Maybe Kawhi Leonard can be better, even after laying waste to a city for a day. (Best player in the world suddenly seems closer than it used to, right?) And maybe Pascal Siakam can be better, even as he creates seemingly new shots out of the air. (They are not all new shots.) It’s possible, though tricky to count on.
But after the Toronto Raptors crushed the Philadelphia 76ers 108-95 in Game 1 of their much-anticipated second-round series, you got the sense that the Raptors can still improve. They haven’t all spent the season working together, so they are improvising as they go, under escalating pressure, with championship hopes.