The NBA Playoffs are, finally, upon us. After a four-month hiatus and eight seeding round games, the postseason tips off Monday with a quadruple header of first round games everyday for at least a week.
The second game of the afternoon in the Disney Bubble is the opener between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, a pair of teams that played extremely well in the seeding round, which was no surprise for the Raptors but a shocking turn of events for a shorthanded Nets squad. Brooklyn went 5-3 in the Bubble to maintain the 7-seed, but now draw arguably the hottest team in the league in Toronto, which boasts the best defense from the seeding round by a significant margin.
We know the stars that will be shouldering a significant load for the two teams, but as always in the playoffs, it’s incumbent on role players to step up and lend support for teams to make a deep postseason run. Here, we’ll highlight the potential X-factors in this series that could make a difference in how competitive this first round series is.
Toronto Raptors: OG Anunoby
At this point, the Raptors have a Big Three of sorts that we expect to play at a high level in Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet. They have solid veteran presences in the middle in Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka that you have faith in playing their role and giving the Raptors what they need. Against this Nets team, there’s probably not be a need for anyone else to go crazy for them to get a win and do so comfortably, but this is more about the prospects of the Raptors making a deep run.
OG Anunoby had a few big moments in the Bubble, flashing a tighter handle and the ability to put the ball on the floor to make the Toronto offense even more dynamic when defenses focus on their stars. He’s been nursing a knee injury that has him listed as day-to-day, but getting him some more playoff minutes and his confidence up will be important in this series. Anunoby missed last year’s championship run after an emergency apendectomy, but he now is a key member of the rotation and is a big part of what makes the Raptors elite defense sustainable for 48 minutes. As the playoffs wear on, the Raptors will need him as they potentially face the tremendous wing depth of the Celtics in the conference semis and the Bucks in the conference finals.
The question for the Raptors entering the Bubble was whether they could improve upon their pedestrian halfcourt offensive numbers and Anunoby hitting shots and being able to put the ball on the floor gives them an added dynamic teams aren’t preparing for. His defensive impact is critical to the success of this team, but what he gives them on offense could be part of what elevates them to championship contenders.
Brooklyn Nets: Garrett Temple
The Nets need everyone to step up in this series to have a chance, to be clear. Caris LeVert has been spectacular and Jarrett Allen will have his hands full battling the Raptors frontcourt. Joe Harris has to be a big-time scorer to alleviate some of that pressure on LeVert, and the bench has to continue to play above their heads. Temple has been pretty consistent in the Bubble in terms of stepping into a major role on this shorthanded squad and giving them key production. He’s tasked with being a secondary creator behind LeVert and has had some big scoring nights in Orlando. That has to continue for Brooklyn to have any kind of chance against this Raptors defense that will center their focus on slowing LeVert. That will potentially leave Temple with opportunities on that end, and it’ll be hugely important for their chances of making this a competitive series for him to continue shooting well from the perimeter and creating opportunities for his teammates off the bounce.
Honorable mention in this category goes to Timothe Luwawu-Cabbarot, who has had some huge games off the bench in the Bubble, Tyler Johnson, and Rodions Kurucs, who has to provide a lot of help inside to Allen. It’s an uphill climb for Brooklyn in this series, but then again, so has the entire Bubble experience and they’ve acquitted themselves very well thus far.