The Raptors entered the 2022-23 season hoping to compete in the Eastern Conference.
So far, they haven't met those expectations.
At 20-25, the Raptors are currently in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings. They're only five games behind the Knicks for a top-six seed, but they're also only 3.5 games ahead of the Magic in 13th place.
If the season ended today, the Raptors would have the seventh-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. FiveThirtyEight's model gives them only a 24 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports recently wrote that how the next few weeks go could determine which direction the front office goes at the Feb. 9 trade deadline. How will this stretch play out for the Raptors? Let's take a closer look at their upcoming schedule.
MORE: Trade rumors: Raptors linked to Jakob Poeltl and Bojan Bogdanovic
Raptors upcoming schedule
The Raptors have 11 games between now and the trade deadline on Feb. 9.
The Celtics, Knicks, Kings and Grizzlies are the only teams the Raptors will face that currently have a winning record, but there are a number of teams in a similar position as them — in the Play-In picture and looking to work their way up the standings.
That includes a Warriors team that recently welcomed Stephen Curry back from injury and a Suns team that could soon welcome Devin Booker back from injury.
Complicating matters further for the Raptors is that they won't be in Toronto much, with eight of their 11 games coming on the road against Western Conference opponents, including seven straight. The Raptors are 14-11 at home and 6-14 on the road this season, so that's not a great sign.
The Raptors also have two sets of back-to-backs coming up, starting this weekend against the Celtics and Knicks. Those games will be played in Toronto, but they will face the Warriors in Golden State and the Trail Blazers in Portland on back-to-back nights closer to the end of the month.
All of this is to say: Toronto has a rather brutal stretch ahead of itself.
Here is the schedule in full:
| Date | Opponent | Opponent record | Time (ET) |
| Jan. 19 | at Timberwolves | 22-23 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 21 | vs. Celtics | 33-12 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 | vs. Knicks | 25-20 | 6:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 25 | at Kings | 24-18 | 10:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 27 | at Warriors | 22-22 | 10:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 28 | at Trail Blazers | 21-23 | 10:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 30 | at Suns | 21-24 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Feb. 1 | at Jazz | 23-24 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Feb. 3 | at Rockets | 10-34 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Feb. 5 | at Grizzlies | 30-13 | 6:00 p.m. |
| Feb. 8 | vs. Spurs | 14-31 | 7:30 p.m. |
FiveThirtyEight's model has the Raptors as the underdogs in all but two of those games. If it goes that badly, will they stand pat at the trade deadline? Stay tuned.
