{"id":42409,"date":"2021-10-06T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=42409"},"modified":"2025-12-08T20:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:39:44","slug":"toronto-raptors-legacy-seven-year-playoff-run-analysis-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/10\/06\/toronto-raptors-legacy-seven-year-playoff-run-analysis-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"The Toronto Raptors Legacy: Seven-Year Playoff Run Analysis Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The last few years of this playoff run and the Toronto Raptors legacy had highs and lows. This was seen in the 2017-18 NBA season. Then this article will dive into the offseason in 2018, where the Raptors made some notable changes, which resulted in the pressure of high expectations in the 2018-19 NBA season.<\/p>\n<h2>Toronto Raptors Legacy: Playoffs Success<\/h2>\n<h3>2017-18 NBA season<\/h3>\n<h3>Toronto Raptors Regular Season<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dwane Casey talks about getting fired in his Coach of the Year acceptance speech <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CrahIXV7Qa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/CrahIXV7Qa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BleacherReport\/status\/1011426745352769536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This season was supposed to be the year the Raptors got over the hump against the Cavaliers. They had a franchise-high 59 wins that year. Dwane Casey won Coach of the Year and made his first-ever appearance in the NBA All-Star Game appearance as a head coach.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/derozde01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeMar DeRozan<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowryky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong> made the NBA All-Star Game. The Raptors were also second in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating that season. They were the only team that year to finish in the top five in offensive and defensive rating. Lastly, this was the first and only time in franchise history that the Raptors finished first in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n<h3>Toronto Raptors &#8211; Playoffs<\/h3>\n<p>The Raptors were able to exorcise their demons of the 2015 NBA playoffs in the first round by defeating the Washington Wizards in six games. Now it was time to exorcise those demons of 2016 and 2017 against fourth-place Cleveland in the second round.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LeBron does <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WhateverItTakes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WhateverItTakes<\/a> in another epic finish in Cleveland! <\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfc0: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeTheNorth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeTheNorth<\/a> x <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WhateverItTakes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WhateverItTakes<\/a> Game 4<br \/>\u23f0: 8:30pm\/et \ud83d\udcfa: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NBAonTNT<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XwLidR6VlH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/XwLidR6VlH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/993585059801202688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, this series did not have a happy ending. They let game one slip away and lost the game by one point in Toronto. This would be the closest game in the series for Toronto. The Raptors would lose three more games, including two blowouts in the NBA playoffs. DeRozan had trouble scoring in the last two games of the series. James led in points in all four games of the series and also led in rebounds in the close-out game against Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>What made it worse was that Cleveland\u2019s playoff series with Boston and Indiana went to seven games. So Toronto could not take solace that they had trouble beating James. Something needed to change and Masai Ujiri knew that. Dwane Casey was fired a few weeks after being eliminated from the playoffs. Then in the off-season, Uijiri traded fan-favourite DeRozan for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>2018-19 NBA Season \u2013 The Year Toronto Won it All<\/h3>\n<h3>The Toronto Raptors&#8217; Road to the Finals<\/h3>\n<p>There was a lot of pressure this season. The Raptors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/advanced\/?sort=OFF_RATING&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2018-19&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">were fifth in both offensive and defensive rating<\/a>. They also had the second-best record in the NBA with 56 wins, only behind the Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n<p>However, what was most important was the NBA playoffs. That was a reason why <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valanjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonas Valanciunas<\/a><\/strong> was traded to acquire <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gasolma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Gasol<\/a><\/strong> midway through the 2018-19 NBA season. Do the Raptors have what it takes to win the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kawhi Leonard&#039;s Legendary Game-Winner Heard Around the World\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jnvFlgo4tXQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>They first played the Orlando Magic in the NBA playoffs. Thanks to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/augusdj01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D.J. Augustin<\/a><\/strong>, the Magic won game one against the Raptors. Toronto though responded by winning the next four games and winning the series 4-1. They would then have a classic seven-game series against the 76ers.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gasolma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Gasol<\/a><\/strong> played extraordinary defence on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/embiijo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Embiid<\/a><\/strong>, but still had trouble generating offence. It was a very tight seven-game series that ended with a Kawhi Leonard series-ending shot. Probably it was the most famous shot in NBA history. A shot many people may not see again for a long time in the NBA.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Go all-access for the Eastern Conference Finals as the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Raptors<\/a> defeat Milwaukee to advance to their first <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAFinals<\/a> presented by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YouTubeTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@YouTubeTV<\/a> in franchise history! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeTheNorth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeTheNorth<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udea8: GSW\/TOR, Game 1<br \/>\u23f0: 9:00pm\/et &#8211; Thursday, 5\/30<br \/>\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8: ABC \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6: Sportsnet <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SGadzZ21XN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/SGadzZ21XN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1133885738083266560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Raptors faced adversity again when they faced the first-seeded Bucks. They went behind 2-0 against Milwaukee and needed a spark to their offence. They also needed to defend Milwaukee superstar <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a><\/strong>. Both Leonard and Gasol played big roles in limiting Antetokounmpo\u2019s offence from game three to six. Also, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred VanVleet<\/a><\/strong> started to play extremely well offensively and defensively. Something he would continue against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<h3>NBA Finals<\/h3>\n<p>It is strange that of all the four playoff series, the series the Raptors never trailed in was the 2019 NBA Finals. Yes, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong> was injured, but Toronto still had to face three NBA All-Stars in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greendr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Draymond Green<\/a><\/strong> and in most of the series play against <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompkl01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Klay Thompson<\/a><\/strong>. The Raptors won the first game thanks to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/siakapa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pascal Siakam<\/a><\/strong>. The Warriors would win game two, but then the Raptors would win games three and four to take a commanding 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n<p>Game five was when Toronto could have closed the game. Unfortunately, for Toronto, Durant had returned to the NBA playoffs. Durant played really well but got injured early in the first quarter. It was unfortunate, but injuries are part of the game. The Raptors had a 97-103 lead with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run, including a game-winning three by Curry. His three clinched a comeback win for Golden State as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I9Zj_0-7qQI\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they won 106-105 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The storybook season&#8230;. There\u2019s a new NBA champion, the Toronto <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Raptors<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeTheNorth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeTheNorth<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jFG4yZEgN4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/jFG4yZEgN4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1139615992105930753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It was a devastating loss for Toronto. They would need to respond in game six at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Raptors did exactly that. Thanks to a strong start from Kyle Lowry and a great performance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Fred VanVleet<\/strong><\/a>, Toronto clinched their first-ever NBA Championship in the last-ever NBA game in the Oracle Arena.<\/p>\n<h3>The Toronto Raptors Won the Larry O&#8217;Brien Trophy<\/h3>\n<p>The Raptors would continue this success in the 2019-20 NBA season. Siakam made his first-ever appearance in the NBA All-Star Game and their backup was point guard Lowry. They also had Nick Nurse make his first-ever NBA All-Star appearance as head coach of the Raptors (he was in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game as an assistant coach). Nurse joined Casey as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/08\/08\/toronto-raptors-five-greatest-coaches-in-franchise-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">one of only two Toronto head coaches to coach the NBA All-Star Game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They also finished with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/28\/toronto-raptors-2019-20-nba-season-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">second-best record in the NBA<\/a>. Unfortunately, they would not follow this up in the NBA playoffs. Siakam, their star player did not play well and the Raptors lost to the Celtics in seven games. It is a what-if as Siakam was playing well before the season was suspended because of COVID-19.<\/p>\n<h3>Toronto Raptors Legacy including a Larry O&#8217;Brien Trophy<\/h3>\n<p>The Raptors only made the playoffs five times before 2013. They also only got past the first round once before 2013. If many players playing today are playing because of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cartevi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vince Carter<\/a><\/strong> effect, expect a lot more Canadian NBA players to come from this seven-year playoff run.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Masai Ujiri credited Dwane Casey and DeMar DeRozan for helping the Raptors get to the NBA Finals. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/S0Df9wDoB6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/S0Df9wDoB6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Sports\/status\/1133760047484420098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 29, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Current Raptors president Masai Ujiri gave credit to DeRozan and Casey for the 2019 NBA championship. Even though neither player won in 2019, they and other players like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsam01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amir Johnson<\/a><\/strong>, Jonas Valanciunas, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rosste01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terrence Ross<\/a><\/strong>, played a big role in their success in their playoff run.<\/p>\n<p>Also, credit should also be given to former Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo. While Ujiri played a bigger role in Toronto&#8217;s NBA Championship run, Colangelo also played a big role. He was the one who brought both DeRozan and Lowry to Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>The former making the Leonard trade possible and the latter for getting the best player in franchise history. All of this added up to solidifying the Raptors legacy, which also won the Atlantic Division six times in their seven-year playoff run.<\/p>\n<p>The Raptors legacy is still to be written though, as likely many Canadians watching the Raptors at that time could very well become NBA players. Also, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/09\/22\/edmonton-stingers-basketball-champions-league-americas\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">growth of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)<\/a>, expect even more Canadians to play in the NBA in the short and long-term future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"3ltQOW1eRTBau97QQxRhfQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1128586654\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'3ltQOW1eRTBau97QQxRhfQ',sig:'QCkrDJHbOu8vrec1xPAQ8fmLZOHYxhwOqv-nowHHal4=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1128586654',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last few years of this playoff run and the Toronto Raptors legacy had highs and lows. This was seen in the 2017-18 NBA season. Then this article will dive into the offseason in 2018, where the Raptors made some notable changes, which resulted in the pressure of high expectations in the 2018-19 NBA season. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":43192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1608,62],"tags":[349,392,168,319,2298,38,114,1754],"class_list":["post-42409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raptors","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-bryan-colangelo","tag-dwane-casey","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-kyle-lowry","tag-larry-obrien-trophy","tag-lebron-james","tag-masai-ujiri","tag-pascal-siakam"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169144,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409\/revisions\/169144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}