If Raptors have first-round playoff exit, major changes may come

The NBA’s Eastern Conference might have a major shakeup soon.

The Toronto Raptors have been a major staple of the conference for years thanks to stars such as Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. They are a team capable of at least giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money over a seven-game series, even if they may not be favorited in the betting odds.

But the overarching theme around the Raptors isn’t hard to see—their stars are terrible in the playoffs. Awful, really.

This understood, now look at a note by  Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports:

Masai at deadline: "I dont think it makes sense [for] a team thats not making the playoffs or getting beat in the 1st round to go into tax"

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 21, 2017

The Raptors seem well on their way to major change. In Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks, a 97-83 loss, Lowry scored four points and DeRozan needed 21 shots to his 21 points. The two were better in a Game 2 six-point win, but Game 3 was back to business as usual in a 104-77 loss, where Lowry scored 13 and DeRozan went 0-of-8 with eight points.

It’s smart for the Raptors to consider major changes. DeRozan isn’t going anywhere, but he’s a volume shooter who doesn’t shoot too well from deep or create for others. Lowry is amazing in the regular season in large part because of his deep shooting, but has a yearly collapse in the postseason.

Coaching changes and Lowry leaving in free agency seem like the route the Raptors are about to tackle. Whether the team can smartly reload around DeRozan is hard to say, but the Eastern Conference is about to look quite a bit different if the Raptors can’t come back against the Bucks.