Next stop ➡️ Play-In Tournament
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 6, 2023
In case y’all were wondering how the format works, we got you covered pic.twitter.com/hDuzoxlKUD
Editor's note: Chicago defeated Toronto 109-105 in the NBA play-in tournament on Wednesday. The offseason begins.
The 2023 Toronto Raptors find themselves in the 2023 NBA play-in tournament. Which meant your humble narrator had to look this up.
This felt like the confusion over the 2020 NHL playoffs where they couldn't figure out whether the opening round was the playoffs. In other words, this is NBA purgatory.
The Raptors finished as the proverbial #9 seed, which means under the old rules, they would barely miss the playoffs. So Toronto gets a chance and a home game, hosting the Chicago Bulls, the #10 seed.
Should the Raptors advance past this game, the team will travel to the loser of the #7 seed (Miami) and the #8 seed (Atlanta). The winner of the Atlanta-Miami game becomes the playoffs #7 seed. The Raptors-Bulls winner versus the Heat-Hawks loser becomes the playoffs #8 seed.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James in 2021 said whoever came up with the play-in tournament "needs to be fired." Then again, the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and Nashville Predators may want this in the NHL this week.
Milwaukee plays the #8 seed while Boston plays the #7 seed in the opening round of the actual NBA playoffs. Those were Toronto's final 2 opponents in the regular season.
Toronto won the season series with the Heat (3-1) and Bulls (2-1) but lost the season series with the Hawks (1-2). The irony is that the Raptors are the #9 seed because of the tiebreaker. Would the Raptors have fought harder without the safety net of the play-in tournament?
The 7/8 game is on Tuesday while the 9/10 game is on Wednesday. The play-in game to be the lowest seed is on Friday. The real NBA playoffs start Saturday. Game times are at 7:30 pm Eastern on Tuesday, 7 pm Eastern on Wednesday, and one of those starting times on Friday.
The play-in tournament gives the top 2 teams a chance to rest while teams beat each other up to play tired against really good teams.
In the first 2 seasons with the play-in tournament, none of the play-in teams advanced past the first round of the actual NBA playoffs. All of the 7 seeds stayed at 7 while 3 of the 4 #8 seeds were the original #9 seed. That is a good sign for the Raptors being at #9.
The game may come down to who has the better postseason game: former Raptors star DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) or current Raptors star Fred VanVleet (Toronto).
In the U.S., TNT has the Atlanta-Miami game Tuesday night as well as the Friday battle for the #8 seed in the playoffs. ESPN has the Chicago-Toronto game from Scotiabank Arena.
TSN will carry the play-in games in Canada. Rogers Sportsnet and TSN will split Raptors games in the actual playoffs.
I feel like Rod Roddy telling people they won't be confused about the next episode of Soap. You will be confused.
The Toronto Raptors finished the 2022-2023 NBA season with a 41-41 record, going 27-14 at home and a frustrating 14-27 road record.
The team had a quick exit in 2022 in the first round, missed the 2021 playoffs, and lost in 7 to Boston in the 2020 playoffs since winning the 2019 NBA title.
Most of the recent drama for the Raptors has been off the court. The team not converting Jeff Dowtin Jr.’s two-way contract so he is ineligible for the play-in tournament and playoffs. Whether these will be the final game(s) Nick Nurse will coach for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors ceiling this season is 2 games above .500. Doesn't say "playoffs" with that type of track record.
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Chicago hasn't played Toronto in the NHL playoffs since 1995 when the Maple Leafs lost in 7 in the opening round. Toronto has won 6 of the 9 series against Chicago (1931, 1932, 1938, 1940, 1962, 1967, 1986, 1994, 1995).
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-2 in the 1993 American League Championship Series.
The Chicago Sting defeated the Toronto Blizzard 2 games to 0 to win the 1984 North American Soccer League championship.
Chicago and Toronto have never met in the NBA playoffs or postseason.
Toronto Raptors playoffs history
| 2023 | Chicago | 0-1 |
| 2022 | Philadelphia | 2-4 |
| 2020 | Boston | 3-4 |
| 2020 | Brooklyn | 4-0 |
| 2019 | Golden State | 4-2 |
| 2019 | Milwaukee | 4-2 |
| 2019 | Philadelphia | 4-3 |
| 2019 | Orlando | 4-1 |
| 2018 | Cleveland | 0-4 |
| 2018 | Washington | 4-2 |
| 2017 | Cleveland | 0-4 |
| 2017 | Milwaukee | 4-2 |
| 2016 | Cleveland | 2-4 |
| 2016 | Miami | 4-3 |
| 2016 | Indiana | 4-3 |
| 2015 | Washington | 0-4 |
| 2014 | Brooklyn | 3-4 |
| 2008 | Orlando | 1-4 |
| 2007 | New Jersey | 2-4 |
| 2002 | Detroit | 2-3 |
| 2001 | Philadelphia | 3-4 |
| 2001 | New York | 3-2 |
| 2000 | New York | 0-3 |
Twitter capture: @Raptors
photo credit: NBA
logo credit: Toronto Raptors/NBA
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