The Toronto Raptors are through the woods, sort of.
After a hectic October and November, the Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference with only a couple bad losses to their record in those games against Sacramento. They have not lost by double digits, and while some games have been ugly, fans are generally happy with the team’s position. What makes this all better is that Toronto has played the second-toughest schedule in the league so far and the schedule will get easier as the season goes on.
NBA 2016-17: Average Opponent Strength to date, until the All-Star break, and for the rest of the season. pic.twitter.com/zUHoMAH4Gw
— Ed Küpfer (@EdKupfer) December 9, 2016
There are a couple of bumps in the road ahead, but by-and-large, the Raptors have a really easy schedule moving forward. I found a couple areas that should put some pressure on the team, though.
Ringing in the new year
Toronto has a gauntlet to start 2017.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Time (EST) |
| Sunday | January 1 | @ Lakers | 9:30 p.m. |
| Tuesday | January 3 | @ Spurs | 8:30 p.m. |
| Thursday | January 5 | Jazz | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | January 7 | @ Bulls | 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | January 8 | Rockets | 6:00 p.m. |
The Raptors spend New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles and play the Lakers on Jan. 1. Games that follow New Year’s Eve are typically bad and it’s not like they are in a boring town like Salt Lake City or Milwaukee. A hangover game is likely here.
The Spurs/Jazz split is going to be trouble. San Antonio is playing a little bit better than expected given the loss of Tim Duncan and the struggles of Tony Parker. Kawhi Leonard is one of the most entertaining players to watch on defence, if not the most entertaining, and I can picture him locking down DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry. Utah has struggled because of their injuries, but they have been incredible as of late with the team getting healthy. They still have some issues to work out as Zach Lowe outlined in his article this week, but this is a tough team as is.
Chicago always has Toronto’s number and the Bulls are great in front of the United Center crowd. A Saturday night game against a legit Eastern Conference contender is a recipe for chaos there. Plus, Jimmy Butler owns us.
Then the Raptors have a back-to-back with the Rockets, who rank 11th in pace and third in offensive rating. The early tip-off time after a late(ish) game in Chicago isn’t great either. This looks like a bit of a schedule loss, but Toronto’s depth can help pull out some surprising wins.
Grinding through late March
The only other extended difficult stretch I could find is in late March.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Time (EST) |
| Sunday | March 19 | Pacers | 6:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | March 21 | Bulls | 7:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | March 23 | @ Heat | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | March 25 | @ Mavericks | 8:30 p.m. |
| Monday | March 27 | Magic | 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday | March 29 | Hornets | 7:30 p.m. |
| Friday | March 31 | Pacers | 7:00 p.m. |
This isn’t really that tough when you look at the opponents, but honestly, it’s the closest the Raptors come to having a difficult stretch. As of right now, only the Pacers, Bulls and Hornets are in playoff position. Six games in 11 nights is great for fans but can wear on players, especially as they start to look ahead to the playoffs.
Those Miami nights have always seemed to get the better of the Raptors, though this Heat roster is significantly less talented than anything we have seen in the past ten years. Dallas is hot garbage right now with the 28th worst point differential in the league and a bunch of injuries. I doubt they will be fielding anything close to a competitive roster, so maybe we can see Bruno set a new career high that night.
The combination of Indiana, Chicago and Charlotte should offer some kind of playoff preview. As of writing this, Chicago sits fourth in the league, with Charlotte in fifth and Indiana sneaking in at eighth. I imagine they will all be in the mix somehow, and could all be potential playoff opponents.
Are there any big games remaining?
There are a few litmus test games remaining, but most have already happened. This site has covered how the Raptors stack up against the Cavaliers, but there is one final game on Apr. 12 between the two. Cleveland has a half-game lead on Toronto plus the tie-breaker, but the Raptors could leapfrog the Cavs and make this final game worth homecourt advantage through the playoffs.
I’m skeptical of every other team in the East until proven otherwise, so I don’t think there are many games left that will define Toronto’s spot in the conference hierarchy. The Raptors play the Celtics on Jan. 10, Feb. 1 and Feb. 24, and it will take a couple impressive performances from Boston to convince me that they can hang with Toronto.
Games against Golden State (Dec. 28), San Antonio (Jan. 3 and Jan. 24) and the Clippers (Feb. 6) will be nice tests too.
Toronto has a great schedule moving forward and have been healthy so far. There is every opportunity to earn some blowout wins, rest the starters and make a run for that No. 1 seed. Everything’s coming up Raptors.
