3 Things Raptors fans should root for, 4 to root against to close season

Root Against the Indiana Pacers

Finally, the Toronto Raptors have a pair of valuable draft picks that they acquired this season, one from the Indiana Pacers and one from the Detroit Pistons by way of New York.

Currently, the Indiana Pacers are 44-34, which places them with the 16th pick. The Raptors will get that pick as long as it falls outside of the Top 3, so they can freely root for the Pacers to lose out. That will secure the best possible pick, and it's even possible that Indiana falls into the 7-8 Play-In Game, loses to either Miami or Philadelphia, and then again to either Chicago or Atlanta in the final Play-In Game to miss the playoffs entirely.

That would convey a late lottery pick, allowing the Raptors to further add to their young core. It's more likely that the pick falls around 16th or 17th, but anywhere from 13 to 19 is in play. The more the Pacers lose, the better the pick gets.

Root Against the Detroit Pistons

In a similar vein, the Detroit Pistons currently sit at 13-64, two wins behind the 15-63 Washington Wizards. The Toronto Raptors acquired the Pistons' unprotected second-round pick in this year's draft, and having one of the best second-round picks is an underrated boon that makes them arguably more vlauable than the last couple of picks in the first round.

The pick will fall at either 31 or 32, so why not root for it to be number 31? That will put the Raptors at the forefront of conversation this June as the NBA Draft moves to a two-night event, with Toronto first out of the gates on the second night. The Raptors have the potential to add three players to their roster in the draft, and the more Indiana and Detroit lose this final week, the better.