Raptors Win Pivotal Game In Draft Lottery Race

The Toronto Raptors’ fate might have been sealed.

The Raptors picked up a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. It now puts them 3 games back of the Nets and Philadelphia 76ers in the reverse standings.

With 9 games left in the regular season, the Raptor are virtually locked into the 7th best lottery odds. They are 5.5 games up on the Miami Heat who trail them with the 8th best lottery odds.

It was always going to be tough for the Raptors to out tank the 76ers and Nets to try and nab the 5th best lottery odds. The team had the easiest remaining schedule in the league. However, the Raptors tanking strategy was questionable to say the least.

The Raptors were unwilling to fully commit to the tank and get ugly with it. They weren’t willing to shut down their starters or shut down Scottie Barnes because of the All-NBA which he likely won’t make.

Therefore, unless the Raptors get some draft lottery luck on their side they’re going to be picking no. 7 or worse at the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.

Now all hope is not lost for the Raptors. Ironically, the last time they had the 7th best lottery odds they jumped up to the No. 4 spot in 2021 to select Barnes.

There is a 31.9 percent for the Raptors to jump into the top-4. And there is a 7.5 percent chance the Raptors end up winning the lottery.

It’s unlikely the Raptors are going to move on up when it comes to their draft lottery odds so they’re going to have to hope the lottery Gods are on their side.

Raptors sign Cole Swider to 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors are signing sharpshooter Cole Swider.

The 25-year-old forward has signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors to fill Toronto’s final roster spot, the team announced on Wednesday. Swider replaces Colin Castleton, whose second 10-day deal expired on Tuesday night.