Toronto equals milestone after dominating Donovan Mitchell, Cavs
After two seasons of pretty poor play, there weren’t many, if any, high expectations. for the Toronto Raptors heading into the 2025-26 season. But with a team playing with house money, they thrived. On Monday night, the Raptors picked up another win, this time a 110-105 win against another Eastern Conference contender, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to move to 13-5 on the season. They are currently second in the Eastern standings, which is a big win considering how previous seasons have gone for them.
In fact, the Raptors are playing at a level that would make any fan of the team proud. This win against the Cavs marks their eighth in a row, which according to Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy, ties his fifth longest winning streak in franchise history. That’s no mean feat, especially when the Raptors were a consistently good team from 2013 to 2022.
Little did people know at the time that Brandon Ingram would become a transformative figure for the Raptors. Ingram’s stock was at an all-time low after the New Orleans Pelicans declined to offer him a contract extension due to his injury problems. He was even linked to a potential trade to the Cavs, with Jarrett Allen headed to the Big Easy.
But the Raptors jumped at the chance to trade for Ingram, and even gave him the extension he requested. As a result, Ingram plays some of the best basketball of his career, and that couldn’t have been more evident in his 37-point night on Monday against the Cavs.
The Raptors are turning the corner
The Raptors took some flak during the offseason for having one of the most expensive player salaries in the league without having a lot of good results to show for it. But they’ve turned a corner, with Ingram taking over as the first option, freeing up Scotty Barnes to roam around and fulfill his calling as a multi-position breaker who can play violent balls on both ends of the floor.
This strong start by the Raptors is no fluke. They have a net rating of +6.8 to start the year, which shows they are beating opponents by a healthy margin.
2025-11-25 05:04:00
