The Raptors finished their five-game road trip with three losses, falling to the Nuggets, Suns, and Clippers. The game against the Nuggets was close and both teams created a tough, playoff-like atmosphere. That was not the case against the Suns or Clippers. The Raptors didn’t even scratch the 100-point mark in those games and didn’t look like they were playing with the right energy.
After the 119-94 loss to the Clippers, head coach Darko Rajaković was asked about the team’s seeming lack of urgency. He quickly shut that concern down.
“I would not call it lack of urgency,” Rajaković said. “It’s not necessarily that we did not have urgency. We allowed things not going our way to affect us. It’s not that the guys did not want to do it or they were not focused. It just took a little bit of spirit from us, and I give credit to our team that they were able to come back from that flat start and things not going our way and really find juice and energy and fight for the rest of the game.”
Still, given the implications, another bad loss like this raises some questions.
The Raptors fell in the standings
In a close playoff race between the Raptors, Hawks, 76ers, Heat, Hornets, and Magic, every game mattered. Losing on a day when the Hawks, 76ers, and Heat all won, wasn’t great for the Raptors.
They fell to sixth place, allowing the Hawks to continue their long climb through the standings. The Raptors are now 0.5 games behind the Hawks. Their lead over the play-in teams is also dangerously small. They are 0.5 games ahead of the 76ers, 1.5 games ahead of the Heat, and 2 games ahead of the Hornets and Magic.
Falling in the standings could have serious implications for the Raptors’ first-round chances. If they finish the regular season in fifth place and the top half of the standings stays the same, they would have to face the Knicks. That matchup doesn’t offer much hope that the Raptors will get out of the first round or at least avoid getting absolutely crushed.
There’s a lot of pressure on the Raptors to win
Losing to the Clippers and falling in the standings only ups the pressure on the Raptors to get revenge against the Pelicans, beat the Magic, and take care of business against the Kings, Grizzlies, and Nets.
The Raptors’ other five games are against the Pistons, Celtics, Heat, and Knicks. Losing all of those games could be absolutely detrimental in a close playoff race.