The Toronto Raptors needed to win against the New York Knicks last night if they wanted to stay alive for a chance at the final seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  They made sure they did their part by beating the Knicks 131-113, behind 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal from Andrea Bargnani.  Bargnani has done a nice job taking on most of the scoring burden with Chris Bosh out with a nasal fracture.  Yet, beating the Knicks was not going to be enough, because they also needed some help from the Charlotte Bobcats who played the Bulls last night.  Well, the Bobcats weren’t much help, as the Bulls beat them 98-89 and clinched the eight seed in the Eastern Conference, knocking the Raptors out on the final day of the regular season.  It was really unfortunate for the Raptors that their star player, Bosh, got hurt at the worst time of the season.  Had Bosh not gotten hurt, things may have gone a lot differently for the Raptors in the final stretch of the 2009-’10 season.  He did get hurt though, and the Raptors missed out on a huge opportunity when they lost to the Bulls last Sunday.  Although the Raptors crumbled in the month of April, you can’t be too upset at them since they were without their top player when they needed him most.

If the Toronto Raptors want to be in this year’s NBA playoffs, then they have to win tonight’s game against the New York Knicks.  The Raptors are one game back of the eighth seeded Chicago Bulls, but the Raptors own the tiebreaker.  So, if the Bulls lose and the Raptors win, then the Raptors will win the final playoff spot.  However, if the Bulls win it doesn’t matter whether or not the Raptors win or lose, as the Bulls will be a game ahead.  Judging by the way the Bulls played last night in their win over the Boston Celtics, things don’t look good for the Raptors.  The Bobcats do have a better record than the Bulls and they are the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, so it is anyone’s game.  If the Bulls do win, it looks like the Raptors’ loss to the Bulls last Sunday cost them the playoffs.  That and losing their best player, Chris Bosh, at the most important part of the season.  The Raptors have to forget about those things though and make sure they get a win tonight.  Guys like Andrea Bargnani, Sonny Weems, Amir Johnson, and Jarret Jack have had some nice games with Bosh out, but they will all need to step up tonight against the Knicks.  It is win or go home for the Raptors, and it will be interesting to see how they respond tonight.

The Raptors and Magic match up pretty well so this will be a very interesting series to watch. Here’s a closer look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: The Raptors have two outstanding point guards in Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford. These two guys will try to push the pace which would favor the Raptors style of play. Calderon played in 82 games (56 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He will give Jameer Nelson of the Magic all kinds of trouble.

Jameer Nelson of the Magic is a shoot-first point guard and that hurts the team sometimes. Nelson played in 69 games (62 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

SHOOTING GUARD: Anthony Parker of the Raptors is a deadeye shooter from long range. Parker played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. The Magic better keep close to Parker on defense or they will pay for it.

Maurice Evans snagged a starting job shortly after being acquired by the Magic. He played in 68 games (47 starts) for the Magic and he averaged 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

SMALL FORWARD: Jamario Moon was quite a find for the Raptors as a rookie. He plays all out at both ends of the basketball court. Moon played in 78 games (75 starts) with the Raptors this year and he averaged 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He will have to keep in Hedo Turkoglu’s grill if the Raptors want to win this series.

Hedo Turkoglu really stepped up this year and played the best basketball of his NBA career. Turkoglu played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

EDGE: MAGIC

POWER FORWARD: The Magic will start Chris Bosh at power forward in this series and this will be the matchup to really watch on the court. Bosh played in 67 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 22.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

Rashard Lewis is not the prototype power forward as he’s a little soft around the basket. So he will likely need defensive help from Dwight Howard to slow Chris Bosh down. Lewis played in 81 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 18.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

CENTER: The Raptors will likely start Rasho Nesterovic at center as he played very well late in the season. Nesterovic played in 71 games (39 starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He will need defensive help to stop Dwight Howard inside.

Dwight Howard played the best basketball of his NBA career this season. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 20.7 points, 14.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game. Howard will likely be bully in this series.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE MAGIC

BENCH: T.J. Ford will be the player off the bench who makes the biggest impact for the Raptors. Ford played in 51 games (26 starts) this season for the Raptors and he averaged 12.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. F/C Andrea Bargnani will also likely have a big role in this series. He played in 78 games (53 starts) this year for the Raptors and he averaged 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Carlos Delfino had his best season in the NBA. Delfino played in 82 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Jason Kapono is a good shooter but that’s his only real skill. Kapono played in 81 games (7 starts) for the Raptors and he averaged 7.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Kris Humphries also had a good season off the bench. The reserve power forward played in 70 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Center Primoz Brezec didn’t get to play too much after his arrival in a trade with the Pistons. He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Keith Bogans is probably the best player on the Magic’s bench. Bogans played in 82 games (35 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Keyon Dooling can handle either guard spot. He played in 72 games (1 start) for the Magic this year and he averaged 8.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Carlos Arroyo is the top point guard off the bench for the Magic. He played in 62 games (20 starts) for the Magic and he averaged 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Adonal Foyle will be the backup center for the Magic in this series. He played in 82 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 1.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Pat Garrity is nothing more than a long range shooter. He played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

PREDICTION: THE MAGIC WILL WIN THIS SERIES IN SIX HARD FOUGHT GAMES.