The Toronto Raptors clinched top spot in the East with a win over the Indiana Pacers on an eventful Friday night in the NBA that also featured the Philadelphia 76ers edging the Cleveland Cavaliers to leapfrog them in the standings.
Dwane Casey’s group has been eliminated by the Cavs in each of the past two seasons—losing in six games during the 2016 East final and getting swept in the conference semifinals in 2017—and for much of this season it looked like the only way they’d meet in the playoffs this year would be in the conference finals. However, after the Cavs fell to fourth thanks to the streaking 76ers, winners of 13 in a row, another second-round matchup with Cleveland is all of a sudden a distinct possibility for Toronto.
With only a few games remaining in the regular season, the Raptors will face one of the Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks or Miami Heat in the opening round of the playoffs. There are no guarantees, obviously, but the Raptors will presumably be heavy favourites over each of those three teams.
Should the top four seeds in the East make it out of the first round, which has happened two years running, it means the Raptors would face the No. 4 seed. Right now that’s the Cavs, so it got us thinking…
Philadelphia has three games remaining against the Mavericks, Hawks and Bucks, while the Cavs close out their schedule with a home-and-home series with the Knicks.
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