The Rap-Up: Enjoy the final games of the Raptors’ season

The long 2023-24 season mercifully comes to an end. Despite all the turmoil, this team is still worth your attention!

Enjoy this last week of Raptors basketball!

Seriously. Watch every second of each of the 4 games and soak in all the Raptors basketball you can. It doesn’t matter if Toronto’s getting blown out by 30 points (which I predict right now will not occur) or dropping another 120 points on the Pacers — relish the final moments of professional basketball by your Toronto Raptors!

Vince Carter’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame is a reminder of the ‘sliding doors’ moment in the franchise when he swooped in and inspired countless Canadians to play the game and, more importantly, saved the team from the fate met by its Canadian counterparts on the west coast. If Carter never landed in Toronto, would the Raptors continue playing sub-.400 basketball and eventually sold to an American buyer, just as the Vancouver Grizzlies were?

Thankfully, that’s not a scenario worth thinking about any more. For now, we watch and wait for next season.

Larry Tanenbaum’s not-so-secret plan to bring a WNBA franchise to Toronto is another reminder of what it felt like trying to get a professional basketball team north of the border. With the NBA’s popularity reaching a fever pitch, especially in Canada, whispers of an NBA team coming to Toronto grew louder. It’s the exact situation currently playing out in the WNBA. Should Toronto be granted a team, names like Caitlyn Clark, Angel Reese, and Aaliyah Edwards could be the second coming of Air Canada.

For now, we wait.

Immanuel Quickley is averaging 28 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 triples, and 2 steals on 48/40/96 shooting over these two wins over Milwaukee and Washington. RJ Barrett continues to be a battering ram with his drives, creating drive-and-kick opportunities for his teammates or layups for himself — ironic that he’s everything offensively that Raptors fans wanted from OG Anunoby. Gary Trent Jr. is playing his best basketball of the season at the perfect time. He’s been a leader while the team was missing all its starters, and a deadly shooter with Quickley and Barrett back in the lineup. Regardless of how this last week plays out, these three have given a tantalizing look at what the Raptors’ starting lineup can do next season alongside its All-Star, Scottie Barnes, and top-10 Center, Jakob Poeltl.

For now, we wait.

We wait for lottery balls to drop.

We wait for a draft where moves will surely be made.

We wait for a free agency period where Toronto has a healthy amount of money to spend.

We wait for an offseason where Darko Rajakovic can properly integrate a roster where over 50% of the players were not part of last year’s training camp.

While we wait, we must enjoy these final four games of the Raptors season!

April 9 vs Indiana Pacers

How fitting that the Raptors close out its home schedule with the possibility of tying a season-high 3-game win streak against Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers! The only other time Toronto won 3 straight this season……was against Pascal Siakam in Indiana!

With a monumental game coming up next against the Cavaliers, the Pacers could be caught looking forward to its next game in Cleveland. The teams are currently separated by one game in the battle for 5th. More importantly, Indiana is only one game ahead of Philadelphia and Miami in the loss column in the battle to avoid the play-in tournament.

Rick Carlisle’s squad is doing everything they can to finish in the top 6. Over the last two weeks, the Pacers have produced victories over the Clippers, Lakers, Thunder, and Heat. However, they’ve also lost to the Nets and Bulls. Which version of the Pacers will the Raptors see tonight?

Fun fact that may only interest me

The possibility of the Pacers finishing in 7th or 8th opens up an interesting scenario for the Raptors, albeit a long shot.

Toronto owns Indiana’s top-3 protected pick in this year’s draft. If the Pacers flame out of the play-in tournament, the draft lottery gods could bless the Raptors with the 1st (their own) AND 4th pick (Indiana’s) in this year’s draft!

Basketball Reference currently gives Toronto an 8.9% chance of landing the first overall pick and Indiana a 0.1% chance of landing the fourth pick. If you’ve read my posts long enough, you know I’m already thinking of puns related to ‘9’.

Prediction

With IQ and Barrett back in the mix, the Raptors are back to owning a competent half-court offense with a deadly transition game. Toronto will struggle against good defenses while punishing bad defenses with the 0.5 offense.

There’s a reason why the Raptors, despite its roster flaws/turnover, have won 2 of 3 against the Pacers this season (and almost all 3). Indiana’s defense is not great. Toronto has scored at least 125 points in each matchup.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Quickley is resting for the first game of a back-to-back. He’s been a steadying force for the team. A second pizza party may not be in the cards. Indiana wins the game but Toronto covers the +13.5 spread.

April 10 @ Brooklyn Nets

Oh, Brooklyn.

At least with Toronto, there are multiple avenues to right the ship. The Nets still owe this year’s pick to Houston (thanks for nothing, James Harden) AND do not have cap space this Summer.

Ben Simmons and Dennis Schroder are on the books for over $53 million next season. Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, while effective rotation players, are owed $37 million next season (and older than 90% of Toronto’s roster).

The Nets figure to be major players at next year’s trade deadline (Simmons and Schroder expiring) and the 2025 offseason (hello cap space, my old friend), but next season figures to look very similar to this season.

I repeat, enjoy this Raptors team! It could be much worse!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Most games played in the NBA since 2019: Mikal Bridges (471)

Most games played in the NBA since 2020: Mikal Bridges (389)

Most games played in the NBA since 2021: Mikal Bridges (316)

Most games played in the NBA since 2022: Mikal Bridges (244)

Most games played in the NBA since 2023: Mikal Bridges (162)

This may come as a shock, but Mikal Bridges has not missed a game this season.

Prediction

A back-to-back this late in the season is cruel for any team, let alone an injury-depleted Raptors team. Brooklyn is a respectable 19-21 at home and will have an additional two days of rest. They’ve won 3 of their last 5 home games, with the victories coming against East teams (Bulls, Pacers, Pistons) and the losses against West teams (Lakers, Kings).

When these teams matched up on March 25th, it was one of the more depressing Raptors games (which says a lot), as they could only muster 88 points against the Nets in front of the Scotiabank Arena faithful. Quickley, who figures to be back in the lineup, and Barrett missed the previous game, so their returns will help greatly.

Toronto covers the +5.5 spread and wins in Brooklyn, finishing the season 2-2 against the Nets (and 2-14 against the Atlantic Division!).

April 12 & 14 @ Miami Heat

Tell me if this sounds familiar: the Miami Heat are peaking at the right time!

They’re the only team in the league ranked in the top 5 in offense and defense over the last two weeks. Granted, that was greatly affected by a 60(!!)-point win over the Trailblazers, but it shouldn’t discount important wins over the Knicks and Rockets last week.

Tyler Herro is back in the lineup after missing the previous 20 games, 6 weeks, and my team’s fantasy playoffs with a foot injury. After missing 10 of the team’s first 26 games, Bam Adebayo has played all but one of the subsequent 52 games on Miami’s schedule (and assured himself of season award eligibility). Jimmy Butler has been in and out of the lineup all season long, missing 28% of the team’s games with various injuries (knee, calf, foot, illness, head, ankle, personal), but is fully healthy and ready for another long playoff run. The deadline acquisition of Terry Rozier should help alleviate the loss of Kyle Lowry.

If recent history is any indication — and it will be as long as Erik Spoelstra is Head Coach — no team will want to face the Heat in the playoffs.

Fun fact that may only interest me

I’ve mentioned this fact in a previous Rap-Up but it’s never not funny to me.

With Vince Carter’s Hall of Fame enshrinement on the horizon and the expected debate around whether or not the Raptors should retire his jersey, I’m reminded of Miami’s list of retired jerseys:

• Dwyane Wade (3, retired on February 22, 2020)
• Alonzo Mourning (33, retired on March 30, 2009)
• Tim Hardaway Sr. (10, retired on October 28, 2009)
• Udonis Haslem (40, retired on January 19, 2024)
• Chris Bosh (4, retired on March 26, 2019)
• Shaquille O’Neal (32, retired on December 22, 2016)
• Bill Russell (6, retired by all NBA teams on August 11, 2022)
• Michael Jordan (23, retired on April 11, 2003)
• Dan Marino (13, retired during the 2005-06 season)

Jordan’s number was retired before his final game in Miami as a tribute from Pat Riley for Michael’s contributions to the NBA. Marino’s (football) jersey was retired (although the number 13 is still available for basketball purposes) in honour of Dan’s contributions to the NFL. Debate all you want about the merits of retiring jerseys for people who never played for the Heat, but I chuckle at the fact that Jordan, then Marino, were the first jerseys retired by the Heat organization until 2009. This was like when the Raptors hung a banner for their first division title!

Prediction

Considering the Heat are teetering between a top-6 position and another trip to the play-in tournament, you’d think a pair of home games against the lottery-bound Raptors would lead to easy victories.

Of all the teams jostling for position, Miami may care the least where they end up. They’ve proven year after year that, when fully healthy, they can go toe-to-toe with any team. If that means Jimmy or Bam sit out one of these games to ensure they’re ready for the playoffs — even if it means landing in the play-in — I wouldn’t put it past Spoelstra to pull the trigger.

Miami covers the -7.5 spread in the first game easily, but Toronto covers the +5.5 spread in the second game as both teams empty their benches for the final game of the regular season.

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Last Week: 2-2

Season Record: 51-27 (7-3 against the spread)