With 8 games to go in the 2018-19 NBA season the Toronto Raptors with a record of 52-23 are securely set in second place in the Eastern Conference behind Milwaukee and ahead of Philadelphia. Toronto faces only two more playoff teams – Brooklyn and Miami – during this final stretch and will be favoured to sweep and match it’s 59 wins from last year. However, expect load management/meaningless game syndrome to result in an upset loss or two. In fact, don’t be surprised to see Nick Nurse pull some unorthodox line ups, including perhaps a starting five made up entirely of bench players. While winning every game may not be the primary goal, the Raptors players and Management/Coaching staff will be using every game to learn as much as they can before the real season begins – the playoffs.
The playoffs are what the Raptors have been waiting for these 70 plus games. Everyone in the Raptors Organization knew the team would have another good regular season. Sure, people wondered how good Kawhi would be and how well he and Kyle would get along, but the Organization was certain – barring unforeseen injuries and the like, the Raptors were going to win 50 plus games. So the regular season was always only going to be load management and line up experimentation. The season would boil down solely to the playoffs and while that sounds the obvious goal of every NBA team, for the Raptors, it went deeper for several reasons.
Firstly, the Raptors recent playoff history is smelly. The last two years in a row, they have been thrashed 4 games straight by LeBron James. They have a track record of being upset by lesser opponents and have never beaten an opponent 4 games straight or even 4-1. Every series seems to be much tougher than expected and it has earned them a media reputation for being soft or not having the ‘it’ factor. This year is meant to set all that right and it can only be accomplished in the playoffs.
Secondly, or perhaps also firstly, is Kawhi Leonard. So far all indications from Leonard and his camp are that the Raptors are doing everything right and that they have confidence in the organization to appropriately prioritize Kawhi’s health. If the Raptors can get to the Finals and give the WC opponent a good battle, there is nothing more that Toronto could do to demonstrate why he should stay. If they got to the Finals and actually won it, well, even if he left the Raptors should retire his jersey and cast a statue of him in front of the Scotiabank Arena.
Thirdly, Masai has build a core with a very short life span. Next year is the last on the contracts of Lowry, VanVleet, Ibaka and Gasol has only a player option for next year. If this core is going to do something, it must be now. A poor showing this playoff season, say a humiliating loss to Detroit in the first round (Detroit 3, Toronto 0 head to head this year so it’s not a stretch) could nudge Kawhi gently back home to California and Toronto would be left with a bunch of expensive, expiring contracts.
Their first round opponent will be one of these three: Miami, currently 8th; Detroit, currently 7th; or Brooklyn, currently 6th. If they get to the second round, they will certainly face Philadelphia; if they get to the third round, the Raptors will have to solve The Greek Freak in order to beat Milwaukee and see the Finals. None of those opponents will be easy, every game will be a battle. Still, if they can’t dispatch these teams and stand ready to face the best the Western Conference has, this season will be deemed a failure. And if Kawhi leaves as a result, it will be a complete failure. Sure Masai will spin doctor what he can, the upside of Spicy P and little else to be sure, but it’s going to send him for a loop most of all. He the architect, he the trader awayer of Franchise Icon Demar DeRozan. There is a lot at stake.
So grab some popcorn and pull up a chair. The 82 game preview is winding down and the show is about to start.