Photo credit: @Raptors on Twitter
The Toronto Raptors have just one final game remaining on their schedule for the 2020-2021 season, and the end can’t come soon enough. Their playoff hopes faded away a long time ago and their odds for the upcoming NBA Draft have already been sealed as well.
I mean, font size 12 woulda done just fine lol https://t.co/kQTOWT0ng9
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 11, 2021
The Raptors are officially locked in with the 7th-best odds in the June 22nd draft lottery. They’ll have a 7.5% chance of landing 1st pick and a 31.9% shot at moving into the top-4. Mathematically, the lowest they could fall is 11th but they’re virtually guaranteed a top-10 pick.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 14, 2021
Finding themselves in the lottery is unfamiliar territory, but there is no shortage of excuses as to why this year has been one of the most challenging seasons ever for the Raptors. Whether it’s been the exhausting amount of injuries to their star players, being forced to play away from their home of Toronto in Tampa Bay, or the spread of COVID-19 among their players and coaching staff, the Raptors have gone through it all this season.
Developing the youngins
These last few games haven’t meant much, but they have been important for the development of many young players on the roster who are still looking to earn their spot on the team for the years to come.
Last night Malachi Flynn and Jalen Harris both recorded career highs during the Raptors’ narrow loss to the Dallas Mavericks 114-110.
Big shoutout to the rookie backcourt of Malachi Flynn and Jalen Harris who scored career highs tonight, combining for 55 points on 22-40 FG. Was a lot of fun watching both of these guys, especially Jalen Harris who had his best game as a pro in his home town #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/baGk9dEPcB
— The Raptors Insider (@RapsInsiderTO) May 15, 2021
Just the night before, Stanley Johnson also recorded his career-high in scoring with 35 points during a loss against the Chicago Bulls. Oddly enough, Toronto has set a new NBA record this season as there have now been ten different players to score 30 or more for the Raptors.
Jalen Harris is the 10th member of the Raptors to score 30 or more points in a game this season. pic.twitter.com/AsKRaeyXGX
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 15, 2021
The Raptors will play their final game of the season against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. It will be the last opportunity for young players like Flynn, Harris, and Johnson to get some much-needed reps in with most of the Raptors’ star players likely to sit out the final contest.
While we are all ready to bid farewell to this horrid season, a few of the young guys on the roster are proving that the future is something to look forward to.
One thing that’s worth getting excited about is the caliber of players the Raptors could be getting in the upcoming draft.
Toronto selected Flynn and Harris with the 29th and 59th selections in last year’s draft, respectively. They are both showing flashes of their potential in this last stretch of the season. With much earlier first and second-round picks in this year’s draft (likely falling within the top ten selections of both rounds), the Raptors will have a much better selection of quality players to choose from than prior years.