The Toronto Raptors are in a dire fight for the postseason. The 2019 NBA Champions have been in a spiral for the last two seasons. They went from a surefire playoff team to missing the playoffs last year. This season, after 29 games, they are 14-15 and are fighting for one of the play-in tournament spots. This is surprising, as their team does not look too bad. However, the East becoming more competitive plus some injury and COVID-related issues have made the Raptors fall behind. Since the Raps and their biggest star, Pascal Siakam, want to turn their season around, here are two ways to do it.
Be active in the trade market for shooters
The Raptors' biggest issue right now is three-point shooting. According to Basketball Reference, the Raptors are 21st in three-pointers attempted, 19th in three-pointers made, and 19th in three-point percentage. These are not good numbers, and they are made even worse by the fact that their best three-point shooter, percentage-wise, is Fred VanVleet with a shade under 40% efficiency. Only three other players shoot over 35% for three, with Scottie Barnes in that category as well, but he only makes 0.8 threes per game.
Of course, this can change by their players just shooting better. However, it is only Pascal Siakam who needs to improve majorly, as he is only shooting 30%. Other guys on the Raptors roster, such as Fred VanVleet, are floating around their career three-point percentage averages. Thus, the best course of action is to simply bring in some guys that can shoot. There are, thankfully for the Raptors, some candidates around the league that could help.
One of them, and the best one, is Davis Bertans. If Bertans can channel that one season he had a couple of years back with the Wizards, where he averaged 15.4 points on 42% shooting from three, the Raps can be saved. Additionally, Bertans can be bought in for a lower price, as he is generally out of the Wizards rotation. His play this season is concerning, but due to a lack of playing time that clearly affected his confidence, the Latvian can be considered a serious option for the Raptors.
Another potential option would possibly be someone like Eric Gordon. The Rockets guard is currently averaging 44.1% three-point efficiency on 5.2 attempts which would be a huge upgrade for the Raptors. Of course, an issue with Gordon is the contract he is bringing. He still has around $37 million guaranteed for the next two years, so it is understandable if Toronto do not want to commit that money. An additional option could be Kemba Walker as a potential buyout candidate with the Knicks.
Take care of other playoff contenders and lesser teams
Right now, the biggest threats to a possible Raptors postseason push would probably be the Hawks, Hornets, Celtics, and possibly Wizards and 76ers. As of this day, the Raptors played seven games against these teams and won four out of the seven. That is a great percentage, but they still have a ton of games against these teams until the end of the season. Just in a few days, they have the 76ers at home, which is a must-win for the Raptors. Other than this game, they have 10 more games against these rivals, and they need wins in these.
What really hurt the Raptors this year was losses against teams that should not be an issue for them. They lost to the Pacers, who have their three biggest stars on the trading block, and lost against the Pistons, who are probably the worst team in the NBA right now. Additionally, they lost to the spiraling Trail Blazers early in the season, and against the Oklahoma City Thunder more recently.
With these four wins, rather than losses, the Raptors would be looking at an 18-11 record, which would be enough for close contention for the fifth spot currently held by the Cleveland Cavaliers, which are 19-13. Obviously, the Raptors did have issues that held them from putting their best team out there for stretches this season, but at least three of the games mentioned above should have been wins. It is these kinds of games that hurt the most if the squad does not end up making the postseason.
They have a series of very important games coming up, with just two away games in the span of the next nine. While some of the teams, such as the Bucks, Suns, and the Jazz, are not favoring the Canadian franchise, other games must be wins. If they win six out of the next nine, they would be looking at a 20-18 record, which looks a lot better when fighting for the postseason. The Raptors need to wake up and really fight for this, as missing the playoffs two years in a row might even cost coach Nick Nurse his position at the end of the season.
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