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Will the Toronto Raptors repeat themselves as NBA champions without superstar Kawhi Leonard? | NBA News

The 1993-94 Chicago Bulls couldn’t repeat themselves as NBA champions without retired Michael Jordan. Will the Toronto Raptors do it without Kawhi Leonard?

Sunday NBA playoff games

  • Gm 1: Celtics @ Raptors | 18:00
  • Gm 6: Clippers @ Mavericks | 20:30 | Sky Sports Arena
  • Gm 6: Nuggets @ Jazz | 1:30 | Sky Sports Arena

When Jordan first retired just before the 1993-94 season began, no one knew how losing the NBA’s top player would impact the Chicago Bulls. They were the champions for three consecutive seasons.

But Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson held a core together and managed to put together one of the championship’s top three defenses. General manager Jerry Krause would add some new pieces and the Bulls once again vied for first place in the Eastern Conference.

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Siakam and Lowry pose with former teammate Kawhi Leonard at the 2020 All-Star Game

This 2019-20 Toronto Raptors have a group of selfless teammates and defenders sharing alchemy with each other. Last year, they had their version of Jordan in Kawhi Leonard and won the franchise’s first championship.

Without Leonard, no one expected much from Toronto when the 2019-20 season began. Sure, they would have been well trained, they would have worked hard, but few could have predicted that they would post a better win rate than their title-winning season (73.6% in 2019-20) and sweep their opponent first-round. so easily – something they couldn’t do in 2019.

Was it fair to be so dismissive of this team’s chances of a repeat? In 2018-19, Leonard participated in 22 games. Without him, the Raptors had a win rate of 77.2% and with him in training they succeeded at 68.3%.

This doesn’t mean they were worse off with Leonard. When it comes to the playoffs, each team needs a player of their quality to make the kind of shot they made against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 to lead the team to the Conference Finals.

Pascal Siakam congratulates Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet
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Pascal Siakam congratulates Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet

During the regular season, well-built teams can rack up a good number of wins, which is exactly what this year’s Toronto team did.

Their real test begins Sunday at 6pm UK time against the Boston Celtics. This is where the lack of a traditional superstar might come into play, especially against a team where Jayson Tatum plays at all-time highs and Kemba Walker looks like one of the best non-superstar point guards in the league.



Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics







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Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and 13 rebounds in the Boston Celtics’ opening game win over the Philadelphia 76ers

Before the playoffs, he spoke to coach Nick Nurse Double clutch on how the players on his team have come forward and will continue to do so. He said: “We played well at home, we played well outside. I think our boys are in good shape and with Kawhi and Danny. [Green] gone, there are two holes to fill.

“But Pascal Siakam took his game to another level, OG Anunoby slipped well, Norman Powell got better, Fred VanVleet got better, Serge Ibaka – these guys keep getting better.”



Nick Nurse has enjoyed another outstanding season with the Toronto Raptors







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Nick Nurse believes Toronto has a legitimate chance of becoming NBA champion for the second consecutive season

The numbers add up, nurse. Comparing last season with 2019-20, Siakam has scored 16.9 points per game and 22.9 this year. Anunoby went from seven to 10. Powell practically doubled his from 8.6 to 16. VanVleet improved from 11 to 17.6 and Ibaka slightly increased his average.

These add up to 23.4 points, which is just under Leonard’s 26.6 points average last season. And when you up the score and Kyle Lowry’s typical super defense, the team had a great regular season. But to take it to the next level, the Raptors still need someone who can score at will.

The lead candidate on paper is Siakam, who, like Scottie Pippen on that 1993-94 Bulls team, has emerged from the shadow of a superstar to become this team’s top scorer. Due to the extra attention he’s getting from opposing defenders, this season has seen his shooting efficiency drop slightly, but he’s scoring, bouncing, assisting, blocking, and stealing more than he ever has before. His numbers were helped by playing the eleventh minute per game in the league.

At first glance, Siakam doesn’t seem to be averaging a particularly impressive number of clutch points per game (the last five minutes when his team was within five points of the opponent). His 2.8 makes him the 31st best in the league among players who have at least 15 clutch possession games. Ahead of him is teammate Lowry, with an average of 2.9.

Pascal Siakam congratulates Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet
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Pascal Siakam congratulates Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet

They were behind players from 25 different teams. Individually, there are a number of Siakam’s best clutch artists, but most of them do it themselves. Combined, Lowry and Siakam averaged nearly six points at the end of close matches.

So many teams rely on a hero, but just like everything else the Raptors do, being clutch is done by the committee, and they have a 25-12 record in those games.



Karl Lowry of the Toronto Raptors







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Kyle Lowry throws end-to-end pass to Pascal Siakam for scoring during Toronto Raptors win over Brooklyn Nets

The Boston Celtics are another team that achieves results as a collective which is why this second round bout is such a fascinating bout. Tatum and Walker joined for five points in the clutch in the regular season, while the Raptors did better, and also had the contribution of VanVleet, who in the final minutes averaged 2.3 to tip the scales.

This resulted in Siakam contributing to a 20-10 record when the Raptors played close matches, unlike Tatum, who only managed to win 55% of the time in such scenarios.



Pascal Siakam







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Pascal Siakam scores 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Toronto Raptors’ dominant win over Brooklyn Nets

This shouldn’t overlook what Lowry offers the team. The point guard is still the best of the team in the ‘plus-minus box’ (which estimates points per 100 possessions he contributed to above an average league player), closely followed by VanVleet, but Siakam is used more than everyone else on the team and is receiving superstar treatment from opponents.

Taking on the Celtics won’t be easy, but Toronto had the stingiest defense in the league, something those 93-94 bulls got close to but couldn’t without Jordan.

Kyle Lowry and Nick Nurse share strategy during a Raptors game
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Lowry and Nurse share strategy during a Raptors game

The Raptors also have clutch performers and, in Nurse, the coach of the year, who seemed pretty confident about his team’s chances of winning a second consecutive NBA championship.

“I would say our guys believe we have a legitimate chance. I’m not sure many guys in the league believe so, but I think we have a legitimate chance to do it again,” he said. “We have an intelligent and hard-minded team that has a lot of solidarity – there are a lot of good qualities.”

Losing a Finals MVP doesn’t happen very often and returning to contention next season is even rarer.

But just like the Bulls, the Raptors have taken over the game as a unit, and that’s how they’ll have to play to get beyond Boston.

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