Raptors Fulcrum: Pelicans humiliation recovered by feel-good triumph over Pistons

The Toronto Raptors have had quite the last week. They have gone 3-2 since the last Fulcrum, but their record does not tell the full story. The Raptors suffered one of their most deflating losses of the season and followed it with two of their most impressive wins.

Their losses came against the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans, with the 22-46 Pelicans delivering a gut punch to Raptors fans. Their wins came against the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and Detroit Pistons. Beating the Suns and Pistons to end the week was a huge momentum boost for this team.

RJ Barrett is back with a vengeance

Barrett was Toronto’s leading scorer this past week, averaging 24.2 points per game on 57.8% shooting. His play was critical in all three wins, but especially in the close games against Phoenix and Detroit.

The Toronto native dealt with knee and ankle issues earlier this season. Those injuries caused him to miss 24 games. When he first returned, he did not look quite right, averaging 14.4 points on 39.8% shooting in his first 10 games back. In the 10 games since then, he has averaged 22.0 points on 55.0% shooting.

It is fair to say he is feeling more comfortable. It is a good thing too because his physical drives and savvy cutting are huge complements to Toronto’s other offensive options. We saw earlier in the season that when Barrett is thriving, Toronto’s offense thrives. He is regaining his form at exactly the right time for Toronto’s playoff push.

Was the Pelicans loss the wake-up call this team needed?

Losing to a team in the basement of the Western Conference was bad enough. What happened in the final minutes made it even worse.

With 1:24 left in the game, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray did this to Jamal Shead:

To make matters worse, the Raptors fell from a playoff spot into the play-in range for the first time in months. It was truly the worst-case scenario.

But the team may have used that loss as a wake-up call. Their next two games came against far stronger opponents. In each game, Toronto put together four quarters of physical, engaged basketball. It was two of their most complete performances of the entire season.

Toronto may have heard the noise after that Pelicans loss and responded accordingly. That is exactly how you want a young team to respond after a humbling loss.

Western Conference road trip will test Toronto’s newfound momentum

The Raptors begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday against Chicago. After that, they head west for matchups with Denver, Phoenix, Utah, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Extended road trips are always challenging, but Raptors fans will be watching closely. This upcoming stretch marks a critical point in the season. Can this team capitalize on its momentum and pick up a couple of wins against playoff teams like the Nuggets and Suns? Or will they continue their inconsistency and falter against teams outside the playoff picture?

If Toronto can build on its past couple of wins, it will put itself in position to escape the play-in tournament. From here on out, every game will carry real playoff implications.