Raptors slide in new NBA rest-of-season record prediction

Can the Toronto Raptors keep up their current pace for the rest of the NBA season?

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) brings the ball up court against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at Spectrum Center. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors went on a recent two-game road trip fresh off a nine-game winning streak, but they fell back down to earth while away from home. The Raptors lost both of their last two games, moving to 14-7 on the season and into third place in the Eastern Conference.

With 61 games still left in their 2025-26 season, the Raptors have plenty of time to continue improving, but that is a lot of time to regress as well. The Raptors are just four games ahead of tenth place in the East, but are 2.5 games behind first. Which way will the Raptors go as they finish their season?

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes predicts that the Raptors will finish with a 48-34 record.

Nov 23, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) dribbles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Raptors finish strong, but do not match their pace

As it stands, the Raptors are on pace for about 55 wins on the season, which would be their best mark since the 2018-19 season that resulted in a championship and their third-best in franchise history. However, Hughes does not see them reaching that mark.

After starting the season just 1-4, the Raptors would then win 13 of their next 14 games, but we cannot expect Toronto to get hot like that very often. Not to mention, the Raptors have played the second-easiest schedule in the NBA so far, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With 61 games left, the Raptors have the ninth-hardest remaining schedule, as things are expected to get much tougher for them.

Luckily, a 48-win season would still be a shoo-in for the playoffs. Hughes' predictions would land Toronto the sixth seed in the playoffs, avoiding the play-in tournament and matching up against either the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, or Orlando Magic in the first round.

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Still, given their expectations heading into the season, a 48-win campaign would be incredible for the Raptors. Of course, any playoff appearance would be seen as a win for this franchise, especially after three consecutive seasons of missing out on the postseason.

The star tandem of Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram is taking this Raptors team to the next level, while guys like RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jamal Shead, head coach Darko Rajakovic, and more are making a huge difference.

The Raptors still have plenty of work to do to become a legitimate contender in the East, but the rest of their schedule will certainly test their capabilities.