Toronto Raptors: Headed To First Round Exit?

The Toronto Raptors are struggling mightily. Might-il-y.

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Watching the first half of their game against the San Antonio Spurs this past Tuesday was all I could stomach. Kyle Lowry was getting absolutely torched by Tony Parker, the Spurs’ passing was turning Toronto’s “defense” into mincemeat and Jonas Valanciunas was ignored on offense more times than Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriends leave “I’m sorry” voicemails on her cell phone.

Yes, it was awful. Things continue to be awful. The Raptors have lost nine of their last 10 games. The only squad they’ve managed to beat during this slide is Philly, which is barely a D-League level challenge anyway.

While sitting in their homes in dark corners of their rooms, sucking their thumbs with their faces brightened only by computer screens, fans are trying to stop the inevitable tear flows from entering their mouths and choking them by reminding themselves that Toronto is still sitting solid with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

That spot isn’t likely to be lost either, with the rest of the Atlantic Division basically looking like the aftermath of Hot Taco Tuesday back in high school.

Unfortunately, that much-beloved fourth seed is not as ample of a safety net as fans might think.

The Washington Wizards are in fifth place, just behind Toronto, with a record of 37-28 (the Raptors’ is 38-26). If they start winning more of their games and the Raptors continue their losing ways, things could go south faster than geese in winter.

Just winning your division and thereby having the fourth seed doesn’t guarantee you home court advantage over the team you’re playing in the playoffs. In other words, if Toronto finishes in fourth (they will, at the very least) and Washington sticks to the fifth spot but ends up with a better record, then it will be the Wizards with home court advantage come the start of the postseason.

And that’s the big concern here. The plan for the Raptors this season is to one-up their performance from last year and win at least one playoff series. Home court is an integral part of being able to do that. As we saw last season, Toronto takes their sports teams very seriously. The Raptors’ crowd was one of, if not the best collection of earth-shatteringly loud fans during the entire postseason.

Plus, if the Raps end their season playing like this, they’re simply going to need all the hope they can get. Playing on the road will be detrimental to their success. If they’re at home for the majority of the series at least, then they might be able to feed off of the noise of the arena and get something rolling.

Last season, the Indiana Pacers went through a similar collapse after the All-Star break. They tore through the NBA during the first part of the 82-game marathon, but then their offense broke down in the second half and they hobbled into the playoffs. Still, they managed to slowly wade their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Could the same thing happen for Toronto?

Probably not. These Raptors are much less experienced in the playoffs than those Pacers. Their issues are reversed as well. The Pacers lost their offense, while Toronto has misplaced their defense. If you were going to lose one, you’d rather it be the “O.” You can still manage to eke out games in the postseason by slowing down the game and knocking your opponent around by playing bully-ball to grind out a win. On the other side of things, all offenses take a blow in the playoffs and if there’s no defense to back them up …?

Welp.

Look, I’d love for the Raptors to prove me wrong. I’d love for them to capitalize on the “Prove ‘Em” slogan and start playing well again, or at least kick things up a notch come the spring. But I’ve been let down before, and as a long-time Raptors fan I’m unconsciously bracing myself for impact.

Maybe you should too.

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