Kevin Durant Says Raptors are More Than 'An Up-and-Coming-Team'
The Raptors defeated the Warriors for the second time this season on Wednesday night with a 113- 93 victory at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. And while Toronto's pair of wins came in the the first half of the season, the Raptors have caught the eye of Kevin Durant as a potential title contender.
"They have champions over there," Durant told the media following Wednesday's loss. "Danny [Green] and Kawhi [Leonard]. They also have guys like Serge [Ibaka] and Kyle [Lowry] and Jonas [Valanciunas]. They got a great mix of veteran and young players. They got a new coach, but the leaders of that team have been through some wars... they're not an up-and-coming team. They're here."
Toronto has been in the Finals conversation before. The Raptors have reached the playoffs in each of the last five seasons and have won 50-plus games for three-straight years. Now armed with Leonard and a bolstered supporting cast, Toronto could finally vault out the Eastern Conference and into the Finals to potentially square off against the Warriors in June.
The Raptors lead the Bucks by 3.5 games for the top spot in the Eastern Conference at 23–7. Golden State is tied with the Nuggets for the top spot in the West.
