The new-look Raptors are poised to steal a playoff berth

Toronto slumped after trading OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, going 3-11 from the Siakam deal to the All-Star break. But after a few deadline deals and a week off, Toronto's new-look team is coming together. 

Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji, a 2022 lottery pick, came over from Utah in a deadline deal, and have formed a deadly five-man unit with All-Star Scottie Barnes, rookie Gradey Dick and Bruce Brown, acquired in the Siakam trade.

It's an effect of Masai Usiri's insistence on getting back players in his deals, not just draft picks. Immanuel Quickley, coming over in the Anunoby deal, has averaged 16.9 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds since the trade, and is making 42.9% of his three-pointers. 

With the addition of Olynyk, a career 37% shooter from deep, and the emergence of Dick, Toronto has greatly improved a roster that was bottom-five in three-point shooting earlier this season.

There's three other factors that make Toronto likely to get to 10th place, where they'd have a play-in rematch with the Chicago Bulls. One is that they don't own their first-round pick, as it goes to San Antonio if it's outside of the top six. 

With Toronto half a game behind the plunging Brooklyn Nets, they're projected to end up outside the top six.

The second is that that Atlanta Hawks just lost Trae Young for at least four weeks. The injury's timing is such that he might not come back before the end of the season if the Hawks slide. 

Atlanta owes their first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 to San Antonio, plus a pick swap in 2026, so they may be tempted to fold the tent and drop into the lottery this year.

And the third reason to believe in Toronto is that they only have four games remaining against Atlantic Division opponents, in which they were 0-11 on the season before finally beating the Nets last week.

It's been a tumultuous season for Toronto, but with four starters aged 25 or younger, plus a 20-year-old and a 23-year-old coming off the bench, this is a team that should be getting better as the season goes on. 

10th place might not be an exciting goal, but it would be a hue triumph after the last two months.