We told you the Raptors were fun, right?

Guess who was won six straight and has the best record in the East? That’s right, it’s your Toronto Raptors.

Toronto edged Miami in a rare close game on Tuesday, moving to 40-16 on the season. The Raptors are on pace for 58 or 59 wins, above the franchise record of 56 achieved two seasons ago. Toronto has never been the No. 1 seed, either. That matters because in this current era of the Raptors (since 2013-14), Toronto is 12-10 in the playoffs at home and 5-14 in the playoffs on the road.

I feel like I’m making a sales pitch here, but seriously: the Raptors are real. What’s better is they are fun. Their bench crew remains one of the most enjoyable NBA experiences this season; they star your favorite young players’ favorite young players. Folks question if they’ll hang tough in the playoffs after rough results in recent years. Here’s my take: injuries have played a serious role in those late slips, the bench has never been this good, DeMar DeRozan has never been this good, and every other team in the East has enough serious questions of its own, including the resplendently resurgent Cavaliers.

Yes, this is a precursor to me picking the Raptors to go the NBA Finals again. You’ve been warned.

MIA 112, TOR 115
ATL 92, MIL 97
HOU 126, MIN 108
CLE 120, OKC 112
SAC 114, DAL 109
SAS 109, DEN 117

We said the Raptors were fun, right? This Kyle Lowry H.O.R.S.E. shot is fun.

What a national TV win over the Spurs for Denver. They are slowly, but surely, climbing out of their NBA purgatory.

The serious argument for Kevin Durant as Defensive Player of the Year.

Here’s an enjoyable Baxter Holmes story on a certain NBA clique (including the Banana Boat Boyz AKA Team Toast) built around fine wine.

Five reasons the Jazz will be back in the playoffs.

The refs and the players are saying the right things going into their summit this weekend.

How the Warriors’ style translates at the high school level in the Bay Area.

Apple TV is developing a drama based on Durant’s life. No word on whether the lead character will be named Quire Sultan.

The invigorated Bucks are now the No. 4 seed in the East (though it’s a tight race with Washington and Indiana). Jabari Parker is dunking on everyone.

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame has an awesome 2018 class: Tina Thompson, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Katie Smith, plus a few coaches.

Ain’t no tape on Kevin Garnett’s head! I feel like KG could have been a materials scientist or physicist if he were a foot shorter. Speaking of which, here is perhaps the weirdest Area 21 segment ever, which is saying something.

John Wall and Marcin Gortat had some beef, but appear to have settled it. Gortat’s time in D.C. would appear to be coming to an end.

Potentially fun ESPN doubleheader coming: Clippers-Celtics at 8 p.m. ET followed by Warriors-Blazers at 10:30. Damian Lillard has been very worth staying up late for recently. Full schedule here.

And finally: ... yeah. I’ve got nothing. We said the Raptors were fun, right? Via r/nba.

Be excellent to each other.