Alarming Raptors’ season trend proves they must get home play-in game

The Toronto Raptors have long enjoyed one of the greatest home-court advantages in the NBA. Even though Fred VanVleet noted that the crowd could be a little bit uneven when the team is playing poorly, Raptors fans feed off momentum like no other fanbase, creating a very hostile environment for opposing teams.

Even in a season where the Raptors have struggled to be as creative and dynamic on the offensive end as they were at the peak of their powers last year, they still have a robust 26-14 home record. Of course, that means the team is just 12-26 on the road, one of the worst marks of any playoff hopeful.

Toronto is currently tied with the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference play-in race, with both of them currently locked into the No. 8 seed. The Raptors are 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat (who they beat on Tuesday), which would give them the all-important No. 7-seed in the east.

With Miami starting to slip, Toronto must treat these last few games like mini-postseason matchups. The difference between taking on the Heat in Toronto as compared to facing off with them in Miami is gargantuan.

Raptors playoffs: Toronto must earn the No. 7 seed and play at home.

The Raptors are 5-1 at home against Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami this season, yet are 1-3 on the road. With all three of those teams boasting All-Star talent that can come right in and be a nuisance to Toronto, having the proverbial wind in your sails must be something this club prioritizes.

The Raptors have six games remaining on the schedule. After taking on the mighty 76ers on Friday night, Toronto will finish the regular season with consecutive road double-headers against Charlotte and Boston before ending the campaign against the Bucks.

Toronto can’t take any results for granted here, as they have shown time and time again that they are not worthy of the benefit of the doubt. The ill-fated West Coast road trip, capped off by two clunkers in Los Angeles, shows that the Raptors can falter without the Scotiabank Arena crowd behind them.

Toronto is the picture of inconsistency and mediocrity, which lends itself to being a complete grabbag when you don’t have teams thrown off their game in an uncomfortable road environment. These next few games are going to be as important as any stretch the team has had all season long.