By Walter Dubowec

After more than a week of relaxing by the pool and soaking up the warm Caribbean sun, I return to see the Raptors are in the exact place I feared they would be after the so-called ‘easy part’ of the schedule.

The team is not in any sort of rhythm and its no longer realistic to expect that to change.

The Raptors entered 2008 with a 16-15 record. The general consensus was a favorable schedule from January 1st to March 2nd would provide the Raptors with the impetus to make a big move in the standings. A certain Raptor broadcaster was even predicting a 3rd place in the Eastern Conference was within reach.

                      
                           Raptors visit a hot Kobe Bryant next week in LA

Well, the Raptors record to date in 2008 is 15-11, with recent losses to New York, Indiana and Charlotte. If the best you can do is 4 games above .500 when the schedule is easy, then the forecast for March can’t be good.

Here is the Raptors record so far in 2008:

January: 8-5
February: 7-5
March: 1-2

The numbers speak for themslves and they don't provide a lot of reason for optimism down the stretch.


March will be tough

March is a very difficult month, with an 8-9 record (or worse) looking like a real possibility. Nine of seventeen games are on the road.

This month includes a tough stretch of games on a western swing (LA, GSW, Utah, Denver, Kings) along with home games against Denver, Detroit, Washington and New Orleans plus Cleveland on the road.

If the Raptors are going to take a run at 47 wins again and assuming they win only 8 games in March (which seems likely), then they will need to win all 8 games in April.

Is that likely? No way.

There is a slight ray of hope as the Raptors have a very easy schedule in April with games against Atlanta, Charlotte, New Jersey (2), Milwaukee, Detroit, Miami and Chicago. So running the table in April is a possibility – albeit very remote.

No comparison to last season

By this time last year, the Raptors had found their stride and were playing with confidence. This was the Raptors record in 2007:

January: 10-5
February: 9-3
March: 8-6
April: 7-3

Toronto's record in the same months of 2008 is nothing like last year. This season, the Raptors have not been able to put together any degree of consistency, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season and the play-offs.

The way its looking, the best case scenario is a 45 win season and predictions of 50 wins are out of the question.