Toronto Raptors: Pros and cons of making the playoffs in 2020-21
By Matthew Chiu
The Toronto Raptors have struggled to stay afloat this season, causing the “tank” talk to undeniably take off. It seems like the Raptors’ tank job is stull in full swing despite the recent success, seeing that they have “rested” key players in their lineup and have had no issues playing their young guys.
Nick Nurse recently spoke on the idea of tanking, saying that he “didn’t like it, and the goal is to still make the playoffs.” The Raptors have played better than .500 ball since this statement and are 5-4 in their last nine.
Currently slotted in for the last play-in spot at 24-34 with the fifth hardest remaining schedule, making the playoffs certainly won’t be an easy task, especially considering the injuries this team has suffered through.
That being said, saying that the Raptors haven’t played like their typical selves this season is an understatement. It’s not a crazy idea to think that this team could have a good final stretch and sneak into the playoffs.
Raptors beat the Thunder.
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) April 19, 2021
Seeing all of the Montreal blood out there was awesome. Boucher and Dort having the nights they did made it even better.
Big shot Bouch.
Toronto can't tank worth a damn, though. They're like ... really bad at it.
The road to 38-34 continues ...
What do the Toronto Raptors gain out of making the playoffs?
Pro: Playoff experience for the young guys
If the Raptors see guys like Malachi Flynn, DeAndre’ Bembry, and others as future building blocks for this team, then getting their feet wet in the playoffs is a must.
We’ve seen young players get this playoff experience early who are having great starts to their careers such as Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell. We’ve also seen some NBA vets follow this path such as Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. While Toronto’s youngsters might not follow that career trajectory, playing meaningful basketball in the summer is still worth it.
The Toronto Raptors need to play important basketball.
While a first-round exit is the most likely scenario to play out, as the Raptors will assuredly be matched up with either the Brooklyn Nets or Philadelphia 76ers if they get into the play-in tournament in win some games, getting the playoff experience now is important.
They aren’t getting the full playoff experience because of the restrictions that COVID-19 has brought us, but just getting a feel of how the playoff atmosphere differs from regular-season basketball and seeing how games are called differently in the playoffs will always stick with them.