All NBA regular-season games are not created equally.
Sure, they all count for one in the standings, and a win over a last-place team is as important as a victory against some middling squad and that’s all well and good and true.
But there are games that are big, that have seismic implications for the psyche as well as the standings, and anyone who professes to tell you different is bluffing or playing a game of clichés.
Even the Raptors — the “steady as she goes, just want to get better, playing for May and June” Raptors — know that Tuesday night presents an important and substantial challenge.