These are the most unusual circumstances for the Raptors this late in an NBA season, concerned about simply making the playoffs instead of having months to wait to see who they would face in them.
A confluence of many events has brought them to this place — a COVID-19 outbreak, the worst start to a season in more than 20 years, a rotation adjustment that has taken longer than anyone expected — and it has added a sense of urgency to next couple of months.
Uncharted waters, indeed.
“We set such a standard and a bar here,” guard Kyle Lowry said before the Raptors began the second half of the season Thursday in Tampa, Fla.