Toronto Raptors: 5 keys to winning the East

5. Home-court advantage

The Toronto Raptors have been exceptional at home throughout the season so far, and come playoff time, they will be looking to extend this period of successful Canadian basketball.

But what has happened up North during these past five playoff appearances? They haven’t exactly been the most tremendous powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, having a record of 15-12 at home.

As a result, you could make a case that home-court advantage is not exactly a do-or-die kind of situation for the Toronto Raptors as they do not excel at winning at home. But then again, is there any place the Raptors do excel during the playoffs?

We are, of course, dealing with a completely altered team that will be looking to shake off previous disastrous postseason campaigns. Home-court advantage tends to be a major key in determining the winner of a playoff series.

The Raptors have pretty much secured a top-two seed in the East, meaning they will be starting their series at home against every possible opponent not named the Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors are currently 2.5 games behind the top-seeded Bucks and entering a potential conference finals series on the road could possibly be an X-factor.