March is off to a rough start for the Raptors. They are 1-4 so far. Three of those losses came against good teams—the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Rockets—but there are absolutely no excuses for a 122-111 loss to the 22-45 New Orleans Pelicans, especially when you consider the implications of that loss. The Raptors fell from fifth to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, plummeting into the play-in tournament picture.
For many fans, those recent struggles just confirm a nagging suspicion that had overshadowed the Raptors’ earlier success: They just overperformed, and this team still has many, many issues.
The Raptors went on a tear in November
After starting the season with a 2-4 record in October, the Raptors put together an impressive run in November. They won 12 of their 15 games and went on a nine-game win streak that was eventually snapped by an 118-111 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The Raptors quickly rose through the standings in November. At the end of October, they were twelfth in the Eastern Conference. By the middle of the next month, they had climbed all the way to fifth place. Then, they worked their way up to fourth place, third place, and eventually second place behind only the Detroit Pistons. That lasted for ten days.
At the beginning of December, the Raptors found themselves back in fourth place and their record normalized compared to November. They won six games in December and lost eight. In January, they put together a 9-6 record. Last month, they won six of their ten games. The Raptors still had winning records in January and February, but it was nowhere near as dominant as their record in November. It looked a lot more like the middling team the Raptors are now emerging as.
The Raptors have a lot of flaws to iron out
The Raptors are a solid team defensively. They have the sixth-best defensive rating in the league, and Scottie Barnes is putting together an All-Defensive team season.
The offense is the problem right now. The Raptors rank 20th in offensive rating and 26th in 3-point percentage. The Raptors also lack size and quality depth at the center position and their already middling offense falls apart completely in fourth quarters. Opponents have started to figure out how to exploit those weaknesses.
Even if the Raptors are still bought into the core of Barnes, Ingram, Barrett, and Quickley, they need to improve the roster around them. That’s easier said than done considering some of the massive long-term contracts on this roster.