While the East and West semis are now underway, the eventful first-round of playoff basketball offered plenty to consider. There's a lot to take away from the outcomes, particularly for the Toronto Raptors, who hope to be back in the postseason mix as soon as next year.
No NBA franchise wants to be on the outside looking in, but this position offers a unique perspective. It allows teams like Toronto to analyze the trajectories, pinpoint the flaws, and identify the lessons learned by their counterparts. Hopefully, the Raptors can use these insights to avoid or overcome that critical hump when they eventually return to contention.
So, what valuable lessons do I believe the Toronto Raptors can take away from the first-round playoffs to make them a better squad going forward?
Key takeaways for the Raptors from the 2025 NBA Playoffs (thus far)
For starters, I'd like to rewind back to the very intense series between Detroit and New York. Even though the Knicks arguably had the advantage going in, and they swung the momentum in their favor as the series went along, I wasn't so quick to knock the Pistons off just like that.
This year's squad in the Motor City defied expectations tenfold. Their roster construction, with young star Cade Cunningham at the helm and surrounded by serviceable vets, essentially painted an image of what the Raptors should follow.
Also, Detroit has the luxury of a superb defender like Ausar Thompson on their roster. While not the greatest offensive player, he can definitely make a huge difference by locking down the opposing squad's top stars. But as the Pistons came down to a crucial Game 6 where it was do-or-die, it became clear that even with a stellar defender like Thompson, the Knicks would get the last laugh in victory, riding the clutch ability of Jalen Brunson.
There's a reason Brunson won the Clutch Player of the Year award; you can bet that man can go out there and get you a bucket when it's most needed. I saw Brunson look like he was going to lose his step and the ball, but as always, he showed tremendous poise, making two critical shots to seal the game for New York, essentially rendering Thompson's elite defense useless.
So, you might be thinking, what exactly does this have to do with the Raptors?
Well, the way Detroit ultimately fell in the first round, to me, seems like an eerie telling of what could be on the playoff horizon for Toronto down the line.
When it comes to defense, the Raptors have it down to a tee, with an ace like Scottie Barnes leading the way, Jakob Poeltl anchoring the paint, and supporting pieces in between. But when it comes to a clutch scorer, the argument could be made that Toronto is severely lacking in that category, or at least, not quite proven in that department, even with Brandon Ingram's impending arrival.
Should Toronto make it to the playoffs, facing off with the tougher teams of the East in what could be a grueling seven-game series, I trust their defense will hold up. However, when it comes down to the wire, who is going to sink that clutch dagger? I already referred to this issue as a longstanding hole in Toronto for years now, and I came to the conclusion in another piece that Immanuel Quickley shows a ton of potential to be that guy.
Drawing off this conversation about toughness alone not being enough to get the job done, I present the second first-round series serving as a prime example: Houston vs. Golden State.
I'll admit it, I thought the Warriors had that series in the bag, and it was only a matter of time before they'd move on to the next round. But the Rockets, and especially a wily ex-Raptors veteran in Fred VanVleet, would prove that he wasn't going to go down without a fight.
And as the series wound down to a critical Game 7, Houston's nature of having guys like VanVleet, Steven Adams, Amen Thompson, and Dillon Brooks – all hustlers doing the little things to win – wasn't enough. Golden State's wealth of championship experience (and a surprise coming-out party for Buddy Hield) ended up securing the win for them.
Even in a game when Steph Curry struggled to find his offense early, he eventually out hustled the youngsters in the latter half of the game, popping off with his shot and adding to an already comfortable lead.
Look, I know this is NBA basketball; some teams are just bound to outperform others when the lights shine the brightest. However, you can still draw some very helpful conclusions to avoid repeating those same mistakes or to limit those factors from being the deciding blow between a win and a loss.
I have no doubt in my mind that Toronto can return to playoff relevancy soon enough, especially given the bleak nature of the Eastern Conference going forward. But as these first-round series showed, toughness and a defensive identity alone are not enough to push a team over the edge.
I've always been a huge believer in the saying, "Defense wins championships," and while that may be true, the game is just as reliant on clutch scoring and experience to reach the promised land. And as hard as it may be to accept, right now, as it currently stands, I'd say the Raptors are still very much behind in those two categories. Nevertheless, I feel they're obviously taking the necessary steps to get there; it's just going to take some time.