Why Raptors Are Stuck in Power Rankings

The Toronto Raptors are turning into the home stretch of the season with a little over a month left to go.

The team is angling towards a spot in the playoffs, but they still have some work to do in order to get where they want to be. Here's a look at where the Raptors stand in power rankings across the internet.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com (12)

Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

"The Raptors remain in fifth place in the East, continuing to take care of business against lesser opponents and coming up short against the better ones," Schuhmann wrote.

"With their losses to the Thunder and Spurs last week, the Raptors are 1-13 against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference and the top five in the West, having allowed 120.4 points per 100 possessions over those 14 games. They still have eight games remaining against those eight teams, with two of them coming this week. The Raptors have scored just 98.6 points per 100 possessions (their worst mark vs. any opponent) as they’ve gone 0-3 vs. the Knicks, and the fourth of five meetings will be Tuesday in Toronto."

SI.com, Peter Dewey (12)

"Toronto is a little disrespected at this number, as it holds the No. 5 seed in the East and is one of the 10-best defenses in the NBA. Still, it's hard to see the Raptors winning multiple playoff series to get out of the East," Dewey wrote.

The Athletic, Law Murray (10)

"The Raptors got some rude guests this week in the top two teams in the West. The short-handed Thunder handled the Raptors, and while the Raptors had a game-tying attempt out of Brandon Ingram against the Spurs, Toronto was held to a season-low 17 assists in the loss to San Antonio," Murray wrote.

"Even on Saturday, the Raptors trailed by 13 points in Washington before turning the game around. Toronto has a shot at home-court advantage in the first round, but it also has to play well enough to stay out of the Play-In Tournament."

Overview

The Raptors are hovering around that 10 to 12 spot because they are consistently doing well against about two-thirds of the NBA while struggling against the elite top third. This has been a problem that has plagued the Raptors all season long, as they only have one win against teams that are ranked in the top three of each conference.

The Raptors will get a crack at breaking this trend when they face off against the New York Knicks in their next game, and they will have a couple more opportunities down the stretch of the season to get the monkey off of their back.

It's important for the Raptors to build this confidence before the playoffs because this is where they could really struggle. This might be as far as the Raptors can go this season, given how much they've grown over the course of the year, and that may just have to be acceptable at this point.

The Raptors will be able to learn from their mistakes as they develop as a team and figure out what changes they need to make during the offseason.

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