🏀 An NBA Sleeper Is Emerging In Orlando

If you underestimate the Toronto Raptors heading into this year’s postseason, don’t be surprised if the joke is on you. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The Toronto Raptors won’t enter the NBA playoffs as the favorites, but getting four wins against this team will be a grueling test for anyone ... we take a look at incoming freshmen who could emerge as top 50 players in college football this season ... and J. Cole receives a tryout invitation from an NBA team. It’s not so easy to stay under the radar when you’re literally living in a bubble, and the Toronto Raptors are about to discover that time is running out on them. As in, running out on them being able to do their own thing without much consideration or respect from fans around the league. And running out on the assumption that losing Kawhi Leonard meant losing any shot at short-term success. And running out on the theory that this was one defending champion that had no chance of going out and doing it again. Yes, the whole “slip under the radar” thing is about to disappear, but the Raptors are coming. In truth, they’ve been coming for a while. Heck, maybe they never stopped coming at all, even when Leonard made his much-touted move to the Los Angeles Clippers soon after he brought a title to Toronto. That was the narrative at the time, that Leonard carried the team on his shoulders and got the job done, staving off the Milwaukee Bucks and the threat of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals and ultimately knocking off the Golden State Warriors when everything was at stake. [STORY IMAGE 1] Yet, while Leonard’s influence was clear and striking - and while there are few people who’d rate him outside the top five players on the planet - the Raptors were a balanced team before he joined them. In fact, they remained one for the duration of his stay, and are most certainly still one now. “I think that’s a great team,” LeBron James said, after his Los Angeles Lakers came unstuck against the Raptors, 107-92, on Saturday. “They won a championship for a reason. It wasn’t just all solely because of Kawhi and obviously we see that. Don't take any credit away from the Raptors.” Forget about that being a subtle slight from James toward Leonard. It’s not, it's just the truth. Toronto went 17-5 last season in the games when Leonard’s load management structure did not allow him to play. They are 48-18 this campaign since he departed, despite being tipped for a mediocre finish by many. Not so in Canada, where the faithful core of support stuck around, and retained hope. “The city fell in love with Kawhi, but what has happened this season has made us love the team even more,” Raptors fan Ben Spelling told me. “To be able to contend like this without a megastar says everything. The Raptors play smart, we have a coach who is quite brilliant and everyone works their butt off.” [STORY IMAGE 2] Ah yes, the coach. Nick Nurse was the subject of a minor outrage when his fellow coaches voted him only third in the Coach of the Year poll, one vote behind Mike Budenholzer and Billy Donovan. He could still win the overall vote, depending on other categories. Nurse has championed a system that overdoses on the most critical components of modern pro basketball - long range shooting and outstanding defense. Leonard’s role, while performed expertly, has largely been filled on defense by OG Anunoby. Pascal Siakam has been a true breakout star since being asked to shoulder more of the offensive burden. Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry are elite all-around players referred to by James as a “two-headed monster.” Nurse is accustomed to his team being disregarded, and he’s fine with it. “I don't think anybody's going to pay much attention, they don't ever seem to,” Nurse told reporters. “But it's okay. “Seriously man, we love to play the games and we like to compete, we know we're tough to beat, we really do, and I think there's a ceiling we can get to yet.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Since things got going in Orlando, the Raptors have stifled the Lakers and got by the Miami Heat. They have now won six games in a row, dating back before the pause. Barring some bizarre confluence of results, they are locked in for second place in the East. “The defending champion Raptors … are going to do their best to dispel one of the most scurrilous myths around the NBA this year, that they were a hapless team before Kawhi, and they will be a hapless team after Kawhi,” [FS1’s Nick Wright said on First Things First.]( “This is a testament to … an excellent team that plays hard, plays tough and turns up every single night. And wants to show the world ‘we are the defending champs.’” There is still a lot to be decided in Orlando. Basketball in the bubble is still, well, bubbling along nicely, and before we blink a few more times the playoffs will be here. [STORY IMAGE 4] The Raptors won’t go in as favorites, mainly because the bookies take few chances and the shortest odds are the preserve of teams with the biggest names. FOX Bet lists Toronto at 14-to-1 to win this year's NBA Championship. But don't sleep on them. Getting four wins against this team is going to be a grueling test for anyone. Toronto is an iron-tight unit that believes in itself and has vast reserves of mental strength. No team was built for a pandemic, and no one predicted a world where the best basketball players all lived together in a hoops nirvana. Yet the Raptors’ spirit and seamlessly organized method of play works in their favor. You probably didn’t think they’d win last year, either. If you underestimate them again, don’t be surprised if the joke is on you. Here’s what others have said ... Josh Lewenberg, TSN: “After losing a couple starters from their championship club last summer, including the player most responsible for delivering Toronto its first title, the Raptors have exceeded even the most optimistic pre-season expectations … Regardless of who’s in or out of the lineup on any given night, (Nick) Nurse’s team is almost always prepared and ready to compete. His laid-back demeanor has jived with Toronto’s players – many of who are enjoying career years – and his willingness to adapt and adjust on the fly has kept opponents on their toes all season. That is what’s set the Raptors apart all season, and it’s carried over into the restart.” Kirk Goldsberry, ESPN: “These dudes love the dark arts of defense. They each thrive in their own unique ways, but the collective strength is undeniable. It allows the Raptors to implement diverse, unorthodox defensive strategies tailored to each opponent. Game to game, you never know what you're going to get, and the results are solid.” Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat head coach: “We have deep respect for their organization. They have an identity, a brand of basketball. They've acquired players that fit their style and they're extremely well coached and competitive. In many ways we look at them and it's just respect.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Russell Wilson’s father taught his son to dream big and not let anyone's doubts get in his way. [ESPN's Brady Henderson]( pens a story on how Wilson's late father still inspires his son to this day. - Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker brought over 100 pairs of sneakers with him to the NBA bubble. [Sports Illustrated’s Jarrel Harris]( takes us inside Tucker’s sneaker loft. - Freshmen have often shaped the overarching narrative of the college football season over the last decade. [Chris Hummer of 247Sports.com]( takes a look at incoming standouts who could emerge as top 50 players in college football this season. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( The Detroit Pistons are looking to upgrade their roster this offseason, and it looks like they’ve extended a tryout offer to a well-known rapper. J. Cole, who is a Grammy-winning, five-time platinum rapper out of North Carolina, is attempting to earn an NBA contract. After a video surfaced of Cole draining shot-after-shot from 3-point range, the Pistons’ social media team went to work, creating a graphic of a customized J. Cole jersey, and asking the rapper to contact them for a tryout. At 35 years old, making an NBA roster could be a tough feat, but here’s to hoping both sides can make this happen! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (TNT, 6:30 p.m. ET) Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics take on Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in a matchup of Eastern Conference powerhouses. New York Mets at Washington Nationals (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Robinson Cano and the New York Mets travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Nationals at Nationals Park. Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers (TNT, 9 p.m. ET) A Western Conference showdown gets underway when James Harden and the Houston Rockets battle Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) The Los Angeles Angels travel to Seattle to face the Mariners in a matchup of AL West teams. Titus & Tate (FOX Sports Digital Platforms) Titus and Tate discuss which under-the-radar NBA players are primed to breakout in the bubble. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners Over 9.5 Total Runs: +110 Both the Angels and Mariners have gotten off to slow starts this season, and pitching has been a large reason why. Andrew Heaney is scheduled to take the mound for the Angels on Tuesday night, while Justin Dunn gets the start for the Mariners. Neither pitcher has recorded a win this season or lasted more than five innings in an outing. But the most telling stat can be found when looking at previous matchups. The Angeles and Mariners have already played each other three times this season, with an average of 14 runs per game in those matchups. With that said, taking the over of 9.5 runs could be a nice play here. [WHAT THEY SAID] "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard." — Kevin Durant [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. 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