The Raptors simply met expectations in winning yesterday, but it was a welcome development all the same. Not that preying on the lowly Cavaliers in and of itself constituted progress; for all their trials, they couldn’t but have walked out of Scotiabank Arena with victory in their grasp. Still, the fact that they managed to preserve their unblemished run against opponents deemed below their talent level four-tenths into a supposedly lost season speaks volumes of their resiliency. Their roster may be absent Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard, but it remains proud of — and, more importantly, revels in showing — its championship pedigree.
Indeed, the Raptors have no business being in the thick of things, not with Leonard gone and key figures, including early MVP contender Pascal Siakam, downed by a cacophony of ailments. They are, though, and how. Were the playoffs to begin today, they will enjoy homecourt advantage courtesy of a hard-earned Top Four seeding marked by overachievement and outstanding coaching. It helped, of course, that astute front-office management courtesy of hoops operations head Masai Ujiri mitigated the ill-effects of heavy turnover and highlighted intrinsic strengths, and to the point where all and sundry can keep reaching for the stars with feet planted firmly on the ground.
Make no mistake. The Raptors aren’t primed for a title defense. Heck, they may not even emerge as the beasts of the East when the battlesmoke clears. The Bucks, starring reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, are just too good, the Celtics are inspired anew, and the Sixers present the biggest upside. Nonetheless, there can be no writing them off at any given time. Their workmanlike approach to their schedule makes them a tough out regardless of circumstance. It’s certainly why fans believe they’re far more than mere spoilers.
When Siakam gets back along with Marc Gasol and Norman Powell, the Raptors will finally be able to work on the best version of themselves. The trade circuit offers tantalizing prospects, but the wise choice is to stand pat and hold on to chips — and, yes, salary cap space — until Antetokounmpo becomes available in 2021. Ujiri will want to limit his moves to those that extract coin for, and pay off in, the short term. He may have gambled heavily when he took Leonard in, but that was a time when he had no hardware to show and needed to go all in as a result.
The Raptors have nothing to prove now. They’re the reigning titleholders. No one doubts their capacity for success both on and off the court. They don’t need to, and certainly can’t, be desperate. And if there’s anything they’re underscoring every single day, it’s that they’ll leave nothing in the tank no matter the odds.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing the Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
