The last time the Raptors and Jazz met, Toronto almost pulled off something of an upset. Kyle Lowry had just drained a clutch three-pointer over Rudy Gobert with about 90 seconds remaining. But the best team in the league (record-wise at the time) flexed their muscles with an 8-0 run. A three-pointer by Pascal Siakam could have sent the game into overtime, but it rolled off the rim. Such has been the story of the Tampa Bay Raptors.
The core group in Toronto will almost always be competitive enough — especially with new starting centre Khem Birch — to keep the team in the game this season.