TORONTO – Win, or go home — that’s what the Toronto Raptors are up against.
The No. 9 seed Raptors (41-41) host the No. 10 Chicago Bulls (40-42) in the NBA’s Eastern Conference play-in game on Wednesday.
If the Raptors win, they’ll play another do-or-die game against the Heat in Miami on Friday with a chance to make the first round of the NBA playoffs and play top seed Milwaukee.
Should they lose, the Raptors’ season ends and their off-season begins.
Toronto, led by forward Pascal Siakam and guard Fred VanVleet, finished the season with six wins over its last ten games, but struggled to follow up last season’s successful 48-win campaign.
Familiar face DeMar DeRozan will be staring the Raptors down from the other end of the court as Chicago’s leading scorer.
DeRozan, who averaged the most points this season of anyone set to appear in Wednesday’s game with 24.5, played the first nine years of his career in Toronto.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.