It says something about the collective self-belief of the Toronto Raptors that even as they sit 10 games below .500 with 10 games remaining in the season, they carry themselves with an undeniable swagger.
It doesn’t seem to matter that they’re a long way removed from being considered relevant contenders; that between now and regular season’s end they have plenty of work to do just to earn a chance at the NBA’s newfangled play-in tournament.
It doesn’t seem to matter that it’ll be two years in June since they cradled the Larry O’Brien Trophy in Oakland, or that last season, after losing Kawhi Leonard in free agency, they were second-round playoff outs.