For the sixth consecutive season, the Toronto Raptors are playoff-bound. Following the team's 127-104 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, the squad punched their ticket back to the postseason, even if their eyes are on more than merely a playoff appearance.

Of course, advancing deep in the playoffs is why the Raptors' roster is structured the way it is at the moment. Team president Masai Ujiri acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the San Antonio Spurs during the off-season in exchange for longtime fan favorite and franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan, despite the fact that the team had reeled off three consecutive 50-plus win campaigns.

Having won the Atlantic division four out of the last five years and NBA Coach of the Year honors in 2018-19 couldn't even help Dwane Casey keep his job, as Toronto fired their head coach in favor of assistant Nick Nurse, who is now heading a new Toronto juggernaut that sits at 47-19 through play Friday.

Toronto's playoff bugaboo the past three seasons has been LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, having been knocked out by the same squad each time. Thankfully, there are no Cavaliers or James anywhere in sight during the postseason, meaning that the Raptors' current biggest obstacle stands in the form of the Milwaukee Bucks, who are the only team in the league that can boast more wins than Toronto. The two squads clashed in a 2016-17 first-round match-up, but both rosters vary widely since that collision.

The Eastern Conference field is going to be packed with talent during the postseason, with the Raptors officially locking themselves in.