Are the playoffs out of sight?

It seems as though playoff hopes for the Raptors are always a mere dream that they are trying to make into a reality. After the Raptors had had such a horrible starting to this season no one would have ever even suggested the idea that they might have had a shot at the playoffs. But with the huge headlining news that was the Rudy Gay trade, things started to look up for the Raptors. When Gay had first arrived the Raptors were playing like never before and had achieved a record of 7 wins out of 10 games. However the past six games have been more of a nightmare for the raptors as they have lost every one except the most recent against the Phoenix Suns; and now sit at 8-7 with Rudy gay (8-8) if you include the game he did not play because of injury. This could lead to the argument that the only reason why the Raptors were winning was because of the adrenaline and the hype that they had received when gay first arrived. Now that everything is settling down and the Raptors are no longer on the tip of everyone’s tongue, their drive has slowed down and their game has equally weakened. One of the most crucial games that the Raptors have lost was the one against the Milwaukee Bucks. This game was nothing short of exciting as it was sent into overtime thanks to Alan Anderson who tied it up at 104 in the final seconds. In the end however, the Raptors still ended up losing 122-114. The Raptors needed to win this game if they wanted a real shot at their playoff dreams. The Bucks are in the 8th and final position for the eastern conference playoffs and the raptors are currently in the 10th position sitting at about 7.5 games behind them. With only 20 guaranteed games left in this regular season it would appear as though the Raptors chances have left them. Some would argue that after their horrible start, there was never really a chance and that Raptors and fans were merely flirting with the idea of any playoff hopes seeing as how they would now have to not only win the majority of their remaining games but they would also need the Bucks and other teams ahead of them to do poorly. One can only hope that it wasn’t just for the moment and that the Rudy Gay trade really was for the best and better things are still ahead for the Toronto Raptors.