Toronto Raptors Are Running Out of Time to Be Taken Seriously

The Toronto Raptors entered the NBA playoffs seeking validation.

What they have found is more cause for concern and confusion. 

Two consecutive first-round exits were supposedly behind them. This was a different version of those same teams. It was a more practiced and polished squad that would legitimize a second-place finish out East, with the second semifinals berth in franchise history presumably followed by the right to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for an NBA Finals bid.

The Raptors are alive, still within reach of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance; those ambitions have not been squandered. Yet. 

But if it wasn’t clear before, during a near-implosion in the first round against the thought-to-be-inferior Indiana Pacers, it’s transparently evident now, after Tuesday night’s Game 1 home loss to the Miami Heat: Toronto is running out of time for any of its past regular-season claims (from this year or previously) to matter at all. Another failure could trigger its offseason undoing.

Familiar Problems

For most of the first round, the Raptors were not the best team on the floor.

Toronto advanced by the skin of its teeth, needing all seven games, after being outscored by 10 points for the entire series. Indiana held double-digit leads in four of the outings, and neither DeMar DeRozan nor Kyle Lowry finished the set shooting even 32 percent from floor.

Any hopes for a distinct about-face versus Miami were quickly dashed. The Raptors, despite leading at numerous stages, once again trailed by double digits, forcing overtime only after Lowry’s half-court heave found nylon:

Kyle Lowry’s prayer was answered! https://t.co/msrkDCu86v

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 4, 2016

Even that miracle comes with an asterisk. Toronto put itself in a situation that demanded it make NBA playoff history just to have a puncher’s chance of protecting home-court advantage, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Entering tonight, teams up exactly 6 with between 10 & 20 seconds left in the 4th quarter were a combined 161-0 over the last 20 postseasons

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 4, 2016

That Lowry was the one to temporarily save the day made absolutely no sense. He went 3-of-13 from the floor in Game 1 and is now shooting 30.6 percent in the postseason, including an eye-eviscerating 16 percent from downtown.

Most of Lowry’s caroming looks are actually high quality. More than 55 percent of his shots in these playoffs have been open or wide open; he’s just drilling less than 32 percent of those bunnies after a regular season in which he was positively terrifying when left alone:

It’s fair to suggest that he will eventually find his rhythm. His struggles are not the byproduct of defensive ingenuity, and he stayed behind after Game 1 to work on his shooting, per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star.

But Lowry, dating back to the regular season, hasn’t shot better than 40 percent in a game since April …

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