On paper, the Toronto Raptors might be the better team than the Indiana Pacers. After all, the Raptors locked the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers were just fifth. But another look at how the playoffs turned out, it seems that the Pacers are the far superior team.
As observed by Reddit user The_Unknown98:
It's pretty crazy how the pacers were able to win 3 games and the raptors have only won 2 games against the Cavs in 3 f**king series. LeBronto
To recall, the Pacers managed to extend their first-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games. The Raptors, on the other hand, were embarrassingly swept in the second round.
A digger deep into the playoff archives reveals that the Raptors and the Cavaliers have faced each other thrice over the last three postseasons.
In 2016, they matched up in the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Raptors were sent home by LeBron and crew in six games. Come 2017, the Raptors were swept by the Cavaliers in the second round. They also suffered the same fate this year.
It's a horrific statistic. The Raptors have been considered one of the top teams in the NBA. Yet the tenacity they showcase in the regular season suddenly disappears in the playoffs. Due to their underperformance, head coach Dwane Casey is rumored to be fired in the offseason. Per NBA.com, Casey himself is aware of the rumors surrounding his job security:
“Nobody has told me differently,” he told reporters when asked about his future with Toronto. “Until then I’m here still fighting. I’m still here.
“I don’t expect a vote of confidence [from Ujiri] … I’ve read all the articles, texts, all this stuff. I understand what’s been said. I’m not in the dark, but I’m not looking for a vote of confidence because I haven’t heard anything different.”
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