Toronto Raptors Don’t Sweat Underdog Tag in Brooklyn

To the Toronto Raptors, tonight’s Game 3 in Brooklyn is just like any other road trip. But really, what else are they going to say after their very own general manager Masai Ujiri made his now-famous “F Brooklyn” comment?

If they say anything at this point, it’s just going to add fuel to the fire – a fire that’s already burning hot in the Nets’ locker room.

“I’m very, very, very eager to see how they respond to the ‘F Brooklyn’” Nets centre Kevin Garnett said after Thursday’s practice. “Very, very eager to see how they respond to this kid, sitting in our arena.”

Again, that “kid” is Ujiri, so it’s not the Raptors are expecting a warm welcome for the Nets or their fans in this one. Sports Interaction has Brooklyn listed as a 5-point favorite, but the Raps are trying to keep their cool.

“Every city you go to, the fans don’t like you,” Toronto guard Kyle Lowry told reporters. “You’re on the road. It’s a road game.”

In essence, it is just that and the Raptors know what they’re doing as visitors. They went 22-19 on the road in the regular season and were great against the spread at 25-15-1.

Sports Interaction NBA Playoffs Odds

In reality, it could be a much bigger deal in the playoff pressure cooker. The Raptors are still a very green playoff team heading into a hostile environment and they even looked as such in their own barn. Toronto turned the ball over 21 times in Game 2’s win and if a couple of long looks from Paul Pierce went down instead of rimming out, the Raps could be heading to New York down 0-2.

On the plus side, it’s clear Toronto isn’t going to be pushed around by the Nets. KG can talk all he wants about Ujiri, but he isn’t saying anything about Jonas Valanciunas. That’s because the young Valanciunas is dominating Garnett inside by averaging 16 points and 16 rebounds per game. If that continues, the Raptors have a very good chance taking a lead in this series because production inside means space outside and that’s when Lowry and DeMar DeRozan take over.

If they stay level and do what they did that got them here, there’s no reason to consider them underdogs.