Toronto Raptors: Eastern Conference playoff predicitons

The Toronto Raptors are mere moments away from tipping off the season in a tough Eastern Conference. How will the standings look come the end of the year?

By the end of the 2019/20 NBA season, we could be looking at a completely different Toronto Raptors team, but for a variety of reasons. The team has been pegged as going through a transition season one season removed from Kawhi Leonard and their first-ever NBA title, but the forecast shouldn’t be so drab and dreary.

The Toronto Raptors are still a playoff team – in fact, they are still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. That is, however, in an Eastern Conference that has had a lot of moving parts this season. Free agency always proves to be a chaotic fairground ride, but this season might have been the biggest in NBA history.

Changes from all across the board were evident, and not one team really looks the same as they did the season prior. That’s why it’s so hard to predict the outcome of a season. Sample sizes of lineups together are so bare and minimal, with most teams only having four preseason games to really figure out who is who and what is what.

It’s an organised free-for-all if we’re being honest about it. But that’s also part of the fun – trying to dissect each team when a ball has barely been tipped in anger while rubbing the crystal ball to see just who will be on top at the end of the regular season.

If it feels like that the regular season has lost all significance then this season might be the year to prove you wrong. With so many teams vying for a coveted playoff spot, winning consistently in the regular season might just mean as much as ever.

Only eight teams can make the playoffs in each conference, and it’s as tight as ever. What eight teams will make the playoffs in the East, and where do the Toronto Raptors fit within it all?