In the grand scheme of things, a race for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference wouldn’t rank very high on the best plots in the NBA right now.
Still, it’s what Toronto Raptors fans are left hanging on to with eight games left in the season. Both the Raps and the Atlanta Hawks in front of them have been lockstep — one step forward, one step back — since the All-Star Break, and one game still separates them in the standings. All other opportunities have disintegrated. We have to hold on to the hope of one home game in a not-quite-postseason.