There’s no question the Toronto Raptors have had a different energy of late. Since the trade for Gary Trent Jr. and, maybe more importantly, the signings of Khem Birch and Freddie Gillespie, the Raptors have been playing some inspired, energetic basketball. No longer are there lost minutes at centre, as rebounding issues have been shored up and defensively, there’s been some shades of the old Raptors.
Riding a three-game win streak into tonight’s game, there was even a question of whether Toronto would look the same with all their starters healthy. Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam have all missed intermittent time this month due to rest or injury, and the stars just haven’t aligned to get them all on the court at the same time (whether on purpose or not).