The Toronto Raptors are officially a bad team. Monday night, they couldn’t even stop the Houston Rockets, who used Toronto to break a 20-game losing streak in a 117-99 drubbing of the Raptors. Since the All-Star break, the Raptors are 0-9.
It would be delusional to believe the Raptors could somehow salvage this season with a spectacular playoff run when after 36 games, they won only 17 and have now dropped the first nine of the second half.
In a season shortened to 72 games, there are just 26 games left, and for the Raptors to extend the season into the playoffs, they would likely need to go 21-5 the rest of the way. The Raptors have yet to prove they can when consistently this year as they did last season.
Certainly, some of the players on the roster are still trying to recover their rhythm and game fitness after missing time for NBA safety and health protocols, and the team is based in a temporary home in Florida.
The Toronto Raptors are really struggling right now
Still, at some point, the reality is this year’s roster isn’t good enough. A seven-year playoff run is near its end, and it won’t get easier as Denver and Phoenix are the next opponents, both top-five teams in the NBA’s Western Conference.
So in light of a stretch of futility standing at nine games, here is a look at five other times the Raptors hit epic losing streaks in their history and the impact on the franchise.