BREAKING NEWS: Following the 2024 NBA All-Star break, the Toronto Raptors made some audacious predictions.

Will the struggling Raptors have a successful season finale?

After trading OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, the Toronto Raptors this season finally decided to rebuild, concentrating on reorganizing their team around Scottie Barnes. The Raptors acquired a fantastic duo in the form of quick young player Immanuel Quickley and hometown boy RJ Barrett through the Anunoby trade. Along with Pascal Siakam, they also acquired NBA champion Bruce Brown. They acquired Canadian power forward Kelly Olynyk and lottery selection Ochai Agbaji in the trade deadline.

With a 22-36 record, the Raptors are currently ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference and are probably headed for the lottery. With one third of the season left, Toronto will probably spend the rest of the year cultivating the rapport Masai Ujiri has created among this youthful core.

The Raptors still have a lot of basketball to play this season, despite the fact that it may appear to be a wash. The Raptors still have a very talented and exciting young squad. Furthermore, Toronto has a chance to have a big impact the remainder of the season given how unstable the Eastern Conference playoff situation is in the latter half. They have accomplished that thus far, winning three straight after the All-Star break, including a road victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night against Pascal Siakam, a former franchise star.

Having said that, these are our audacious predictions for the second half of the season from our Raptors team.

The Raptors advance to the play-in round.

The Eastern Conference playoff picture’s back end does not appear to be as strong as its front end. The Miami Heat, who are now the East’s defending champions, the Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bulls, and the Atlanta Hawks make up the seven through ten spots. The Heat and Magic should be guaranteed spots in the play-in tournament because they have fielded sufficiently strong campaigns. The Hawks (25-32) and Bulls (27-30) are two teams that are now on the wrong track. The Raptors might surreptitiously move in to claim one of the two remaining berths, which are probably still up for grabs.

With team standout Trae Young missing at least four weeks due to surgery on his left hand, Atlanta, in particular, might be in serious difficulty. Young’s absence will make the Hawks extremely susceptible and may cause a significant decline. The Hawks’ absence of an essential component may allow the Raptors to advance to the play-in round.

The Raptors’ significant victory on Monday brought them one step closer to Atlanta. They are now only 3.5 games behind the Hawks after defeating the Brooklyn Nets to claim the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference.

It is highly likely that the Heat and Magic will advance, and Toronto will still miss out on the playoffs. But giving Barnes, Barrett, and the rest of the team the opportunity to play in a high-stakes game might be very beneficial to their growth in advance of the upcoming campaign.

RJ Barrett ends up being the Raptors’ top scorer.
The Raptors were thrilled to see RJ Barrett, a Mississauga native, return home to play for Toronto and fulfill his goal. And the former third overall choice has performed admirably thus far. He has actually been excellent for the Raptors thus far. Barrett’s career averages in 20 games for Toronto are 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 54.2 percent from field goal range, and 37.3 percent from three.

Right now, Barrett leads Toronto in scoring, surpassing All-Star Scottie Barnes by a little margin. If he puts up another solid 24-point effort against the Pacers tonight, he should continue to lead Barnes in the scoring column. Barnes can concentrate on being the primary facilitator and playmaker for the Raptors, and he should be more than content to let Barrett be their top scoring option. Barrett ought to be able to wrap up the campaign as the Raptors’ top scorer after that.

Following the All-Star break, Gradey Dick averages double-digit points on 50-40-90 splits.
Gradey Dick, a rookie for the Raptors, had a very difficult start to his first season. Early in the season, he played seldom and was loaned to Toronto’s G-League franchise, the Raptors 905 for a considerable amount of time. However, for the past few months, Dick has started to settle into the NBA and is getting regular minutes from head coach Darko Rajakovic.

So far in February, he has improved particularly well. Dick is averaging 10.7 points in 10 games this month, shooting an impressive 53.2 percent from field goal range and 45.2 percent from three-point range. We believe that Gradey Dick will maintain his current form and end the season averaging double-digit points on 50-40-90 splits following the All-Star break.