5 Depressing NBA teams with virtually no chance of climbing out of early-season hole

Toronto Raptors

Like the first two teams on this list, the Toronto Raptors entered this season as one of the bigger mysteries in the Eastern Conference. With plenty of talent on their roster, the potential was going to be present for the Raptors. The big question for this franchise revolved around whether or not they'd be able to mature quickly enough to have a real shot at making the postseason in the East. If the first quarter of the season is any indication, it's pretty safe to say that the Raptors are still a year or two away from doing so.

At the very beginning of the season, the argument could be made that injuries did play a factor in this team's slow start to the year. But even now that they've begun to get healthier, this is still a team that continues to struggle to win games. Again, it's not that surprising considering how young this roster is. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate considering how talented this team is on paper. Maybe another year or two of development is what this team needs. Or, perhaps, they are not a good fit as a build.

Still playing without Immanuel Quickley (who could very well be the glue that holds this entire team together), RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes have continued to show signs of promise moving forward. The big question that the Raptors must ask themselves at some point in the not-so-distant future is whether or not this dynamic duo (or trio, along with Quickley) is going to be good enough to carry a team in the East. At least for now, that's an impossible - and unfair - question for the Raptors to answer.

I suppose the verdict won't be completely out on the Raptors until we see how this team performs with Quickley back from injury. But at least for now, it does seem as if the Raptors are going to finish with one of the top picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. And to be quite honest, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for this franchise. The Raptors have a talented roster but there's no question they could benefit from having one of the top talents from what is expected to be an exceptionally strong 2025 draft class.