(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
On Sunday, the Toronto Raptors secured a spot in the NBA play-in tournament with an easy 128-108 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The win put them into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, and since they have the same 39-39 record as the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks, they have a chance to move up further in the standings in the coming days.
This will give Toronto a shot at making the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
Fans on Twitter were happy while wanting the team to move up to a higher seed.
Raptors forsure making playoffs, no team wants em in playoffs .. possibly one of the best 7/8 seed team ever !! Their record doesn’t do justice of their potential
— Web TV (@webtvstreaming_) April 3, 2023
They gone take that 8th seed..!!
— T_Lipp (@Tony_Lippett14) April 3, 2023
However, these fans don’t think the Raptors will go anywhere should they win the play-in tourney.
Getting bounced in round 1
— GOAT (@GoatGooat) April 3, 2023
And 1st round exit
— ً (@_nuh_uh) April 3, 2023
One may think that since the Raptors only have a .500 record, they simply aren’t a good team.
However, do not let that record fool you.
They possess a good amount of talent for a team that has a mediocre record, not to mention lots of length.
Their best player is 6-foot-9 big man Pascal Siakam, who came into Sunday averaging a career-high 24.1 points a game, and he earned his second All-Star nod this season.
Point guard Fred VanVleet continues to put up strong numbers with 19.7 points and 7.0 assists per game this year, while two-way wing OG Anunoby has had another strong season.
The Raptors also have plenty of hope in second-year forward Scottie Barnes, who was averaging 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game coming into the game against the Hornets.
Perhaps they won’t stand a chance against the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, but they could make either contender work to put them away.
The post Fans React To Raptors Securing Play-In Tournament Spot appeared first on The Cold Wire.