The Toronto Raptors will defend their NBA title when the league restart tips off in Orlando at the Walt Disney World Resort.
The Raptors, who have a 46-18 record, enter play as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they hold a three-game lead over the Boston Celtics, who are currently locked into the third seed.
If Toronto is going to attempt to make another NBA Finals appearance, power forward Pascal Siakam will need to turn his game up to another level. Now with Kawhi Leonard no longer in the picture, Siakam, who is averaging a team-high 23.6 points with 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists, has turned into the go-to-guy for head coach Nick Nurse.
Point guard Kyle Lowry (19.7 PPG, 7.7 APG) and shooting guard Fred VanVleet (17.6 PPG) are two other players who need to be viable options for the Raptors in a balanced attack if they expect to compete for another championship.
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QUICK LOOK
Division: Atlantic Division
Record: 46-18
Coach: Nick Nurse
Odds to win 2020 NBA Finals: +1800
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ROSTER
OG Anunoby, SF
Chris Boucher, PF
Oshae Brissett, SF
Terence Davis, SG
Marc Gasol, C
Dewan Hernandez, C
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF
Serge Ibaka, C
Stanley Johnson, SF
Kyle Lowry, PG
Patrick McCaw, SF
Malcolm Miller, SG
Norman Powell, SG
Pascal Siakam, PF
Matt Thomas, SG
Fred VanVleet, SG
Paul Watson, SF
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WHAT’S NEXT
The Raptors will open up against the Los Angeles Lakers on Aug. 1 at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Will Toronto be a one-hit wonder? Or will the Raptors prevail without Kawhi Leonard -- who left for the Los Angeles Clippers last offseason -- and once again be crowned NBA champions? Only time will tell, but the Raptors will definitely have their work cut out for them.
Toronto could potentially face Milwaukee in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch, but you can bet that the Bucks will be hungry for revenge after losing to the Raptors last season.