Toronto Raptors: Breaking down the 5 most likely playoff opponents

In honour of the NBA’s return on July 31, we break down the most likely first round playoff opponents for the Toronto Raptors

Yes, believe it folks. The NBA is returning on July 31; well, about 73 per cent of it is.  Commissioner Adam Silver has called the 22 remaining contenders — including the Toronto Raptors — to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando for a basketball company retreat of sorts, albeit with much higher stakes than a team-building game of dodgeball.

When we last left our characters, the Raptors were comfortably seated in the second-place spot in the Eastern Conference, six-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Bucks, but three ahead of the Boston Celtics. However, much is still to be determined at the bottom of the conference standings.

Indiana and Philadelphia have identical 39-26 records (although only one of those clubs was without its best player for the majority of its pre-COVID games), while Brooklyn and Orlando are squabbling over the seventh and eighth seeds. A challenger also lurks on the outside looking in, as the Washington Wizards look to flip the script and book their ticket to the playoffs in the Land of Make-Believe.

Realistically, all bets are off in terms of what shape these players come back in, so the Raptors could end up facing any one of five clubs in the first round of the playoffs. Let’s break them all down, in order of least to most feasible:

5) Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards

The only team that got the “we’re going to Disney World!” talk that perhaps wasn’t expecting it, the Wizards are the sole team from the Eastern Conference heading to Orlando that is not currently sitting in a playoff spot. And amidst all of the Kevin Durant–Kyrie Irving talk, another high profile superstar who could shake up the playoff picture has flown under the radar.

John Wall has not played a game since rupturing his achilles in December 2018. As injuries go, achilles ruptures rank right up there with the worst of them, but seeing as it has been over a year, Wall is at least a candidate to make a return when the NBA resumes play July 31.

If the Kentucky product does make an appearance in Orlando, he’ll bring some real pop to a fringe contender.  Wall, coupled with a rejuvenated Bradley Beal who was in the midst of a career year when the shutdown hit, could be enough to bring the Wizards back into contention.

The Magic have a five-and-a-half game lead on the Wizards as we speak. However, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.