Raptors playoff prospects: the good, the bad, the likely
Friday, April 4, 2008 | 10:42 PM ET
With only seven games left in the NBA regular season, the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers have identical records.
Perhaps more importantly, they have three different potential opponents awaiting them in the first round of the playoffs depending on how well they perform in the stretch run: the battle-tested Detroit Pistons, the young Orlando Magic and the enigmatic Cleveland Cavaliers, who on paper should be great but haven't exactly torn up the league (11 wins, 10 losses) since they made a blockbuster trade in February.
It could be argued that, for the Toronto Raptors, the question of who they face is moot. The team's shaky play of late - particularly the one step forward, one step back development of Andrea Bargnani and TJ Ford's bizarre late-game behaviour - makes the choice of playoff opponent a case of simply picking their poison. It could also be argued that each potential opponent seems as likely as the next to expose the Raptors' fatal flaw - a complete disinterest in rebounding.
But in the interest of thoroughness, let's take a look at their potential opponents from three perspectives: who they might want to play, who they definitely don't want to play and who, given the schedule, they are likely to play.
Most desired opponent: Orlando Magic. It's worth noting that Toronto has a losing record against all three teams, but if any team seems ideally suited to Toronto's style of play, it's Orlando. Dwight Howard is a beast under the basket, but his lack of defensive awareness and poor free throw shooting are exactly the weaknesses the Raptors could exploit in the playoffs. His presence in the paint would also guarantee major minutes for Toronto centre Rasho Nesterovic, whose solid play has been one of the few things Toronto has been able to count on of late. And outside of Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic are low on players with a history of success in the post-season. They are this year's version of last year's Raptors team.
Least desired opponent: Detroit Pistons. Let's be serious here: there aren't many players in the NBA more capable of frustrating Chris Bosh than Rasheed Wallace. Throw in a young, explosive bench equal to Toronto's depth and the shot-making ability of Chauncey Billups and it's hard to imagine Toronto winning more than one game in this series. Lately the Pistons have been resting players and keeping an eye on Richard Hamilton's health, but I imagine the team will get serious during the final week if only to tune-up for the playoffs.
Most likely opponent: Cleveland Cavaliers. Toronto faces only one more opponent with a winning record the rest of the season: the Pistons. Washington, on the other hand, has to play Boston, Detroit and Orlando, and surely one of those teams will decide to field quality players. They also face Philadelphia, who will be jockeying with them to avoid playing the Pistons. Philadelphia has it even worse, as they not only have to play Detroit, Cleveland and Washington, but also current eighth-seed Atlanta twice. That makes it likely the Raptors would have a first-round date with LeBron James and Cleveland. Is this better than facing Detroit? Yes, but unless Toronto actually gets their act together as the season draws to a close, the difference might be academic.
« Previous Post | Main | Next Post »
This discussion is now Open. Submit your Comment.
« Previous Post | Main | Next Post »
Post a Comment
Shoot the J »
About the Author
Paul Jay has been writing about basketball for seven years, working as a basketball columnist for Rogers Sportsnet and writing for CBC Sports, Raptors Insider, Dose and appearing on air with Sportsnet and Raptors TV. In his 12 years in journalism, Paul has written features for some of the best publications in the country, including the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, Saturday Night, Canadian Lawyer and This magazine. He first joined CBC.ca during the 2004 Athens Olympics and currently writes online for CBCNews.ca as a technology and science writer.
Recent Posts
- The Redeem Team will win gold
- Friday, August 8, 2008
- Where does Canada Basketball go from here?
- Friday, July 18, 2008
- Raptors rest hopes on O'Neal, not draft ... for now
- Thursday, June 26, 2008
- Celtics reign with size, defence
- Wednesday, June 18, 2008
- Kobe Bryant remains a mystery
- Friday, June 13, 2008
- Subscribe to Shoot the J
Archives
- August 2008 (1)
- July 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (2)
- April 2008 (4)
- March 2008 (4)
- February 2008 (4)
- January 2008 (3)
- December 2007 (4)
- November 2007 (4)
- October 2007 (1)
