After a year of resetting the culture, three days off, and a couple days of preparation for the incoming Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors begin, in mere hours, their third attempt in as many years to dethrone LeBron James.
This series doesn’t quite come with the same stakes that last year’s second-round match-up with the Cavs did — there are no star players about to head into free agency, no all-in deadline moves were made to inject added weight and pressure, and Toronto’s already exceeded most pre-season expectations. Losing to the Cavs again would be deflating, but not catastrophic.