The Toronto Raptors have had happier Mondays. They currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, one game up on the Atlanta Hawks, but are losers of two straight after a lopsided loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday.
But here are a couple things that could cheer up DeMar DeRozan and Co. First, as of this morning they are a greater-than 99.9–per cent lock to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s NBA Power Index. In fact, with 38 wins already under their belts, they’d have to lose all their remaining 16 games to finish with fewer wins than the currently ninth-seeded Miami’s extrapolated total (39).
Second, they’re not going to face a murderer’s row down the stretch. According to SN Stats, remaining Raptors opponents have a collective .475 win percentage, giving them the East’s fifth-easiest remaining schedule.
Other good news for the Raptors here: Several teams at the top of the East playoff picture, including the Hawks (.486), Washington Wizards (.498), Indiana Pacers (.502) and Cleveland Cavaliers (.521), all have tougher remaining schedules.
Not good news? The third-place Boston Celtics (.433) have the easiest remaining schedule in the conference. Couple that with the facts that Kyle Lowry may not play another game this regular season and that Boston already has a 3.5-game cushion, and it seems highly unlikely Toronto can catch them. Further, at this point Boston seems far more likely to leapfrog Washington and Cleveland than fall behind the Raptors.
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