3 problems Raptors must clean up before the postseason

1. Health

The Raptors are the walking wounded at the moment, as VanVleet is not moving as fast as he normally does thanks to a recurring knee problem. Both Birch and Gary Trent Jr. have been in and out of the lineup with nagging ailments, and Flynn has been missing for weeks with his hamstring woes.

The Raptors have just six games left on the schedule, including a pair against two of the league’s worst teams in the Rockets and Magic. Nick Nurse needs to be careful about running these stars into the ground, as they can’t pull off an upset with their rotation at less than 100 percent health.

Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet needs to get healthy.

Managing VanVleet is of the utmost concern, as he may need to take some regular season games off for rest just to make sure that his knee is as strong as it could be. While he’s been effective over the last few games, Toronto is not going to make a deep run without VanVleet replicating his feats from December and January. 

Nurse’s Raptors are no stranger to overcoming postseason injuries, as they went on a title run with OG Anunoby on the mend. However, without the superstar factor provided by Leonard and the uncommon depth they had in 2019, VanVleet and Trent showing up with bumps and bruises can make all the difference.