When you hear NBA pundits talk about the Eastern Conference race, all the chatter revolves around three teams—the front-running Atlanta Hawks, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. But nestled in between those teams in the Eastern standings is a team that everyone seems to have forgotten about—the Toronto Raptors. Here’s a basic primer on what Toronto brings to the table for the coming playoffs and what they don’t.
We’re not yet halfway through the regular season, but to look at the standings in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff race, one might conclude it’s already over. Oh, there are battles for seedings to fight over and in the homecourt-friendly NBA that can never be overlooked. But when it comes to the eight teams that qualify for the postseason, there’s a sharp line drawn between the haves and have-nots. Milwaukee is 19-18 and the only teams in shouting distance are Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto and Orlando. Let’s run through those latter four teams and see if any of them can make the race for the final spot(s) interesting over the next couple months.