One more year, the NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors, have started their preparation undervalued by many and ignored by some, but more “hungry” and more equipment than ever according to players and technical team.
For a team that has achieved so much against everyone and everything, the start of the 2019-2020 season looks a lot like other years. Perhaps the main difference is that the Canadian team, the only team in the NBA not based in the United States, is under attack like never in the past.
A few months after the Raptors, home to Spaniards Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka as well as Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo, made history by becoming the first non-US team to win the NBA championship, their victory is being questioned. .
Last week, Klay Thompson, guard for the San Francisco Golden State Warriors, told “The Athletic” that the Raptors would not have won the NBA title if it had not been for his injury in the sixth and final game of the finals.
“In my mind, yes, we would have won if he hadn’t injured me,” said the guard, who tore a ligament in his left knee during the game.
Kevin Durant (KD), another San Francisco Golden State Warriors player who was injured, in his case in Game 5 of the Finals, has also underestimated the Raptors’ achievement.
“This is probably the last time (the Raptors) will be in the final,” said the forward who will play this season with the Brooklyn Nets.
The sportsbooks are a bit more generous than KD: the Raptors currently only have a 1 in 30 chance of revalidating their title to the point that, according to gamblers, there are 12 teams in the league that have more likely than Toronto.
Kawhi Leonard’s departure from the team to the Los Angeles Clippers is making criticism easier.
In the Canadian city, all this background noise sounds familiar. The position of being the underdog, the underrated, the underdog, is almost a medal. Gasol summed it up with elegance on Saturday, during the team’s presentation day.
“All the players that make up this team, at some point in their career have been undervalued, so it is nothing new. We have to do the little things that we have to do to be that team again,” he said.
The Catalan pivot, who this year has only had two weeks off but has accumulated an NBA ring with the Raptors and a world championship with the Spanish team, added that while other teams this year may have flashy names, Toronto still has what really made them win the NBA: a team.
“The void left by Kawhi (Leonard) and Danny (Green) is going to be filled by the team. We can’t expect just one to do all the work. We are all going to have our part and we have to collaborate, “said the Spanish player calmly, who also described the team as” hungry. “
Ibaka, who does not bite his tongue, has also made it clear that if the Raptors won the NBA championship against all odds, it was not by a single player. And he has also stated that the players are “hungry,” that they want more than just an NBA title.
“We have lost Kawhi and we have lost Danny but we are still the same group of champions. Those two weren’t the only champions. We have others who are also champions. Now we know how to win and I think things are going to go well, “said Ibaka.
Ibaka insisted to Efe that this season, the important thing is the team.
«Right now, the most important thing for me is the team because I know that working hard and helping the team helps you to be champion. Now that I’m going to start 11 years (in the NBA) that is going to be style this year with the team, “he explained.
In similar terms, Raptors coach Nick Nurse expressed himself. Asked by Efe, after the summer break, Nurse sees his players more eager than ever.
“I love the good vibes in the gym. Very focused, working hard, with great energy, lots of smiles on their faces, enjoying the work. And a high level of toughness. Sometimes the September games are not good. And they are being pretty good. The guys are working hard and competing, ”he said.
“Right now, the vibes are really good,” Nurse concluded by noting that this year he will again have the help of Scariolo in the band, something that Gasol said was “magnificent.” EFE