Raptors leapfrog Atlanta

Toronto finished fifth in the Eastern Conference on Sunday, moving past Atlanta on the regular season’s final day and setting up a first-round series with Cleveland. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s updated playoff bracket on April 13 listed Cleveland as the No. 4 seed against No. 5 Toronto, while New York drew No. 6 Atlanta. ESPN’s postseason schedule showed Toronto at Cleveland on April 18 and Atlanta at New York later that day. (nba.com) (espn.com) The jump came after Toronto and Atlanta entered the weekend separated by one game, with Atlanta at 45-35 and Toronto at 45-35 in ESPN’s team comparison before the finale. That same page showed Toronto had won all four head-to-head meetings with Atlanta this season, which gave the Raptors the tiebreaker if they finished even. (espn.com) Toronto’s late push had already tightened the race. Four days earlier, the Raptors beat Miami 128-114 behind 38 points from Brandon Ingram, a result ESPN said moved Toronto closer to its first playoff berth since 2022. (espn.com) Atlanta had looked set for fifth two days before the finale. National Basketball Association coverage on April 11 said the Hawks had clinched a top-six seed and moved into the No. 5 spot after beating Cleveland, with the final Eastern seeds still to be sorted on Sunday. (nba.com) The standings shift changed the matchup as much as the number. Instead of opening at No. 3 New York, Toronto now opens at No. 4 Cleveland, while Atlanta drops into the Knicks series. (nba.com) (espn.com) That movement also showed how compressed the middle of the East became in the season’s final week. Basketball-Reference’s standings page had Atlanta at 46-35 and Toronto at 45-36 before the last games were completed, with Orlando also at 45-36 and Philadelphia at 44-37. (basketball-reference.com) By Monday morning, the bracket was locked: Toronto had climbed into the Cleveland matchup, and Atlanta was the team looking up. (nba.com)