They thought it was coming along, perhaps a bit more slowly than some had wanted, but the Raptors felt things were getting better bit by bit by bit, day by day by day, game by game by game.
And then Wednesday happened and any incremental improvement must be taken with a grain of salt.
Facing the statistically worst offensive team in the NBA, the Raptors couldn’t pull off a miracle finish in a 110-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Scotiabank Arena.
Justin Champagnie, the most unlikely of heroes, was a split-second late with a tip-in of a Fred VanVleet layup at the buzzer as the Raptors lost to see a two-game winning streak end.