Toronto vs. everybody.

It feels like that kind of vibe once again as the Toronto Raptors make their return to the NBA postseason against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors had a very solid regular season, finishing with a 46-36 record to earn the fifth seed in the Eastern conference. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, rode a very strong finish after the acquisition of James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers to land the fourth seed with a 52-30 record.

While the Cavs have title aspirations in their sights, the Raptors are widely regarded to be playing with house money, with just making the playoffs being considered a major goal achieved.

The players themselves, though, are hungry for more and excited at the prospect of making this opportunity count.

“We’re still on a mission, we’re still trying to go places,” Jakob Poeltl said after Friday’s practice. “We’re trying to advance in the playoffs, we’re trying to make it to the Finals, we’re trying to be NBA champions.”

Raptors don’t care about underdog tag

Another Raptors season, another year where the American media and odds makers underestimate them. The over/under before the season began was at 36.5 wins and ESPN picked them to go 33-49. Now, in making playoff predictions, all 12 ESPN analysts who were asked have picked Cleveland to win this best-of-seven series.

Scottie Barnes couldn’t be bothered in the slightest.

“I don’t even know what that’s about,” Barnes said. “We’re just gonna go out there and try to win, we’re gonna do our jobs, we’re gonna be who we are out there on the floor.

“That sh*t don’t matter.”

RJ Barrett doubled down against the doubters when he was asked for his opinion.

“We never cared, we never cared at all, honestly,” Barrett said. “We know who we are, we come in, we fight together everyday and whatever anybody else has to say, we really don’t care.”

Should the Raptors even be underdogs?

Toronto actually won the season series between the two teams 3-0. A lot of people are discrediting it because all three games were played before December and well before the Cavs acquired Harden in February.

The reality, though, is that both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley did play in those games, as did key role players like Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson. While there are things to discredit, that doesn’t mean all of it should be.

What was clear throughout those games was that the Raptors had a clear physical and athletic advantage against the Cavaliers and hammered them home in each game. If they can do that in this series, they absolutely have a chance of winning.

There is not one player on the Cavs’ roster well-suited to defend Brandon Ingram. Not Wade, not Tyson, not the newly acquired Keon Ellis. Barnes is someone who has had his way in this matchup and has generally thrived going up against his fellow 2021 draft class mate in Mobley.

Toronto’s advantages in this series shouldn’t be underestimated. Yes, Cleveland has been a really good team and won 21 of 30 games since acquiring Harden. They also didn’t acquire anyone who mitigated their weaknesses against the Raptors and Cleveland’s head coach Kenny Atkinson had nothing but respect for the challenge ahead.

“We know that’s no picnic, they low key dominated us for the games we played them this year,” Atkinson said. “We have a lot of respect. But it’s great, Toronto’s a great basketball city, great challenge for us but really good team.”

Playing in Cleveland far less intimidating than Europe

Much has also been made of how inexperienced this Raptors team is in terms of playoff experience. In Game 1, Barnes will be playing just the fifth postseason game of his career, Brandon Ingram will be playing just his third playoff series, and Immanuel Quickley hopes to start a playoff game for the first time.

Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles will all be tasting the postseason for the first time. Poeltl’s 22 playoff games and Barrett’s 16 stand as the most in the playing rotation.

The Cavaliers will have home court advantage as the higher seed and so this could be a series of growing pains for the Raptors, as they come to terms with playoff intensity. Road environments can be intimidating during the postseason, especially, but head coach Darko Rajaković provided some perspective that perhaps NBA road environments aren’t all they’re hyped up to be.

“We’re not playing in Europe [where] they’re gonna be throwing bottles at us and there’s not gonna be lasers in our eyes when we’re shooting free-throws,” Rajaković said. “We’re not gonna be dealing with those kind of obstacles. They’re gonna be loud on the other side, so what?

“That should not faze us at all. We need to go out there and play to our standard and enjoy the moment.”

It’s not quite Joakim Noah dissing the city of Cleveland during his days with the Chicago Bulls but still a fun moment courtesy the Raptors head coach.

Barrett thrilled to rep home Raptors

While the Raptors may not be intimidated about playing on the road, Mississauga’s finest RJ Barrett is thrilled at the opportunity to represent the Raptors in the playoffs after spending all his childhood cheering for the team.

“I’m excited, just excited, one, for the Raptors to get back there,” Barrett said Thursday. “Especially, me being from here, I’m excited about it…

“As a fan, I remember when they won the championship, I was doing my pre-draft stuff, I was in L.A. with my friends screaming, jumping around the TV just hype. Then, to see buses turned over in the street, we have a whole country behind us so gotta go out and put on for the country.”

Barrett has had himself a very good season, providing an important scoring punch (19.3 points per game) as well as great leadership. A big series from him and the Raptors can sniff that upset.

Will Quickley and Poeltl be healthy?

A big storyline going into this series is the health status of Immanuel Quickley. He had been dealing with plantar fascia for a couple weeks and then picked up a mild hamstring strain in the final game of the season.

Over the course of the three practice sessions the Raptors had heading into the playoffs, Quickley was primarily doing individual workouts and watching film. He’s officially considered “day-to-day” and Rajaković said he will be questionable to play Game 1.

Against a Cleveland backcourt that will feature two elite talents in Mitchell and Harden, the Raptors absolutely need Quickley to not just play but have a good series to have a chance at causing an upset.

Poeltl has been another injury concern for the Raptors despite no longer having an injury tag. He played in just 46 games this season due to a bad back and finished the regular season looking pretty limited. Considering the size of the Cavs’ frontcourt, a relatively nimble Poeltl can be a difference maker.

Both Quickley and Poeltl were coy when asked about how they’re feeling, providing a very quick “good.”