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Last time we checked in on the Eastern Conference standings, the Raptors were in the midst of a lull, and sat at 27-15 and third in the conference.
Since then, the Raptors have gone on a 6-2 run, which looks good on paper, but if you subscribe to the "Process > Results" view, does not bode well for the rest of the season. After the Raptors went on a six game win-streak that had Dwane Casey complaining about the negative talk surrounding their play, they have promptly proceeded to lose two VERY ugly games to Milwaukee and Brooklyn at home. So after all that, here's what the standings look like:
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
EASTERN | W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
1 | Atlanta | 41 | 9 | .820 | - | 24-3 | 17-6 | 7-2 | 28-6 | 103.4 | 96.5 | +6.9 | Won 1 | 9-1 |
2 | Toronto | 33 | 17 | .660 | 8 | 18-9 | 15-8 | 9-1 | 23-10 | 105.8 | 101.1 | +4.7 | Lost 2 | 7-3 |
3 | Washington | 31 | 19 | .620 | 10 | 18-8 | 13-11 | 5-5 | 20-11 | 99.8 | 98.2 | +1.7 | Lost 4 | 4-6 |
4 | Cleveland | 30 | 20 | .600 | 11 | 18-9 | 12-11 | 5-2 | 19-9 | 101.7 | 99.1 | +2.6 | Won 11 | 10-0 |
5 | Chicago | 30 | 20 | .600 | 11 | 13-11 | 17-9 | 4-3 | 18-11 | 101.9 | 99.9 | +2.0 | Lost 3 | 4-6 |
6 | Milwaukee | 27 | 22 | .551 | 13 ½ | 12-10 | 15-12 | 5-5 | 18-13 | 98.7 | 96.7 | +2.0 | Won 5 | 7-3 |
7 | Charlotte | 21 | 27 | .438 | 19 | 12-13 | 9-14 | 5-4 | 15-12 | 94.8 | 96.9 | -2.2 | Won 2 | 7-3 |
8 | Miami | 21 | 28 | .429 | 19 ½ | 8-15 | 13-13 | 3-7 | 14-15 | 92.6 | 96.3 | -3.7 | Lost 2 | 4-6 |
The Raptors are hanging on to the #2 seed for the time being, but don't expect that to last too long. Not only has their play dropped off significantly, the schedule takes a turn for the worse. Over the next week, here are Toronto's games to take us into the All-Star break: vs LA Clippers, vs San Antonio, vs Washington.
Personally, I'd be happy for the Raptors to steal one of those three games, even though the games are at Home. So 1-2 is my prediction for the week. Thoughts?