The Rap-Up: Raptors wins are a win-win situation

The red-hot Raptors will look to continue their winning ways against a trio of mediocre teams before the most important game of the season on Sunday (bias aside).

The suddenly-hot Toronto Raptors have won 3 in a row and 5 of its last 6 games. Reaction across the Raptors fan base has been a muted (borderline non-existent) sense of excitement.

Are the Raptors ruining the tank?

Let’s answer this question together by answering another question. Who have been the 3 best players during this stretch of positive games? Scottie Barnes is the only obvious answer.

The other two spots could go to any combination of RJ Barrett, Chris Boucher, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, or Jakob Poeltl. Depending on what rumours you choose to believe, all 5 of them could be traded away next week. At the very least, Boucher, Brown, and Olynyk will be shopped heavily until the February 6 deadline.

Toronto’s recent win streak also highlights the value of the team’s early season “success” in tanking. All of those close losses in November and December have given the buffer for Toronto to win 5 of 6 games in January….and still have the 5th-worst record in the NBA. Is this the part where I remind you that the Atlanta Hawks won last year’s draft lottery while holding the 10-worst record (and a minuscule 3% odds)?

This week should be a good test of Toronto’s tanking intentions, as the next 3 games are against sub-.500 teams with visions of Cooper Flagg dancing in their heads.

January 27 vs New Orleans Pelicans

Herb Jones is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Brandon Ingram has not played since December 7th. Dejounte Murray missed New Orleans’ last game and is currently listed as questionable with an elbow injury. Zion Williamson is a jacked version of Mr. Glass. He hasn’t played more than 2 games in a row since returning from a hamstring injury. In fact, Zion hasn’t played more than 5 consecutive games all season.

New Orleans started the season 5-29 and had all the right reasons to continue pooping for Coop.

Of course, they started winning. The Pelicans had a season-high 4-game win streak stopped in Memphis last week. New Orleans has won 7 of its last 12 games and has “dropped” to 3rd in the draft lottery standings.

Tanking in the stacked Western Conference is much easier. The Pelicans’ recent play still has them 11.5 games out of a play-in position. Meanwhile, the Raptors winning 5 of 6 has them only 5.5 games out of a play-in position in the sad-sack Eastern Conference.

Fun fact that may only interest me

If there ever was a sign that the 2024 draft class was one of the worst in NBA history, we have passed the halfway point of the season and Yves Missi leads the entire class in win shares.

The 21st pick is averaging 9.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks for a team that is 22 games under .500.

Prediction

The Raptors should return to their losing ways but not today.

In addition to the notable injuries listed above, New Orleans has a road record almost as embarrassing as Toronto’s. With only 4 wins in 22 road games, the Pelicans may find proceedings as cold inside Scotiabank Arena as it is outside. The absence of Jones (and possibly Murray) should allow Scottie Barnes to breathe a little bit and continue his late All-Star push.

Sidenote: This is Zion’s second game at Scotiabank Arena. A combination of injuries and a season in Tampa has kept Toronto from seeing Williamson in person.

Toronto covers the -1.5 spread.

January 29 @ Washington Wizards

Washington’s current 13-game losing streak isn’t even its worst of the season! The Wizards had a 16-game losing streak that covered all of November and the first week of December.

Three of Washington’s starters — Bilal Coulibaly (20), Alex Sarr (19), and Carlton Carrington (19) — are not even allowed to drink in the U.S.

Another sub-21 figure: 18 is the number of victories for Brian Keefe since he took over as Head Coach almost exactly one year ago, on January 25th, 2024.

Jonas Valanciunas is the definition of a professional. He hasn’t missed a game this season, has only started 8 games, and nary a peep of discontent. When JV signed for a measly $30 million over 3 years, the rumour mill immediately started photoshopping him into a Lakers jersey. While that still might happen, expect Jonas to continue being productive, as well as mentoring his younger teammates…..for one more week. It should be interesting to see which team will acquire the big man before the trade deadline.

At least Jordan Poole is getting closure.

Fun fact that may only interest me

If you’re thinking what I’m thinking of, Toronto has 3 more games against Washington after this one. Should they continue losing, the Wizards will tie the NBA record for consecutive losses (28) in Charlotte on March 1st, then break the record in Miami on March 3rd.

Two games later, the Wizards visit Toronto with a 30-game losing streak.

Prediction

The Raptors should return to their losing ways but not today.

Does this really need analysis? Valanciunas is perfectly capable of starting for any team in the league, yet he’s coming off the bench behind Sarr. JV, Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Kuzma, Richaun Holmes, Saddiq Bey, and Marvin Bagley (yes, they’re all on this roster) are all serviceable veterans who can be traded to other teams any moment now.

Washington holds the dubious mark of ranking last in offense AND defense.

Toronto covers the -4.5 spread.

January 31 vs Chicago Bulls

It must be frustrating being a Bulls fan. Chicago has won too many games to be considered a draft lottery “threat.” This roster is also not a threat in the playoff race (or play-in tournament). With each passing day, the possibility of being traded hangs over everyone on the roster.

Well, almost everyone.

Last offseason, the Bulls received Sacramento’s 2025 & 2028 second-round picks and Chris Duarte in a sign-and-trade that sent out DeMar DeRozan. Typically, a sign-and-trade salvages some value for an unrestricted free agent. This was an unsalvageable situation.

Arturas Karnisovas held onto DeRozan after last year’s trade deadline with the hope that he’d re-sign. After failing to trade Zach Lavine, failing to get past the play-in tournament, and trading away Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, Deebo had no reason to stick around.

The pressure is on to capitalize on Lavine’s productive season (24.0 points per game on 51/44/79 shooting) and Nikola Vucevic’s growing list of suitors. Bulls fans are probably not holding their breaths.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Suffering through a mediocre season can be palatable if there’s a star-laden draft class to look forward to. Unfortunately for Bulls fans, Chicago may not have a pick!

Ironically, the Bulls traded away a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2025 to the Spurs in the DeRozan deal. Chicago currently has the 9th-worst record in the league. They are a couple more wins and some unfortunate draft lottery luck away from a trifecta of terror: missing the playoffs, missing out on a stacked draft class, and having half of their salary cap tied to Lavine, Vucevic, and Patrick Williams.

Ouch.

Prediction

The Raptors should return to their losing ways but not today.

Over the last 11 matchups between the teams, Toronto and Chicago have exchanged wins like a game of hot potato. With the Bulls winning the last matchup on December 16th, the Raptors should be next to win, right?

Chicago has lost 7 of their last 8 with a bottom-5 offense. Coby White has missed the last 3 games with an ankle injury. Vucevic’s ability to stretch the floor will test Toronto’s improved defense.

Scottie missed the first meeting, a narrow 1-point defeat. He’ll be the difference-maker for the scorching-hot Raptors.

Toronto covers the -3.5 spread.

February 2 vs Los Angeles Clippers

Before the season started, Los Angeles was expected to have a pair of 20-point scorers pushing for spots on the All-Star team. That has been the case with James Harden and……Norman Powell!?!?!

Stormin’ Norm is putting together a career-best campaign (his 10th!) with a career-high 23.9 points per game, good for 20th in the NBA and 6th among West guards, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, and Kyrie Irving. The former Raptor, who has finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in each of the last 2 seasons, has taken advantage of his time as a starter while another former Raptor, Kawhi Leonard, has missed most of the season rehabbing from knee issues.

They are perpetually in the shadows of the Lakers and, with 3 teams (Thunder, Rockets, Grizzlies) ahead of them in the standings filled with youth, the Clippers have the right mix of star players, coaching experience, and defensive excellence to surprise many in the playoffs.

Kawhi putting Giannis Antetokounmpo in a highlight reel will never get old for me!

Fun fact that may only interest me

Lunch: $80

Uniforms: $300

Tickets for wife and daughters: $500

Witnessing both your daughters dance during halftime of a Raptors game: PRICELESS

This is literally a fun fact that only interests me. I cannot wait for this #ProudDadMoment to happen and will happily break the unwritten rule that media members do not cheer at games.

Prediction

The Raptors should return to their losing ways. Period.

The Clippers are the only team with a better defensive rating than the Raptors over the last two weeks. They recently defeated the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trailblazers by 88 points(!) over 24 hours.

Los Angeles covers the -10.5 spread.

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Last Week’s Record: 2-1

Season Record: 20-25