatile player like Lebron James, he can play all positions. He can make three’s at clutch moments and play good defense when the time matters. There is a reason why people think he is the best player of all time. The Raptors will need a miracle if they want to win four games against this high powered LA Lakers team.

Luke’s Pick – Lakers in 5

It will be interesting to see this Toronto Raptors team go through the playoffs without last years NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi was a big factor in Toronto winning their first championship in 2019. Let’s hope the Toronto Raptors learned what it takes to win championships and apply it to this year’s NBA Playoff run.