The Raptors are going to the playoffs for the second straight year but have no reason to hold their heads up high and feel proud.
After losing 15 of their last 21 they are limping their way into the post season and setting themselves up for an embarrassing four game sweep, regardless of who they play.
This is a team with more than enough talent but one that, as a group, doesn't play with enough awareness or intensity on defence and lack of basketball IQ on the offensive end. The problems on D are nothing new. They've been there since Sam Mitchell has been the coach. That's not to say it's all his fault but he has to take a big part of the responsibility. They have regressed from last season and don't look anything like the team that won the Atlantic Division a year ago.
Right now teams are exposing the Raptors on the defensive end and come playoff time, it's all about half court offence and lockdown defence. Unless they find a way to correct this over their last five games, you can forget about this team winning a post season game.
The question is, can they fix what has been broken pretty much all season long and do it in less than two weeks?
Totally agree that the defensive part of the game is a HUGE problem. Bargnani takes too many cheap early fouls and too many 3 point shots, many of them missing. Nesterovic has done a great job at the offensive end but is too slow to play defense. The Raptors give up so many easy buckets and live and die with the 3-point shot. Time to get down and dirty, just like the Pistons but..... don't see that happening anytime soon