Toronto Raptors
- ’18-19 Record: 58-24
- ’18-19 Season Series: 2-1
- ’19-20 Advantage: Raptors.
The Charlotte Hornets beat the Toronto Raptors twice last season, with those two wins coming off the heroics of Jeremy Lamb. He hit a half-court heave to stun the Raptors in Toronto, and followed it up with a game-winning three-pointer in Charlotte to beat the eventual NBA Champions.
For a little while, Jeremy Lamb was known as the Raptors killer.
Good times, right? Lamb won’t be around to save the Hornets this year, unfortunately. The Raptors, who are fresh off a championship, lost Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but still have a roster in place that will contend for a playoff spot.
They aren’t going to win it all again, but they are a respectable, lower-seed playoff team without Leonard. The big thing for them is the continued improvement of Pascal Siakam, who I thought should have been an All-Star last season. They’ll be an interesting team to track this season.
The Raptors get the nod here over the Hornets. I think the Hornets have what it takes to win a game or two, but that’s it.