Like it or not, the Raptors are in this year’s playoffs with the express purpose of getting kicked in the dick.
After soaring up the standings, finishing with 48 wins, and being hot sexy picks to take down the Sixers in round one, it’s easy to forget that this was not a season built around grand ambitions in Toronto. Just cause you get to the station of schedule doesn’t mean it your train is gonna leave any earlier.
Throughout the year there’s been a quiet understanding between the front office, coaches, players and fans that 2021-22 was going to be a fact finding endeavor more than anything else — a year to get a look at a youth movement, some vets moving into new, bigger roles, and a novel play style, just to see what sticks to the wall.