ORLANDO, FLA.—They arrived in the playoffs with the second-best record in the NBA, but one of the remarkable truths about these Raptors is this: As an elite basketball team, and especially as a playoff one, they’re still very much getting to know each other.
For years this was the franchise that spoke from the gospel of continuity, pointing to the progress that came with keeping the DeRozan-Lowry core together for years upon years. Until, that is, the summer of last year, when team president Masai Ujiri said goodbye to all that. Rebuilding his team in the off-season with the Kawhi Leonard trade and reconsidering it again at the deadline with the Marc Gasol acquisition, the Raptors have traded continuity for an all-in run at the first NBA final in franchise history.