After finally building some momentum, albeit three wins in their last six, the Raptors have continued to fall down the standings. Since the NBA All-Star break, both teams have had opposite results. The Atlanta Hawks, since the break, have gone an astounding 15 – 5, beating the Raptors by a buzzer-beater three during that stretch. The Raptors, on the hand, have been the complete opposite post-All-Star break putting up a league-worst 4 – 16 during than run.
With the end of the season shortly approaching, the Toronto Raptors will have to commit to either a play-in position or a lottery one. Unfortunately, with the recent losses to below .500 teams and a diminished Lakers squad, it just may not be in the cards for the team from Toronto this year. But this may not be as hopeless as it sounds.
Gary Trent Jr. has been an incredible addition for the Raptors, breaking a plus/minus record as well as his own personal points record – twice. If the Raptors are able to retain him and build out their roster through a high lottery position. The team could look to make serious noise come the Fall of this year.
If there’s one thing you can’t say about the Toronto Raptors, it’s that they don’t put it all out on the floor every night. Like the Knicks game yesterday, the Raptors did not go down easy to the limited Atlanta Hawks roster. Malachi Flynn came up with two huge threes to put Toronto within one possession of a lead. Unfortunately, the Hawks made their free throws.
In other Raptors news, Montréal native Khem Birch played his first ‘home’ game as a Toronto Raptor and delivered a solid performance. The Canadian World Cup player finished the contest with 13/7 on 5/6 shooting from the field.
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