So far, Toronto is winless within its own division and would likely have to face Boston or Philadelphia in a post-season series. Or maybe Milwaukee. And while Toronto hammered the Bucks early in the Damian Lillard Era, things have changed and Milwaukee has looked much better since switching up its defence after that humiliation.Toronto is just 4-12 against opponents .500 or above, and a dismal 3-9 away from home, yet management has not made any moves and new head coach Darko Rajakovic has been resistant to tinker with his starting lineup (though he’s recently begun getting creative with his rotations and bench looks). But is it all just trying to put lipstick on a pig, or is this a bunch of talented players who simply haven’t fit and haven’t lived up to their potential together? Management seems to believe it’s the latter. Why else has nothing been done to try to come up with a more workable roster? But more likely it’s the former

These Raptors, while individually impressive, aren’t going to excel together. Not unless more shooting can magically get added, as well as more NBA-caliber guards. It doesn’t help that two roster spots have been wasted on two veterans (Thaddeus Young and Garrett Temple) who never play and fellow vet, Otto Porter Jr., who still can play and help, cannot get healthy enough to be relied upon. Free agent signing Jalen McDaniels seemed like a decent bet on the cheap, but showed little and is now out of Rajakovic’s rotation. Rookie Gradey Dick is too young, too slight, too overmatched to contribute yet and sophomore big man Christian Koloko has battled a respiratory issue that hasn’t allowed him to play.

The team reconvened in Washington on Boxing Day eager to get back on track. The schedule maker provided one favour before making life extremely difficult for them in putting Washington and Detroit on the docket this week. It’s a chance to build some positive momentum before the challenges mount.