After starting the season 13-5 and sitting firmly as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, the national NBA media is taking notice of the early-season success of the Toronto Raptors. On the most recent episode of the Zach Lowe Show, former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy had high praise for Toronto:
I’d be shocked, the way things are going now, if they’re not in the playoffs in the East.
- Stan Van Gundy – Via the Zach Lowe Show: Six Big Questions With Stan Van Gundy
This isn’t the first time the Raptors have received recognition from the Zach Lowe Show, as a little over a week ago it was Lowe himself who praised Darko Rajakovic and Sandro Mamukelashvili for their performances to begin the season.
The answer came after a question from Lowe about who was ‘more real’ as a playoff threat, the Raptors or the Phoenix Suns? Van Gundy replied with zero hesitation ‘the Toronto Raptors’, citing the fact that they are currently one of only six teams to be top 10 in offense (6th) as well as defense (7th).
He went on to compliment the Raptors’ ‘great positional size’ and touted Jakob Poeltl as a ‘very underrated player … at both ends of the floor.’
Another indicator that the Raptors are a ‘real’ playoff threat in Van Gundy’s eyes was their recent success over the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Look, they’ve swept Cleveland already …. they’ve beaten them all three times this year. Cleveland’s supposed to be the best team in the East, the team that won 64 games last year...
Okay, so yeah Cleveland was missing guys, well you know what? They were missing RJ Barrett last night, it’s not like they’re at full strength every night either.
- Stan Van Gundy – Via the Zach Lowe Show: Six Big Questions With Stan Van Gundy
As the praise keeps rolling in, the Raptors continue their season tonight with an NBA Cup matchup against the Indiana Pacers. A win tonight would be the 9th in a row, tying the third longest win streak in franchise history.
