Raptors Learn a Lot From Thunder, Spurs Games

The Toronto Raptors are recovering after playing on consecutive nights against the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs on the road.

It wasn't easy playing the two best teams in the Western Conference right after the other, but it gave the Raptors a chance to see where they stacked up against some potential NBA Finals hopefuls. Raptors forward RJ Barrett spoke about the benefits in playing the Thunder and Spurs at this point in the season.

“I mean, we made a huge jump from where we were last year, like, where were we last year versus now?” RJ Barrett said via Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange.

“A lot of these teams have already been good, already been in playoff situations [or] like tonight, won a championship. They already have these guys that are battle-tested.

“It’s good for us to play these teams right now, go through these tough losses during the season so we’ll figure it out. Detroit game we got blown out [just prior to the all-star break], tonight we went down and fought all the way back, so we’re already learning and we got to continue to learn and scratch and claw and beat these good teams.”

Raptors Figure Things Out on Homestand

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso dribbles against Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Achilles' heel of the Raptors all season long has been their inability to beat teams that are better than them in the standings. The Raptors have just one win among the top six teams before this homestand, which was a win against the Thunder on the road in late January.

The Raptors still have a long way to go in their growth as a team to get to where they want to be. It is not going to be a snap of the finger to go from a lottery team to title contender; there will be growing pains.

This is an example of the growing pains the Raptors are currently going through. These games will build the character the team needs in order to be more prepared when they play them down the line.

If the Raptors can prove that they have learned something from these games in the future, they should be in a good place moving forward.

The Raptors are back in action as they take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET inside the Capital One Arena. Fans can watch the game on TSN Sports or stream it on NBA League Pass.