On Sunday, the Toronto Raptors secured a spot in the NBA play-in tournament with an easy 128-108 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The win put them into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, and since they have the same 39-39 record as the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks, they have a chance to move up further in the standings in the coming days.
This will give Toronto a shot at making the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
Fans on Twitter were happy while wanting the team to move up to a higher seed.
Raptors forsure making playoffs, no team wants em in playoffs .. possibly one of the best 7/8 seed team ever !! Their record doesn’t do justice of their potential
— Web TV (@webtvstreaming_) April 3, 2023
They gone take that 8th seed..!!
— T_Lipp (@Tony_Lippett14) April 3, 2023
However, these fans don’t think the Raptors will go anywhere should they win the play-in tourney.
Getting bounced in round 1 🔥
— GOAT (@GoatGooat) April 3, 2023
And 1st round exit
— ً (@_nuh_uh) April 3, 2023
One may think that since the Raptors only have a .500 record, they simply aren’t a good team.
However, do not let that record fool you.
They possess a good amount of talent for a team that has a mediocre record, not to mention lots of length.
Their best player is 6-foot-9 big man Pascal Siakam, who came into Sunday averaging a career-high 24.1 points a game, and he earned his second All-Star nod this season.
Point guard Fred VanVleet continues to put up strong numbers with 19.7 points and 7.0 assists per game this year, while two-way wing OG Anunoby has had another strong season.
The Raptors also have plenty of hope in second-year forward Scottie Barnes, who was averaging 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game coming into the game against the Hornets.
Perhaps they won’t stand a chance against the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, but they could make either contender work to put them away.
NEXT:
Nick Nurse Comments On His Future Status After The Season
