Toronto Raptors struggling at the worst time

As the NBA heads toward its final stretch before the playoffs begin, the Toronto Raptors seem to be limping to the finish line.

Momentum is a powerful weapon in sports. It can give teams a level of confidence they wouldn’t ordinarily have, directly fueling their offensive and defensive capabilities, or it can make a team spiral out of control, sinking their playoff hopes.

A team that rattles off five straight victories feels like it can match up with any in the league, while one that loses five straight finds even the weakest of opponents to be a challenge.

It’s important for teams to build winning momentum at the right time, usually right before the playoffs, because that added boost on both ends can make or break a championship run.

On the other hand, a team that finds itself struggling to win games when the postseason rolls around may find its first round opponent to be tougher than advertised.

For all their success this season, the Toronto Raptors have struggled as of late, having gone 6-4 over their last 10 games, with two of those victories being nail-biters against the lowly Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks.

Granted, 6-4 isn’t worth sounding the alarm for, but only one of those six victories came by double-digits, signaling a possible reversal to the Raptors of old.

Toronto is a team that not many people believe can realistically contend for a championship and these past 10 games are proving the doubters right.

If the Raptors want to be taken seriously as contenders, they’re going to have to earn it once the postseason begins, because historically speaking, they don’t exactly deserve the benefit of the doubt.

This team has struggled in each first round matchup from the past four seasons, having been eliminated twice while needing a seven- and six-game series to dismantle the teams they beat.

If the playoffs were to begin today, Toronto would match up with last season’s first round opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, who needed six competitive games to be defeated. While the Bucks haven’t quite lived up to preseason expectations, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton, they have the talent to be a scary first round matchup.

The Raptors can’t go into the playoffs struggling to win games.

The way this roster is constructed doesn’t afford them the ability to simply flip the switch when necessary. They need the habits that have helped them all season to translate to the playoffs, and if they’re not doing them right now, what’s going to make that change come postseason time?

If the Raptors want any chance of representing the East in the Finals, they’re going to have to build a head of steam capable of bulldozing through the likes of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

With the intensity level increasing every game, it’s hard to do that in the playoffs. Momentum starts in the regular season and carries over to the postseason.

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The Raptors have six games left. The clock is ticking.