Brandon Ingram Denies Watching Playoff Standings After Miami Heat Game

Brandon Ingram and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 121-95 in a must-win game in Scotiabank Arena. Beating Miami in game No. 78 allowed the Raptors to maintain the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Play-In Tournament set to begin in just six days. The former Duke Blue Devil supplied 23 points and six rebounds on 9-for-16 shooting with two steals. 

With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Raptors can finish anywhere from the fifth to ninth seeds. The five teams are separated by just 2.5 games, and the Raptors still have a rematch with the Heat to go along with one final matchup with the New York Knicks, whom they are 0-3 against this season. Hopefully they can take care of business in the final game against the 20-win Brooklyn Nets, but after losing to the 19-win Sacramento Kings just a week ago, nothing is guaranteed. 

At this point in the season, it’s impossible not to watch the standings. Members of teams that can move depending on the results of the last few games, especially drastically, like in the Raptors' case, are more often than not well aware of the stakes of each game. Along with that, they likely are paying attention to how the other teams are doing that could be on the move as well.

On the court after the much-needed win, Ingram was asked if the back-to-back with Miami felt like a mini-playoff series, along with how much standings watching he and the Raptors were doing. 

“Nah, just another game,” said Ingram. “[No standings watching] at this point. Just trying to win these next three games.”

Whether this statement from the two-time All-Star is true or not, they absolutely need to win these next three games. The former No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft has made the playoffs just one time in the first nine years of his career and has never won a series. In order to earn his second postseason appearance, he and the Raptors need to erase the offensive inconsistencies that have plagued them for much of the season. 

Tuesday’s win against Miami was one of the very few games where both Ingram and Barnes were able to make a significant impact in terms of scoring the ball. The last month or more has been dominated by RJ Barrett’s best basketball of his career, and the two stars have slightly taken a back seat as a result. The Raptors will need to see more of this productivity to end the regular season with continued momentum, so that they will be at their absolute best to try and win their first playoff series since the NBA Bubble in 2020.