Take a look at the schedule and you may have noticed that, with just 18 games remaining, we’ve officially reached the point in the season where, if you’re a Toronto Raptors fan, every game from here on out holds major implications on the East Conference standings.
With the Boston Celtics sitting in second and the Washington Wizards in third— two of the hottest teams in the NBA— the Raps seem fairly ensconced in fourth place. Not so long ago the fifth-place Hawks looked like a threat to leapfrog Toronto, but Atlanta seems to be self-destructing at the worst possible time.
For some, the scoreboard watching may have started as soon as Masai Ujiri pulled the trigger on the Serge Ibaka deal. And despite watching their team win on the road, those Raptors’ fans probably didn’t like what they saw last night. The Raptors, Celtics, and Wizards, are all hoping to finish the season in the 2nd or 3rd seed, securing home court advantage, but more importantly avoiding a potential matchup with the defending champion Cavaliers until the Conference Finals.
Here’s a look at the latest snapshot for the three teams fighting for spots 2-4 down the stretch (Note: the Raptors don’t face either the Celts or Wizards again this season, but Boston and Washington meet once more, on March. 20):
BOSTON CELTICS
After dropping two straight during their West road trip, the Celtics came up big on Wednesday night, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to go on a 15-0 run and beat the NBA’s best team 99-86.
Despite 48 combined from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Boston all-star Isaiah Thomas dropped 25 points and forward Kelly Olynyk chipped in with 17 points of his own.
The Celts wrap up their road trip vs. the Nuggets in Denver on Friday before returning home to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Holding the best record in the East since Jan.1, John Wall and the Wizards just keep on rolling, winners of three straight since their loss to the Raptors last Friday.
Washington took out the aforementioned Nuggets on the road last night, 123-113, in a heated affair behind Wall’s 30 points, while supporting stars Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. combined for 45 points.
The Wiz remain on the road through the weekend, with upcoming winnable games scheduled vs. the Sacramento Kings on Friday and Portland Trailblazers on Saturday.
TORONTO RAPTORS
It was tougher than it perhaps had to be, but the Raptors pulled out the win in New Orleans vs. the Pelicans Wednesday night, thanks to a monster night from Jonas Valanciunas, who has struggled mightily since the Ibaka trade. Valanciunas saw his first fourth quarter minutes since the deal, and responded with a loud team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds while matching up with one of the most formidable front courts in the NBA.
But it doesn’t get any easier for the Raptors, who after a game against the fifth-seeded Hawks in Atlanta on Friday visit the Miami the following night for a game against the surprising Heat who are improbably in the hunt for the East’s eight seed after spending the first half of the season in the NBA’s basement.
Source: SportsNet