The Toronto Raptors have sole possession of the sixth-worst record in the league, at least for now.
They dropped their 9th straight game in a 123-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
The Memphis Grizzlies who were tied with the Raptors in the standings coming into Friday’s action, beat the San Antonio Spurs.
As things stand right now, Toronto is a half-game up on Memphis for the sixth-worst record in the NBA.
The Raptors have 12 games left, while the Grizzlies have 11. Toronto will get even with the Grizzlies for games played after they take on the Washington Wizards tonight.
Now that the Raptors have less wins than the Grizzlies, they should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to securing a bottom 6 record.
The Raptors are severely shorthanded and many of their key players are likely done for the season.
If Toronto finishes the season with the sixth-worst record, they would have a 45.8 percent chance of keeping its top-six protected pick. They would have a 37.2 percent chance of landing a top-4 pick.
In the event that both the Raptors and Grizzlies are tied for the sixth-worst record at the end of the season, then a coin flip would decide which of the two teams finishes with the sixth-best odds in the draft lottery.
Toronto owes its top-6 protected pick to the San Antonio Spurs from the Jakob Poeltl trade that happened at last year’s trade deadline.
The Raptors will likely not be favored to win a game over their final 12 contests. Also, 8 of their final 12 opponents have a winning record.
Where will the Raptors finish?
The Raptors are a full 4 games up on the Portland Trail Blazers for the 5th worst record. It will be extremely tough for Toronto to catch them.
Therefore, the Raptors will either end up with the sixth or seventh-worst record when it is all said and done.
Have you subscribed to the Raptors Nation YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
