The Toronto Raptors continue to be rather unpopular with opponents.
The Raptors took down the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday night, winning 118-107. They snapped a five-game winning streak by the Cavs and held star player Donovan Mitchell to 12 points on a 4-for-16 shooting stinker.
After the game, Mitchell gave props to the Raptors … only in backhanded fashion. He said the Raptors were “really good” at getting away with fouls.
“When you foul the whole game, and they’re really good at it, they can foul the whole game and the refs aren’t going to call it on each possession,” said Mitchell, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “You gotta give them credit. They’re physical … They kicked our a–.”
The Raptors are quickly earning a reputation for extremely physical defense. They play at one of the slowest paces in the league, but that also helps them hold opponents to 110.8 points per game (the seventh-fewest in the NBA). Additionally, Toronto has been playing without a true shooting guard amid Gary Trent Jr’s recent absence, resulting in bigger wings like OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes holding down the fort instead and hounding rival 2 guards like Mitchell.
The All-Star Mitchell probably has some sympathy here though in his take on the Raptors. Earlier this week, another Eastern Conference opponent called out Toronto over their controversial play style.
