Overreacting to preseason games is one of the least productive thing that basketball fans and media do, and yet, it’s hard not to draw certain conclusions from two teams matching up, whether or not such games count for regular season standings.
In particular, the Raptors’ two-point loss against the Knicks last night has exemplified an ongoing problem with two matchups against against Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics.
Starting in December of 2023, the Raptors have
dropped 15 regular season games in a row against the New York Knicks, meaning that for almost three years now, across various iterations of both franchises, Toronto has not been able to win a single game against the Knickerbockers.
A similar situation arises regarding the Boston Celtics, who, since December 2022, have won 15 of 16 games against the Raptors, winning four season series in a row, dropping only one game early in 2025. Adding insult to injury, the Celtics also beat the Raptors in their only playoff matchup back in 2020.
When the Raptors were middle-of-the-pack or losing, falling apart to some of the best teams in the league is not a particularly big issue, but now that the team is trying to contend in a meaningful way, these patterns emerge as a real problem.
After defeating the Knicks’ bench squad by 50 points on October 13th, Barnes expressed lukewarm feelings about the victory: “Obviously, they didn’t really have their guys out there on the floor,” he said. He continued, explaining that it ”felt solid though, win the game, but, you know, we got a game, we got tomorrow.”
The day before, Barnes was asked about his feelings on the matchup in Toronto, to which he seemed to struggle to find the words. After the reporter clarified, asking whether being at home “gave it some added juice,” Barnes finally settled on his response, putting it simply.
“Got to get better.”
Barnes’ honesty is refreshing, and after the matchup against the Knicks’ starters went awry, it does demonstrate that the Raptors are doing just that: getting better. But, a loss is still a loss, and from a morale perspective, dropping yet another game against the Knicks must be a difficult thing to stomach. However, this loss should serve as a turning point for Toronto, from which the team can turn around and rally, taking, or at bare minimum splitting, both season series against New York and Boston.
As journalist Noah Curitti noted, Knicks centre Karl-Anthony Towns had a monster double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds, dishing out nine assists as well, posing a lot of trouble for the Raptors. Being able to contend with Towns’ combination of size and skill is one of the major factors the Raptors will have to manage if they want to be able to consistently defeat the Knicks this season, and in seasons to come.
Against the Celtics, the Raptors have upgraded both their offence and defence by signing Kawhi Leonard, and while the Klaw has not been the Defensive Player of the Year for a long time, he’ll match up well with Paul George if Scottie can take on the Jayson Tatum assignment. All together, the Raptors should be able to handle the Celtics’ wings effectively, but the firepower of Boston’s point guard Payton Pritchard makes him fearsome for the Raptors’ starters, potentially forcing a more defensively oriented lineup from Toronto.
The Raptors are at a turning point where they may be finally equipped to handle the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Albeit one move away from being at that level themselves, Toronto will never get there if they don’t get over the hump — both on the court, and in the mind. Losing the same matchups over and over again can be extremely demoralizing, the negative effects of which is compounded by the fact that it’s extremely likely the Raptors will play one, if not both, of these teams in the playoffs this year.
Scottie Barnes, and the Raptors, know what they have to do. The question remains: when will they?
