The most concerning habit of the Toronto Raptors heading into the playoffs wasn’t their often iso-heavy offense, although that was troubling, it was that they often would follow up fantastic quarters and halves where they would show their potential on both ends of the floor with dominant play with quarters where they would disappoint. That ugly trend showed it’s head last night in game 6 against the Bucks, when the Raptors owned the first half of the game, building up a large lead with impressive defensive play and great offense, and then falling apart in the second half as they lapsed on both ends.
The Bucks stormed back in that second half, going on what was at one point a 34-7 run with Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo coming to life. This wouldn’t even be that concerning in isolation though – the Bucks are a talented team, and Giannis has established himself as a budding superstar in this league. What does concern is that for the Raptors, this didn’t feel that unusual. It felt like part of their identity as a team, that they need the struggle to find their best gear. It fit perfectly with the narrative of last year, when they struggled through the first two rounds, narrowly winning series against the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat before meeting the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This year the Cavaliers loom a round earlier, with the series starting on Monday, and although it’s a more vulnerable version of a LeBron James squad, they still boast James, one of the most dominant players the game has ever seen. With LeBron the Cavaliers are hard not to mark as favorites going into this series, and there have been many squads that felt going into a series against him that they were built better than previous Eastern Conference opponents to challenge his dominance in the conference. The Raptors this year acquired PJ Tucker and Serge Ibaka at the trade deadline for just such a cause, to perhaps upset the balance of power in the East by beating LeBron. With incredible depth and a solid group of defenders to throw at LeBron, the moves were lauded as perhaps putting them in that position, giving them that opportunity to finally surpass LeBron.
That’s where we come back to last night’s game, and the opportunity served within. With the Raptors leading 72-48 with 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter, there was a moment at hand. Not just to finally win a series in less than 7 games, but to send a message to Cleveland, a message that the Raptors were coming and ready to challenge the hierarchy in the conference. To say defiantly and loudly that they had arrived as an organization and were the squad that the in-season moves had made possible. Facing that opportunity squarly, and with Cleveland and the basketball world watching, Toronto instead flinched. They could step on the throats of the Bucks, couldn’t put them away.
That moment, and that failure to seize it, didn’t prevent the Raptors from moving forward in this round, and they go in with every opportunity to still defeat the Cavaliers. But that moment might present itself again in the next series, and if the Raptors find themselves with an opportunity to put away Cleveland in a game, to take advantage of a dominant early game to take a win, it must be put away. Against an opponent with the pedigree of the Cavaliers, you can’t pass up those opportunities because they will be rare, and because the Cavaliers won’t hesitate to take advantage should the roles be reversed.
It’s not wrong to be excited about this Raptors team, it’s the best squad the franchise has ever fielded, and winning a series in less than 7 games is an accomplishment for a team that’s struggled so much to put teams away. The Bucks are not your average 6-seed, with a budding superstar in Giannis who is on track to establish himself as perhaps one of the best we’ve ever seen in the years to come. But if there is apprehension in the fan base today despite that, there is good reason, because that moment that the Raptors left behind in game 6 was an opportunity to define themselves as a great team, to firmly establish they had the pedigree to be a contender, and a moment that this group has yet to have.
There was another moment, when the Bucks seized their first lead of the second half and the Raptors fought back to complete the victory, and this one the Raptors did take. But that’s a story we’ve seen before, with this team having come back from deficits frequently this season, so it’ll be one more easily forgotten. It’s meaningful, and might end up being more important as the Raptors look forward in the playoffs, but it has a different meaning because it’s something we knew they could do. Opportunity gained as we move forward, but opportunity lost in the way it was done.
