Raptors once again appear to be miscast by pundits: Each of Dwane Casey's Toronto Raptors squads has upped the win total from the year before — culminating in 56 victories and an appearance in the Eastern Conference final last season. A lot of people who hand out predictions either didn't notice, or didn't care, however, and once again, Toronto isn't a popular pick as a “contender.” Some American hot air factories — sorry, daytime sports talk shows — have nearly completely dismissed Toronto, as if the 2015-16 season never happened. -- Toronto Sun

Raptors ‘love being the underdog’ after being dismissed by experts: With the NBA season set for tipoff Tuesday, the picks and predictions are rolling out by the day. In the East, it seems to be a unanimous consensus that the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the conference’s top team. It’s the projected second seed where the topic gets debatable and if you’re a Toronto Raptors fan, perhaps disrespectful. ESPN’s First Take debated the second seed in the East for almost four minutes this week before the Raptors — last year’s No. 2, a 56-win team and the Cavs’ opponent in the Eastern Conference final — got a passing mention. -- Toronto Star