Cherish the banner. Enjoy the ring. But if you allow yourself to look beyond the well-earned season-opening celebration of a landmark championship, it’s difficult not to rue the grim reality.
On Tuesday night, after all, the team that brought Toronto its first NBA title will begin its 82-game residency as the league’s defending champion with two-fifths of its starting five relocated to separate locker rooms at Los Angeles’s Staples Center. The departed likes of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have no doubt made the Clippers and Lakers, respectively, far better teams. But their exit raises a question: How do the Raptors possibly make up for the gaping holes in their lineup?