"Win or Go Home" - Raptors Prepare for Play-In Game vs. Bulls -

The Toronto Raptors did not quite qualify for the NBA’s 2023 postseason – at least not yet.

They did, however, make it to the play-in round, which is the next best thing, right?

Maybe. Maybe not… depending on how you look at it.

Sure, the Raptors won their final game of the season by a landslide over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in a game that saw the team rest star players Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and O.G. Anunoby. But they fell well short of the expectations set heading into the 2022-23 season.

Just one year removed from being a team that secured fifth place in the East before falling in six games to the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round, Toronto has its work cut out for it with its play-in game with the ever-familiar DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls.

“The atmosphere is going to feel like it’s an Eastern Conference Finals game in a play-in game,” DeRozan said of travelling to Toronto to face off against his old club in the postseason for the very first time. “So it’s definitely going to be crazy. Driving to the arena, walking through the arena, you’re definitely going to feel it. That’s the beauty of that place, those fans. And any competitor would want to be a part of that.”

Having beaten the Bulls two times this year, the ninth-seed Raptors will look to follow a similar script to that of those earlier victories: force turnovers, limit DeRozan’s offence and stay away from foul trouble.

“I’m going to deal with it; I know how to deal with it now,” the 33-year-old Bull added. “But playing against Nick Nurse and playing against those guys, they try to do everything in their power to make sure I don’t beat them. I’m aware of it for sure, and for my sake I definitely have my own theory around how I’m going to deal with it.”

The Raptors have Jakob Poeltl, Scottie Barnes and Anunoby, who will all likely take part in the task of shutting DeRozan down, from the defensive side of things. If Chicago counters with Zach LaVine, Toronto should be able to adapt with the potential of a double coverage set.

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“His screening is great, getting you open, I think that’s one good thing and I think I probably score the more off the ball with him being out there and making the passes and with cuts and things like that,” Siakam said of Poeltl “Gives me a little bit more, a little variety in how to score instead of having the ball all the time. Can pass it to him and make a read and he’s able to make a pass.”

Should Toronto beat Chicago at home on Wednesday night, it would be in line for a Friday night tilt against Miami. Toronto is 3-1 against the Heat this year.

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If the Raptors manage to win both games, they would move on to the postseason as the final club in the East and begin with an opening-round series with the No. 1 ranked Bucks.

“I think it should bode well for us to just be able to lock in on one thing,” VanVleet said on Monday. “We have a couple of days to let the coaches come up with the schemes and the game plans, and we just try to go out and execute the best we can. It’s not exactly the playoffs but a similar type of preparation, getting ready for win or go home.”

Should the Raptors lose, it could be the final time that fans see VanVleet, Poeltl and Gary Trent Jr. in the red and black, as all three players will enter free agency this offseason. But for a team that has gone 27-14 at home this season, the odds are certainly in their favour for a strong Wednesday night performance.

Fans in Toronto wanting attend the game can sign up for the team’s mobile app to receive a ticket to Jurassic Park and take in the action from what is expected to be a jam-packed outdoor viewing area outside the Real Sports Bar near Legends’ Row at the Scotiabank Arena. Weather is expected to remain ‘summer-like’ through the evening, with zero percent chance of showers.