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The NBA has resumed its 2019-2020 season and reformatted its schedule to shorten its duration due to the pandemic. Fans are beyond ecstatic and the players and coaches are doing their best in facing the new challenges like playing in one location, bubbled inside a single facility, and playing without their home crowd. One team that is seen truly motivated and raring to prove themselves in this reformatted season are the defending champions Toronto Raptors.
As the defending champions, the Raptors came into this season more under the radar following their title run. They’ve had to deal with the loss of last season’s Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who played a big part in them hoisting the Larry O’ Brien trophy for the first time in their franchise history. They’ve also had to deal with injuries during the course of the regular season, but with Nick Nurse at the helm, they’ve successfully managed through all of these deficiencies so far.
If you’re a betting fan, the Raptors are quite an enticing pick to win it all again this season. If you’re interested, then this article is good for you, as it will discuss what the bookies think their odds are in the Orlando bubble. Here’s what the betting numbers look like for the Toronto Raptors in 2020.
Championship odds (+1400) Toronto
After everything that’s occurred in the offseason, the seismic shift that happened when Anthony Davis signed with the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George signing with the Clippers, and the things that they had to deal with during the regular season, the Raptors remain a strong contender to make it to the NBA Finals again this year. As this article is being written, they’re the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference and has the 3rd best record in the league behind the top two contenders, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. That in itself justifies why their odds are still as favorable as it is.
It will be tough because a lot can still happen in the 22-game bubble format and with the cloud of uncertainty hovering over the entire world right now, but just like playing online roulette, the Raptors are an exciting prospect in terms of NBA betting. They have a hungry core lead by veteran All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, and one of the best scorers in the league today, Pascal Siakam.
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Very few actually saw the Raptors in the Toronto position where they’re at now, and that includes themselves. Second-year league head coach Nick Nurse has done a fantastic job conducting this orchestra composed of solid veterans and impactful role players, who contributes consistently in every game that they’ve played so far. The Raptors are the third-best defensive team in the league in terms of defensive ratings (104.7) and 1st in opponents’ points (106.3), continuing to do what brought them to the top last season.
They’re not just efficient defensively, but they’re also capable of shooting the lights out in a game. They’re averaging 112.8 points per game (12th), making 40.3% of their field goal attempts. They’re lead by former Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam, who produces 23.5 points per game, shooting a very efficient 45.7% from the field, increasing his production from last season when he averaged 16.9 points per game. From their title-clinching season to this year, they’ve maintained their positions of being one of the elite two-way teams in the league.
Even with the consistent yielding of excellent results, most fans are still seeing the Milwaukee Bucks come out on top of the Eastern Conference, and rightfully so, they have the best record in the league for the second straight season, and they have the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo still wreaking havoc. But if you look closely at it, the Raptors present the biggest threat to the Bucks’ chances. If you’re one who doesn’t bet on the biggest favorites, then the Raptors might just be your best chance of winning the NBA championship bet.
It will be a tougher test than it was last season, but if the Raptors can sustain their brand of basketball that they’ve been showing, the money that you bet on them might just be the best decision you could have ever made in gambling in the NBA.
