The Toronto Raptors lost to the New Orleans Pelicans tonight by a score of 122 to 110. It is a thing that happened, much like how the humidity in the summer makes your mail feel slightly damp.
With this loss, the team has officially slid into the play-in tournament bracket. It feels like we are collectively watching a very slow car wash where the brushes never actually touch the car, and now we are just wet for no reason.
Somewhere in November
There was a time, specifically November 2025, when the Raptors were second in the Eastern Conference. We all felt pretty good then, like when you find a twenty dollar bill in a coat you haven't worn since the Raptors signed Hedo Turkoglu.
Now, that version of the team is gone. We are left with the current version (the version that loses to the Pelicans) which feels more like finding a receipt for a twenty dollar bill you already spent on something you didn't need.
The Corner of the Room
Scottie Barnes is our franchise player and a cornerstone of the organization. Yet, for large portions of the game, he was standing in the corner of the court.
It is a bit like buying a very expensive, high-end blender and then using it exclusively as a paperweight for your utility bills. It is technically in the room, and it is very nice to look at, but no one is making any smoothies.
The Play-In State of Mind
People are upset because we have two All-Stars and the Eastern Conference is currently missing many of its better players due to injury. Being a fan of this team for the last five years has been a lesson in patience, kind of like waiting for a bus that you already know has been cancelled.
Some fans are planning to talk to their therapists about this game tomorrow morning. I hope those therapists have good health insurance, because explaining a March loss to New Orleans sounds like an exhausting way to earn a living.
We are in the play-in now, which is a place where hope goes to play a single game of basketball before potentially disappearing. It is not exactly where we wanted to be, but then again, I did not want my refrigerator to make that clicking sound every twenty minutes, and yet here we are.