Raptors have a different feel as season winds down

The Toronto Raptors have missed the playoffs again and will be about 20 games below .500 when the regular season wraps up on Sunday, but something feels different this year.

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors have missed the playoffs again and will be about 20 games below .500 when the regular season wraps up on Sunday, but something feels different this year.

Stars RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes as well as head coach Darko Rajakovic all said there was a different feeling at OVO Athletic Centre on Tuesday after Toronto’s final home practice of the season.

Although the Raptors were eliminated from the play-in tournament on April 1, their 29-50 record with three games remaining is an improvement on last season’s 25-57 performance and the locker-room atmosphere is noticeably better too.

“Way different, different energy, different vibes, for sure,” said Barrett, who is from Mississauga, Ont. “I think this year we really made a step forward in what we’re building here. I think we have some good pieces in these younger guys coming in.

“I just think that, just the team morale, everything is on a high right now for us. We know what we’re building towards, so everybody feels good right now.”

Toronto hosts the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday for the last home game of the regular season, then takes a swing through Texas with a stop in Dallas on Friday and then the finale against the Spurs in San Antonio on Sunday.

The Raptors hold the seventh-worst record in the NBA this season. With that comes a 32-per-cent chance at a top four pick in the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12 and a 7.5 per cent shot at first overall. But the Spurs (32-46) could leapfrog them if Toronto finishes the season on a roll.

Despite the sub-.500 record, Barnes said that there’s a feeling of hope for next season.