The Toronto Raptors are still in a better long-term position than the Knicks

The Toronto Raptors learned the hard way that Julius Randle and the New York Knicks are not an opponent to be trifled with this season. In a game that saw Randle shut down Pascal Siakam, a late turnover gave the Knicks a narrow victory as the Raptors continued to push for a high draft pick in 2021.

The Knicks, coached by former Raptors nemesis Tom Thibodeau, appear to no longer be the same old, bottom-feeding Knicks. Instead, with Randle leading the charge, RJ Barrett developing as a star, and role players like Immanuel Quickley and Mitchell Robinson are accomplishing their assigned duties with aplomb.

The Knicks took advantage of a Raptors team that has been beaten up by injuries, COVID-19 sticky situations, not playing a single home game all year long, and the looming exodus of franchise hero Kyle Lowry.

Considering how bad the loss against the Knicks was and the quality in the Atlantic Division, the Raptors appear destined for another decade as a doormat, as the star power looks too tough to overcome to the casual fan.

Even after such a crushing loss for Toronto, they could be in a better position for the next few years than the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis draft picks be damned.

Will the Toronto Raptors be better than the Knicks next year?

The Knicks might have more draft capital, but they also have some question marks that they need to answer. Is Barrett capable of potentially being a No. 1 scoring option? Will they spend their cap space wisely when they have a history of mistakes from the front office? Is Randle’s star turn a sign of things to come or a flash in the pan?

Even if Lowry bolts in the offseason, the Raptors have their choice of three potential 20-point scorers in Fred VanVleet, Siakam, and, likely, Gary Trent Jr. considering how well he’s played during his stint with Toronto.

Throw in the league’s best non-big defender in OG Anunoby, a championship-winning coach like Nick Nurse, and an Executive of the Year in Masai Ujiri, and you have the skeleton of a team that should be able to compete for the postseason next year.

The Raptors could make some noise in the Atlantic

With two star trios in the division between the Brooklyn Nets (Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving) and the Philadephia 76ers (Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris), those two will likely have the dvision locked down. A Boston Celtics team led by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Brad Stevens also could stand out.

The Raptors and Knicks will likely be fighting to avoid getting the last-place dunce hat put on them next season. However, with Toronto back in Canada and a potential Top 10 pick giving them another star in the making, they have all of the pieces to make a deep postseason run.

The Knicks are way ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and for that they deserve praise, but Toronto has the better bedrock and foundation, even without Lowry. In a 2021-22 season that will actually see the Raptors back in Canada, the Raptors could once again leapfrog their rivals in the standings.