The NBA playoffs are more than two months away, and there are many things good and bad that will go on between now and then. Nothing can be assured.
But it’s always best to prepare as early as possible. The Raptors — in ways subtle and blatant — are taking steps to be as ready as they can be when the post-season arrives.
Forget for a minute how they’ve cut back the rotation to a playoff-level seven or eight, and just the way they are conducting themselves. Think about the things they are asking of their top players, the way they are training them for that cauldron of the physical post-season.