5 NBA Teams Approaching Critical 2017 Playoff Runs

2. Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have been a great story ever since the trade deadline. They were floundering at that point, and it was no secret they needed a game-changing move to seriously challenge the Cavaliers for Eastern supremacy. Not only did they add Serge Ibaka, but they snagged another hard-headed defender to throw at LeBron in a playoff series with P.J. Tucker.

Even after Kyle Lowry went down with a wrist injury, DeMar DeRozan stepped up and Toronto kept on trucking, posting a 12-5 record so far without him. The Raptors obviously need Lowry to contend for a championship, but they’ve won six straight games and are one game behind the Wizards for the 3-seed.

However, none of that changes the fact that falling short of the NBA Finals again in 2017 will force the front office to make some tough decisions with Lowry, Ibaka, Tucker and Patrick Patterson all hitting free agency this summer. The goal is still to get over that Cleveland hump in the East, but as it currently stands, Toronto would face the defending champs as early as the second round.

On the one hand, it feels like a no-brainer to re-sign as many of those core pieces as possible. The Raptors have climbed to No. 4 in offensive rating and No. 8 in defensive rating for the season, thanks in large part to their two defensive additions at the deadline. I mean, this is a pretty damned good core to work with for the foreseeable future:

Even if Lowry’s wrist injury throws off the team’s groove in the postseason or prevents them from reaching their ceiling, the Raptors are as close to title contention as they’ve ever been. You pay as much as you possibly can to keep something like that together.

However, re-signing Lowry and Ibaka alone would cost a pretty penny, and if — God forbid — the Raptors’ playoff demons somehow rear their heads again this year, a first round or second round defeat might discourage Lowry, Ibaka and/or Tucker from re-signing.

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From a simple financial perspective, even another conference finals or NBA Finals appearance would require careful thought when it comes to ponying up the dough over the summer. The max contracts it’d take to keep Lowry and Ibaka, not to mention retain valuable role players like Tucker and Patterson, would put the Raptors WAAAAYYYY into the luxury tax.

That’s a tricky proposition without a deep playoff run to encourage the front office that this upgraded core is worth its hefty price tag.

Lowry loves Toronto and his backcourt mate DeRozan, and perhaps Ibaka could be swayed to re-sign for the right price after playing for a miserable team like Orlando. But a deep playoff run, even as the No. 3 or No. 4 seed, would go a long way in securing this team’s long-term future…and possibly even their first championship.