Raptors making history … in good way
The Toronto Raptors have gotten tons of criticism over the past two seasons for failing to meet postseason expectations. With Sunday afternoon’s Game 7 win over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Toronto finally put those ghosts to bed.
The Raptors reached the conference finals for the first time in the team’s history by defeating Miami in a resounding 116-89 effort at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto has needed seven games to beat both the Heat and the Indiana Pacers, but that is academic at this juncture. All that matters is the Raptors are further than they have ever been before, dating back to the club’s inaugural campaign in 1995-96.
Toronto is going into the conference finals as heavy underdogs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unlike Toronto, Cleveland has stormed through the first two series without losing a single game to either the Detroit Pistons or Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers have been nothing short of a juggernaut to this point, with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love leading the way. Most believe this will be a sweep, with five games being the absolute limit.
Whether those predictions come true or not remains to be seen, but that is for another day. For now, we should celebrate the Raptors for being the first Canadian team to ever venture this far. Toronto has been in the playoffs for each of the last three seasons, but the first two trips were far different.
After losing in a seven-game series to the Brooklyn Nets two years ago, Toronto made it back to the postseason last year to take on the Washington Wizards. Most thought the Raptors would prevail, but they were instead swept in an ugly series that had many calling for the job of head coach Dwane Casey.
Now, Casey has made history in Toronto twice this season. First, the Raptors eclipsed the 50-win mark for the first time and now they stand only four wins away from the NBA Finals.
In Game 7, the Raptors got huge contributions from their stars. DeMar DeRozan stepped up to score 28 points while the struggling Kyle Lowry stole the show by shooting 11-of-20 from the field, pouring in a game-high 35 points. On the interior, Bismark Biyombo notched a double-double in 41 minutes with 17 points and 16 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
The knock against this group in recent years was the big players coming up small in big moments. On this day, Toronto would outscore Miami 30-11 in the fourth quarter to put the game away, sending home a veteran group for the summer.
What happens from here is unknown, but the Raptors have already fulfilled their promise and expectations for the first time in franchise history.
