Raptors Playoff Picture: NBA Playoff Bracket if season ended today

The Toronto Raptors split a two-game series against the Washington Wizards, bringing their record to 32-33 on the season. The team is currently in the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference after a midseason trade for Jakob Poeltl gave them little extra life.

The Raptors, like many teams that are currently mired in the play-in chase, are on very shaky ground. Not only is Toronto just outside of the 7-8 matchup that would allow them to lose a game and still make the postseason potentially, but they would face a Washington team that gave them trouble in the regular season.

If the season ended today, the Raptors would be in the playoffs. That doesn’t mean, however, that Toronto’s hypothetical path through the postseason would be an easy ride.

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Toronto Raptors playoff picture: Current NBA playoff bracket

Western Conference

• No. 1 Denver Nuggets vs. Lowest remaining play-in seed
• No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. Highest remaining play-in seed
• No. 3 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 6 Dallas Mavericks
• No. 4 Phoenix Suns vs No. 5 Golden State Warriors
• No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves vs No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers
• No. 9 Utah Jazz vs. No. 10 New Orleans Pelicans

These standings are so wild and close together that they could undergo drastic changes by the day. On top of the fact that the Clippers and Pelicans are losing steam, the acquisition of Kevin Durant could make the Suns the new favorites in the conference.

Even though teams like the Clippers and Mavericks were very active during trade season, they have not been able to break through in the standings and convert their new-look roster into some extra wins. Denver is getting closer to running away with the top seed.

Eastern Conference

• No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. Lowest remaining play-in seed
• No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. Highest remaining play-in seed
• No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 6 Brooklyn Nets
• No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs No. 5 New York Knicks
• No. 7 Miami Heat vs No. 8 Atlanta Hawks
• No. 9 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 10 Washington Wizards

The Raptors would start the hypothetical postseason against the Wizards in a play-in game. Should they win, they would face the loser of the Heat-Hawks game for the privilege of earning the No. 8 seed in the conference. While not ideal, it’s better than not making the playoffs.

Toronto would face either a Bucks team that just had a 16-game winning streak snapped or a Celtics squad with a defense so strong that it has befuddled the rest of the league. That may not bode well for a deep playoff run, but crazier things have happened.