As Pelicans visit, Raptors must stack wins to guarantee top-six playoff spot
The Toronto Raptors will play beyond the regular season for the first time since 2022.
That is all they know for certain. They could finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the Eastern Conference, so every game -- beginning with the one against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night -- is important to their seeding.
The Raptors (40-32) enter action Friday holding the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot and are just a half-game behind the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks. Finishing sixth or better guarantees a playoff series. Still, the Raptors could slide into any of the four spots in the play-in tournament because they're just a half-game ahead of seventh-place Philadelphia, 1 1/2 games ahead of No. 8 Miami, and two ahead of No. 9 Charlotte and No. 10 Orlando.
"There are 10 games left, and it's very, very exciting, just where we're at and what we're fighting for," Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. "I think it's very important that our group continues to stay together, continues to support each other, and if we out-compete our opponents, I think that gives us the best chance to be successful."
The Raptors are happy be at home after a difficult road trip. They finished 2-3 on the trip, and the last two losses were lopsided -- 120-98 to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and 119-94 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday -- though in between they had a 143-127 victory against the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Raptors starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, who averages a team-best 6.0 assists a game to go with 16.9 points and 4.1 rebounds, is shooting 37.4% from 3-point range. He will miss his third consecutive game Friday due to a foot injury.
"We've just got to regroup and try to figure out how we're going to be effective and consistent offensively with IQ out," forward Brandon Ingram said.
Toronto will play six of its final 10 games at home, though the Raptors have a better road record (21-16) than home record (19-16).
The Pelicans (25-49) were mathematically eliminated from play-in contention after a 121-116 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday and are on a three-game losing streak. Still, they have won 15 of their past 28, including a 122-111 victory against the visiting Raptors on March 11.
New Orleans has dropped six of its past seven road games after a 129-108 loss at Detroit on Thursday. The Pelicans had lost their three previous road games by a combined total of just nine points against teams headed to the postseason -- the Suns, the Houston Rockets and the Knicks -- before the East-leading Pistons pulled away with a 37-22 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.
Pelicans leading scorer Trey Murphy III (ankle) missed the game, but interim head coach James Borrego said New Orleans hopes to have him back for the matchup against the Raptors.
Borrego added that "there's a good chance" that starting point guard Dejounte Murray, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists against Detroit, won't be available. Murray has yet to play in both ends of a back-to-back since returning Feb. 24 from a year-long absence following Achilles surgery.
Both rookie No. 1 draft choices -- point guard Jeremiah Fears and forward/center Derik Queen -- continue to thrive since being moved to the bench around mid-season.
Fears has come off the bench in the last 28 games after starting 44 times earlier in the season, and Queen has been a reserve in the last 16 games after starting 45 games earlier in the season.
"I've seen a great response out of both rookies," Borrego said. "They've just got to continue this to close it out."