Are the Raptors Making It to the Playoffs?
How is Toronto going to do in the Play-In Tournament?
UPDATE: Welp, looks like my prediction is completely wrong. The Bulls defeated the Raptors 109-105 after climbing back from a huge deficit. It sucks. But I’ll try to do better next time.
The Toronto Raptors have been disappointing this season.
With what they achieved last season, fans expected the team to be better this time around.
But instead of avoiding the Play-In Tournament with a top 6 seed -like they did last season- they won just enough games to land on the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.
But regardless of the letdown, I still think they can make it into the playoffs.
The Raptors will be playing the Chicago Bulls in the first game of the Play-In Tournament and they’ll get the win. I say this because the Raptors have beaten the Bulls two out of three times this season already.
In the second game, the Raptors will most likely play the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks are playing the Miami Heat in the first game of the tournament and the Heat have beaten them three times.
So if we look at the odds, the Hawks will probably lose.
However, I will admit that it would be better for the Raptors to play the Heat.
Toronto has some odd jinx over Miami and has beaten them three times already this season.
As for the Hawks, the Raptors played them three times in 2022-23 and lost twice.
But the reason why I believe the Raptors can beat them and make it into the playoffs is that they’re a different team than when they last played each other.
Since the last game (in January), the Raptors brought on Jakob Poeltl to play center for them and they’ve also adjusted their line-up and are balanced on both ends of the floor.
Poeltl has provided the Raptors with an inside presence that they’ve been needing since the beginning of the season.
He scores inside the paint for them, and he contests shots and fights for rebounds. And he also relieves Pascal Siakam of the task of defending the opposing team’s big man, a job that often gets the two-time All-Star into foul trouble.
Additionally, the Raptors moved Gary Trent, Jr. to the bench and he has been a good sixth man.
He plays on both ends of the floor, and more importantly, he puts points on the scoreboard, something that the team has been lacking from their bench.
These are all areas that the Raptors struggled with in the last two games against the Hawks.
And, not to be one of those whiny people, but in one of the losses (Nov. 19, 2022), Toronto didn’t have Siakam and the score was super close -like the Hawks only won by two points in overtime.
If Siakam had played, I think they would’ve won and would be up two-to-one on the Hawks this season.
However, it will not be easy to win.
The Hawks are a good team and for whatever reason, they get these skills’ boosts during the Play-In Tournament.
For instance, in 2022, the Hawks beat some talented teams to make it into the playoffs.
They came in as the ninth seed and beat the tenth-seed Charlotte Hornets and the talented eighth-seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
But I still have faith in the Raptors to win. They still have some of that championship DNA from 2019 and can channel it when needed.
But these are just thoughts from a Raptors fan. Do you think they’ll make it? If not, who will take the last two spots in the playoffs?