The Best, Worst and Likeliest Scenarios For Raptors This Season

The Toronto Raptors are 33-23 through 56 games in the regular season and find themselves in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The team is fighting for a spot in the top four, but there are still a number of different ways this season can turn out for them. Here's a look at three possible scenarios for the Raptors this season.

Best: Win 50 Games, Earn Top 4 Seed in East

Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Raptors need to go 17-9 in their final 26 games in order to get to 50 wins, which is very doable. The Raptors have caught fire at points during the season and there is reason to believe the team can do it again if they can incorporate Jakob Poeltl back into the fold nicely on offence.

The Raptors are only two games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 4 seed in the East, so the goal is attainable. It's hard to imagine there can be five 50-win teams in the Eastern Conference, but crazier things have happened before. This should be their target number if they want to guarantee a top-four spot.

Worst: Injuries Pile Up, Fall Into Play-In Tournament

While the Raptors are only two games back of the number four seed, they're also just three games ahead of the Orlando Magic for the number seven seed, which would put them in the play-in tournament.

The Raptors have dealt with injuries this season with Poeltl, RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles, but have been fortunate to dodge any major ailments with Brandon Ingram or Scottie Barnes. If one of them were to pick up something big in the next couple of weeks, it would be a massive blow to the Raptors playoff hopes.

There is potential for the Raptors to also naturally fall back into the Play-In Tournament without any injuries, but if they stay relatively healthy, they should be able to keep their top six spot. Staying healthy should be the primary goal in these final two months of the regular season.

Likeliest: Raptors Get 45-50 Wins, No. 5 Seed

If the Raptors finished 13-13 in the final 26 games, they would have 46 wins, which is usually the sweet spot for one of those top six spots in the postseason.

The Raptors have a good mix of competition in their final couple of weeks, playing some top-quality opponents while also being able to get some wins against some of the league's lottery hopefuls.

With tanking "at an all-time high," according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the Raptors should take advantage of that and grab some wins against some of the league's lesser competition. That should get them at least to the number five spot, which is where they have been hovering around for most of the season.