The Raptors have been an Eastern Conference power for that long. Five seasons of muscle flexing at the division level without yielding the desired top spot in the East. They were Atlantic Division champions for three of the past four years. They ruled the roost as Boston and Philadelphia struggled, but despite the hard work of the regular season an ‘outsider’ snatches the top Eastern Conference seed from them.

Indiana and Miami had better records in 2013-14. Raptors won 48 games and finished top of the division, but still found themselves eight games behind the Pacers, who topped the conference. Then, the Raptors won one game more the following season, set a franchise record for regular-season victories, and finished with a 49-33 record. However, it was only good enough for the fourth seed, as they were 11 games behind the Atlanta Hawks, who won the East. Cleveland and Chicago also won more games.

In the 2015-16 season Raptors raised the franchise record even higher with 56 wins, and strolled to another division title. This time, it was Cleveland who stood in their way; the Cavaliers simply won one more game, ended with a 57-25 record, and took the top Eastern spot. Three seasons, three different teams. The irony is that the Raptors improved their record every single year.

Then last season, Toronto Raptors had the best division record, and tied with the Boston Celtics for the best road record in the Eastern Conference. But they lost the regular-season meetings to Cleveland 3-1, won two less conference games than the Celtics, and slipped into third place despite tying with the Cavaliers for 51 regular-season wins.

And, just like last season, the Celtics are again two games ahead of the Raptors and steaming towards yet another division title. Yet, Toronto are in hot pursuit, and have a chance to reduce the gap to one game when they meet early Wednesday morning in the second of four regular-season games. Toronto won the regular-season series 3-1 last season, and will need to repeat the same effort. And it starts with this game.

The Raptors have been playing catch-up since the Celtics rattled off an NBA record 16 wins following the 0-2 start. But a poor run of form in January, when the Cs went 1-5 after opening the year 4-0, has enabled the Raptors to crunch a six-game gap to just two. And, with 30 games left to play, the Raptors have a chance.

Toronto, as per basketball-reference.com, are currently third in the NBA in Offensive Rating, courtesy of their average 113.3 points per 100 possessions, and are third in Defensive Rating with the 105.6 points allowed to opponents in the same possession frame. They are estimated to turn the ball over 12.1 times in 100 possessions, which is fourth best in the league. And for a team that has one of its cornerstone players fluctuating in form, it can only get better.

Boston are arguably one of the best defensive teams in the league, mainly because of their length. The long arms deflect and obstruct passes. That is why their 102.2 points allowed per 100 possessions is the best in the league. However, they manage an average of 107.2 points, making them 18th best. And their pace of 96.0 possessions per 48 minutes is 22nd in the league, and 10 places below the Raptors’ 97.9 in 12th place.

DeMar DeRozan has been consistent for the Raptors, and is averaging 24.4 points per game. The major asset for the Raps going forward, however, will likely be Kyle Lowry. The All-Star guard is averaging just 16.5 points per game; way below the 22.4 he posted last season. It was Bismack Biyombo who sparked the Raptors in the playoffs two seasons ago, and Lowry might just be the spark that will land the Raptors that coveted number one spot should his game balloon to its usual level late in the regular season.

And while the Celtics have shown that they have the talent to dominate the East, they have also shown a vulnerability (losses to Chicago, New York and two losses to Miami) that would seem to suggest they will likely drop some ‘soft’ games before the regular season is over.

The Raptors, on the other hand, seem to be getting mentally tougher as the season goes on. They haven’t dropped more than two games in a row since the season tipped off. The next time, if there is one, that the Celtics go on a losing bender the Raptors will take the top spot, and may not relinquish it.

But first, they face off live on Kwesé Free Sports from 02:30 CAT (01:30 WAT) on Wednesday morning. The Celtics have won four straight (the Raptors bagged two games on the spin) and have the second best home-court record in the league. It is that tenacity at home, the hope of a fully rejuvenated Lowry and their quietly improving team play, that will ensure the Raptors are still around competing for the top spot when the regular season closes.

By Akinbode Oguntuyi