Toronto Raptors settle it – it’s a ninth-place finish and a tougher road through the Play-in

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It was a nothing game and the Raptors appeared to approach it as such.

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Needing to win out over the final two games and have the Atlanta Hawks lose both of its remaining games to move up to eighth in the conference, the Raptors’ path to the playoffs appeared set.

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Then, without the need of Atlanta’s help, they went out and ensured it was.

Following Friday’s lackluster effort in a 121-102 loss to a Boston team that didn’t have the likes of Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart or Malcolm Brogdon, the Raptors will open the Play-in tournament as the No. 9 seed and play host to No. 10 Chicago on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.

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If they can win that they will then play either Miami or Atlanta for the the No. 8 seed.

CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse looked ahead to the final three games on the Raptors schedule and talked about the positivity of some elite competition as they head into the Play-in tournament.

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With two of those three games in the books, finding positives in these games has been like finding parking at the Eaton Centre on Boxing Day — frustrating and next to impossible.

Despite Boston sitting key members of their starting rotation in both games, the Celtics have been in control for the vast majority of the two games.

The culprit is a familiar one to Toronto basketball fans who follow the Raptors — this team, on too many nights just can’t shoot.

At least on Wednesday the defence was solid so the inability to shoot the ball with any real success was somewhat obscured by the score that never got truly out of reach.

Whether it was Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby, Fred VanVleet or Scottie Barnes, the Raptors could not get the ball to go down with any consistency at all in the first half.

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As a team they shot 30% from the field in the first half and just over 21% from behind the arc.

Toronto scored 16 in the first quarter and just 24 in the second while giving up back-to-back 34-point quarters to the Celtics.

Before the game was even half over, the Celtics had built a 36-point lead.

The Raptor were better in the second half shooting the ball but the damage was already too great.

We understand Nurse’s desire for some stiff competition to toughen up his squad with the post-season around the corner. This though felt like a couple of games that did far more harm than good.

DOWTIN JR. STILL IN THE PLANS

A report from Savanna Hamilton on Sportsnet’s broadcast of Friday’s game suggests Raptors management still has an interest in Jeff Dowtin Jr. despite the decision not to convert his two-way deal and thereby make him eligible for the remainder of the season and the Play-in tournament.

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To do so would have required the team cutting someone currently on the roster and the likely candidate for that would have been Joe Wieskamp.

But the team clearly made the decision they would rather hold on to what they have and not cut anyone.

No, they won’t have Dowtin Jr. for the Play-in but there remains a very good chance that both he and Wieskamp could be around come next September when camp opens up.

MILESTONE NIGHT FOR SIAKAM

Siakam, after a bit of a rough spot in mid-March has been looking more and more like the man who has led this team for the majority of the season.

Siakam had 19 points in 30 minutes Friday night to become just the fifth player in franchise history to hit the 8,000-point mark.

Siakam joins Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in the Raptors own 8,000-and-over club.

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OK, ONE POSITIVE

As hard as they were to find, there was one nice development that has risen to the top in these two tough games for the Raptors in Boston.

That would be the play of Precious Achiuwa who is looking more and more like that force that he was in the second half of last season and into the playoffs.

Achiuwa was one of only a select few Raptors that didn’t look intimidated going to the rim in Boston on Friday night with the likes of Robert Williams III and Al Horford lurking defensively.

Achiuwa finished with 16 points and seven boards in 24 minutes of work.

QUICK HITS

With the loss the Raptors wind up being swept by the Celtics this season in the four-game series … Toronto will need a win in the final game of the season on Sunday against a Bucks team that will surely be giving its bench the bulk of the work with nothing to play for in the game in order to achieve a .500 season. They fell a game below .500 with the loss in Boston.