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Last night's loss to Oklahoma City Thunder was nice, but it was Friday's L at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers that could be a game-changer when we look back on this season.
If you recall, last week's Power Tankings update had the Raptors dropping like flies thanks to a brief winning streak and some very "tanky" performances by competitors like the aforementioned Cavs. Toronto went from looking like a bottom five lock, to seventh in terms of winning the NBA draft lottery, not exactly what most fans envisioned from a Barbosa and Bayless-less club featuring multiple D Leaguers.
Luckily the Raps have come back down to earth and now sit with the sixth best shot at Mr. Davis based on our system:
|
Rank |
Team Name |
Likelihood of Winning Lottery |
Projected Wins |
Games Remaining |
|
1 |
25.0% |
9 |
12 |
|
|
2 |
18.9% |
16 |
10 |
|
|
3 |
14.8% |
19 |
10 |
|
|
4 |
10.4% |
22 |
12 |
|
|
5 |
10.0% |
22 |
11 |
|
|
6 |
6.3% |
23 |
9 |
|
|
7 |
5.8% |
23 |
8 |
|
|
8 |
3.5% |
25 |
10 |
|
|
9 |
2.6% |
26 |
11 |
|
|
10 |
Portland Trailblazers |
1.0% |
31 |
9 |
(Based on Hollinger Playoff Odds from Monday, April 9.)
The Dinos have a rough stretch of games coming, and may be without Andrea Bargnani so it is possible that they'll have climbed back into the top five by this time next week. Sacramento has lost their last four but has a winnable match against the Hornets (who just shelved Jarrett Jack for the season) on Wednesday. Toronto's other top competitors, Cleveland and New Jersey, have even more optimistic schedules, with games against Charlotte and Washington, and the free-falling 76ers (twice) respectively.