The NBA’s play-in tournament started in 2020-21 as a way to incentivize parity in what has historically been the most predictable of the big four North American sports leagues. And it worked. Despite pushback from traditionalists like LeBron James, the 2022-23 season has had more parity than any in recent memory, with a growing middle class separated by just a few games and the final standings coming down to the very last day of the regular season.
But the play-in tournament is not a saviour. Just because it incentivizes parity and gives two more teams in each conference a shot at making the playoffs doesn’t mean it sets those teams up for success. After all, despite the middle class getting stronger, the league still runs through those at the top. And this year, it runs through the top of the Eastern Conference.
The ninth seeded Toronto Raptors are about to find that out, one way or another. After failing to secure a top-eight seed, the Raptors have put themselves in an almost impossible position, having to win two straight win-or-go-home games against the 10th seeded Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and then the loser of the Miami/Atlanta play-in game on Friday. And if they win both, they will play the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks in a best-of-seven series starting on Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Toronto Raptors as they approach their first ever play-in tournament.
The Raptors have a tall task ahead as they prepare to host the Bulls at Scotiabank Arena in the play-in tournament on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
Play-in for what?
When Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri asked “Play-In for what?” during the season from hell in Tampa, Florida, he was being rhetorical. But given the structure, schedule, and potential pay-off of the play-in tournament, Ujiri’s question is valid.
For the Raptors to escape the play-in tournament, they will have to win two elimination games, one on the road versus a better-rested team with a higher seed. And even if they get through the play-in tournament, the Raptors will have just one day off (to practice and travel) before playing Milwaukee, the best team in the NBA, who will have had six days of rest in between the end of the regular season and the start of the first round on Sunday, and 10 days for the starters, who sat the final two games of the regular season.
“I think it seems like the regular season,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said about the schedule of the play-in tournament. “Game, travel, game, travel, game, and then you get to stay put for a little while if you can make it that far.”
The structure and grueling schedule of the play-in tournament puts teams in an impossible situation, especially the 9th and 10th seeds. It’s no wonder that only one ninth seed has made it out of the play-in tournament, and the furthest a play-in tournament team has gone is six games into the first round, never winning a series. Plus, the last time a No. 8 seed — which Toronto would technically be if they come out of the tournament — has beaten a No. 1 seed in a playoff series is all the way back in 2012.
The Raptors are doing everything in their control to prepare for every possibility, with advanced scout teams already preparing for both the No. 7 seed Miami Heat and No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks should they win their game against Chicago and play one of them. “There’s a group of coaches working on Miami, there’s a group of coaches working on Atlanta,” Nurse said. “They’ll do a lot of the groundwork, legwork, prep work and then hand it back to one of our front of the bench guys.”
Meanwhile, the Bucks are doing the same thing with each of their potential opponents, which is why in a vacuum it’s possible the Raptors could put up a fight against the Bucks. But given that the Bucks will be significantly better rested, more prepared, and have home-court advantage against Toronto in a potential first-round series, the hole the Raptors have dug for themselves is likely too big to climb out of.
Playoff rotation
The fact that the Raptors will have such a short period to rest in between games could also affect their rotation. Unlike a typical win-or-go-home Game 7, where a team can lean on their starters knowing that they will get several days of rest in between rounds, the Raptors might opt to play the long game in hopes of preserving their best players’ already tired legs for at least the length of the tournament. After all, what’s the point of winning the first game at the cost of not having the energy to win the second?
That is what Nurse and the coaching staff will be managing as they choose a rotation for the play-in, determining how many players see the floor and for how long.
The five starters are sure to get a lot of run, as that group has been one of the best five-man units in the league since acquiring Poeltl, outscoring teams by 9.1 points per 100 possessions. After that, it’s likely that Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher see time off the bench, as those have been the Raptors sixth and seventh best players.
“I think we got to consider that — shortening it down a little bit,” Nurse said of the rotation. “But I think it’s always a little bit how the game is going will affect that quite a bit as well. You never quite know how it is going to go and we certainly would like… to play your best guys as much as they can handle really.”
The Raptors could stop at seven or they could go a bit deeper on their bench, picking between Precious Achiuwa and Christian Koloko at the backup center — an important piece to matchup against Chicago’s rebounding machine, Andre Drummond. Will Barton could also see the floor if the Raptors are in desperate need of shooting.
Home court
If you look at betting odds around the NBA, the home team is heavily favoured in every play-in game. And with good reason.
Each of these teams have had 82 games to show us who they are, and the razor-thin margins in the standings tell us that they are in the same tier. Sure, individual matchups and stylistic advantages matter a lot over the course of a seven-game playoff series, but not nearly as much in a one-off, where any player could decide the game by getting hot and scoring 35 points. That’s why taking the team with home-court advantage is always going to be the safe pick.
“It should be crazy, man. It should be a really fun atmosphere,” Fred VanVleet said about what he expects from the Scotiabank Arena crowd versus the Bulls, where the Raptors are 27-14 this season. “This type of time of the year and these types of circumstances I think brings the best out of our crowd. And having that home court advantage has been one of the more special places to play in the NBA over the last decade, especially around this time of year.
“It’s just up to us to go out there and give them something to cheer about. And hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
DeMar DeRozan is returning to Toronto after spending the first nine years of his career as a Raptor. He is very familiar with the Raptors’ home-court advantage, acknowledging that “the atmosphere is going to feel like it’s an Eastern Conference finals game in a play-in game. So it’s definitely going to be crazy. Driving to the arena, walking through the arena, you’re definitely going to feel it. That’s the beauty of that place, those fans. And any competitor would want to be a part of that.”
DeMar and the Bulls
Speaking of DeRozan, the Raptors icon will be returning to Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday evening hoping to put an end to the Raptors season.
Toronto has had the slight upper hand in their matchups this season, winning the season series 2-1. But these two teams are on eerily similar trajectories, especially since the All-Star break, with identical 12-9 records and similar struggles in close games. Stylistically, they both cause a lot of deflections and turnovers with their high-pressure defences while struggling to space out the floor on offence.
Expect Toronto to shade a lot of extra attention towards DeRozan and Zach Lavine, sending double-teams and traps at them in order to force the rest of the Bulls into making quick decisions and open shots. In fact, this game will likely come down to whether or not the Bulls’ role players make enough open threes.
“That’s Nick Nurse,” DeRozan said of the Raptors’ aggressive game plans against him. “I’m going to deal with it. I know how to deal with it now. But playing against Nick and playing against those guys, they try to do everything in their power to make sure I don’t beat them.”
Meanwhile, expect Poeltl to be a difference maker for the Raptors on offence, where he will have a lot of room to roll to the rim or make decisions in the short roll given the way the Bulls like to put two on the ball in the pick-and-roll. The Raptors love putting slower bigs like Nikola Vucevic in the pick-and-roll repeatedly, hammering the advantage. They should also have opportunities to take advantage of their overwhelming size in the post against mismatches and on the offensive boards.
“I think our coaching staff is one of the top in the league in terms of preparation and game planning and finding different things and having adjustments ready on the fly,” VanVleet said. “So you’ve gotta give them a ton of credit for that. It’s up to us to go out there and try to execute the best we can.”
“We enjoy trying to put game plans together as a staff and the challenge is… a little different now, right, because you gotta make sure your option A’s are ready to go and they’re the right ones and those kinds of things,” Nurse said about his gameplan.
“I guess we are where we are right now and what has happened doesn’t really matter much if we can win a couple,” Nurse said about the play-in games. But the truth is, where the Raptors are right now matters a whole lot. By failing to win key games down the stretch of the season and finishing ninth, the Raptors have put themselves in an impossible situation, and they would need to make history to salvage the season.
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
