Defending champion Toronto Raptors face the Brooklyn Nets in their opening first-round postseason playoff at Walt Disney World in American Basketball League 2019-20.
Team Preview
Brooklyn Nets locked the number 7 seed in the Eastern Conference ahead of the postseason and they are one of the underdog sides in the league since the resumption. Their task would be up against the defending Champion Raptors. They are coming off a close defeat of one point against Tail Blazers. Going into the final quarter, Nets had a 7-points advantage before going down in the final quarter. Caris LeVert paced Nets with 37 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. He has been a key figure for Brooklyn in Orlando and attempted 48 percent shooting from the field while Joe Harris has a 54.1 percent shooting inside the bubble. Nets have also attempted 40 3-pointers per game inside the Bubble, the fourth-most in the league.
Meanwhile, Toronto is more confident ahead of the postseason and locked the second seed in Western Conference. They have 4-matches winning streak and their key players fully fit for their first-round matchup with the Nets. The Raptors are the second-best defensive team, restricting oppositions to just 104.7 points per 100 possessions on the year. They are fresh off of a 117-109 victory in the previous outing against Denver Nuggets. The advantage of 8-points in the first half helped Raptors in the whole game and Nuggets failed to recover that margin. Stanley Johnson led Toronto with 23 points while Chris Boucher added 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Starting possible lineups
Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry (PG), Fred VanVleet (SG), OG Anunoby (SF), Pascal Siakam (SF), Marc Gasol (C)
Brooklyn Nets
Caris LeVert (SG), Garrett Temple (SG/SF), Joe Harris (SG/SF), Rodions Kurucs (PF), Jarrett Allen (C)
Key Players
Toronto Raptors
Pascal Siakam (SF): 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds
Kyle Lowry (PG): 19.4 points, 5 rebounds, 7.5 assists
Fred VanVleet (SG): 17.6 points, 6.6 assists
Brooklyn Nets
Caris LeVert (SG): 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds
Joe Harris (SF): 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds
Jarrett Allen (C): 11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds
