There have always been excuses ready for the Raptors’ struggles this season. They began the year with new players who had to acclimate themselves to Toronto’s style of play. There were injuries here and there, disrupting the lineup and rotation. And then there were the larger forces of the global pandemic, which moved the team to Tampa for the season, and then had them giving away a bunch of games in the absence of the core of their team.
Unfortunately, those excuses — except for the overall haze of the pandemic — are running out and the on-court product still has yet improve.