Apologies if this recalls the infamous post-season positioning talk of the Raptors’ late 2014-15 season, but there’s just no way to avoid it. Toronto is a consistent presence in the playoffs these days, and while they’ve yet to clinch officially, the team will show up in the post-season again for the fourth straight year. It’s quite an accomplishment for a franchise whose previous playoff runs acted as mere reprieves from a seemingly unending slog of despair. What a time, and so on.
But to the matter at hand: the Raptors are in fourth right now, which would likely mean a first round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, owing to their and, assuming they moved on, a showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers.