The Raptors will finally play an important game again

Before Friday night, the Raptors had a good chance to advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. For that, it was enough to beat the Wizards, which is not complicated, and count on a loss to Indiana, which is again not the most incredible scenario at the beginning of the season.

“We’re not there yet. When we get there, we’ll talk about it. You have to do it first”, annoncait Darko Rajaković. With Toronto beating Washington and Cleveland knocking off Indiana, it’s over. The Canadians are therefore qualified for the rest of the competition, and even first.

“It’s great”commented the coach after the victory of his players. “Things will be different because everything will be decided in one match, whether we go to the Final Four or not. We have ambitions, that’s clear. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”

The quarter-finals are scheduled for December 9 or 10 and will be the first match in the game for Raptors since last participating in the playoffs, in 2022. And, in a good sign, of the 16 teams that have qualified at the end of the group stage for two seasons, 13 have gone on to finish the season by qualifying for the playoffs. The other three participated in the game. The numbers therefore predict an interesting end to the season for Toronto.

“The physical level is much higher,” warns Sandro Mamukelašvili, referring to the playoffs. “When we are in these games, the ones that count, we have to be ready and that will help our team for the future.”

While waiting for this big match and the spring of 2026, the Raptors can already look forward to the current level, after a month of competition. They remain in fact at 6 straight, 10 of their last 11 meetings and occupy second place in the Eastern Conference, behind the Pistons.