The Toronto Raptors finished the greatest regular season in franchise history this year, coming up with 59 wins and only 23 losses. Led by stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, as well as Coach of the Year candidate Dwane Casey, the Raptors have claimed the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference and will have home-court advantage until the NBA Finals, should they reach the championship round.
With the Raptors set to tip off their playoff run on Saturday against the eighth seeded Washington Wizards, the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, announced that he's going to make April 14th “Toronto Raptors Day” in the city of Toronto. Here is the official proclamation written and signed by the mayor himself.
The @Raptors begin their playoff run tomorrow night and we are rallying behind them. I have proclaimed tomorrow Toronto Raptors Day in the City of Toronto. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/IPfHSd73gJ
— John Tory (@JohnTory) April 13, 2018
While the Raptors have had a great regular season, the playoffs have been where they've notably struggled. Over the last several years, the Raptors have been swept by the Washington Wizards in 2015 despite having home-court advantage, lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, and then got swept by Cleveland the following year in the 2017 semifinals.
This season, the Raptors have played much better team basketball, but it remains to be seen how good they'll be come playoff time. It will mainly be their two All-Stars, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, under the microscope. DeRozan is averaging 23 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Lowry is averaging 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
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