While the Golden State Warriors chase their 73rd win and fans and pundits around the NBA fantasize about a possible Western Conference finals matchup against San Antonio or Oklahoma City, there’s only really one Eastern Conference finals matchup people are looking forward to: Cleveland vs. Toronto. After being swept by Washington in last year’s first round and having not won a playoff series in 15 years, most Raptors players had little to no interest in discussing a potential clash with the
After 55 games, the Toronto Raptors have the same 37-18 record that they had last year. So why will this team avoid the disappointment the Raptors had a year ago? The 2014-2015 Raptors finished the regular season 12-15 and were mercilessly swept by Washington in the first round. Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2000-2001 season, when this columnist was in the seventh grade. So why and how is this Toronto team a legit contender, perhaps the only contender, who
Marc Gasol (broken foot) is out indefinitely. Long-term, that’s a blow to the Grizzlies’ playoff chances. Short-term, we have seen many teams respond positively to such bad news. In daily fantasy, nearly every other Memphis player gains value until salaries adjust. [Read more…]
Tonight there’s $400,000 in guaranteed cash prizes going to more than 30,000 winners of a massive fantasy contest at DraftKings. It’s free to enter for new users, only $3 for the rest of us. [Read more…]
Stuff happens. My top Tuesday pick Andrew Wiggins (knee) was a last-minute scratch, and Anthony Davis $10700 (hip) is questionable tonight after leaving at halftime. Using either was unfortunate in DFS contests at DraftKings. [Read more…]
Sunday features two matinees at 3:30 Eastern. The Cavaliers are favored to make it six straight wins as the Pacers visit, though LeBron James $10200 is probably not 100% after taking a knee to the thigh on Friday. [Read more…]
There is no way to sum up the 2014-15 season for the Toronto Raptors without including the word disappointment. You can debate the extent of it, of course – the team did win a franchise-record 49 games and saw point guard Kyle Lowry start in the All-Star Game – but the basic conclusion remains the same. Touted as a new power in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors exploded into last season borne on a wave of “We the North” expectation. This
There are rumblings that agent Rich Paul could deliver another client to his hometown team in the near future. Several league executives believe Canadian Tristan Thompson may head north to Toronto in the summer of 2016 if he signs his one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer with the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I always thought he was going to end up (in Toronto) this year,” one Eastern Conference general manager told SheridanHoops. “There’s going to be so much money next year so I think he