Raptors clinch top seed in East with franchise-record 57th win
The Toronto Raptors have clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 92-73 win over the Indiana Pacers. They are officially guaranteed home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.
With their 57th win of the season, the Raptors have also sealed the highest win total in their 23-year history, surpassing their 56 wins from the 2015-16 season.
All three of the Raptors' 50-plus win seasons have occurred in the past three years and this year they've shown significant strides on both ends of the floor. For the first time in franchise history, Toronto is among the top five in both offense and defense, and finished with the third-best net rating in the league.
| Season | Off Rtg (Rank) | Def Rtg (Rank) | Net Rtg (Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 111.3 (3rd) | 103.6 (5th) | 7.7 (3rd) |
| 2016-17 | 109.8 (6th) | 104.9 (8th) | 4.9 (4th) |
| 2015-16 | 107.0 (5th) | 102.7 (11th) | 4.3 (6th) |
Toronto (57-22) will finish with at least one of the three best records in the NBA, currently sitting behind the Houston Rockets (64-15) and sharing the second-best record with the Golden State Warriors with three games remaining.
All-Star guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry helped pace the Raptors throughout the year, averaging a team-leading 23.3 and 16.3 points, respectively. DeRozan has forced his way into the MVP conversation, showing major improvement as a passer, averaging a career-high 5.2 assists per game.
One of the biggest success stories for the Raptors this season has been their deep bench. The line of C.J. Miles, Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and Delon Wright have the second-best net rating of any five-man combination in the NBA (minimum 300 minutes played together).