​How the Raptors' Trade for Serge Ibaka Impacts the Eastern Conference

The Toronto Raptors were presumed to be the biggest threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference this season. After pushing the Cavs to six games in the East final a year ago, the Raptors had room for growth, had built experience, and had bucked the notion that their core—Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Dwane Casey—was not good enough to escape the first round of the playoffs.

Even after a 22-8 start, there was obvious work to be done. The gap between the Raptors and Cavaliers remained, and fans clamored for the addition of a Paul Millsap (unlikely) or DeMarcus Cousins (off the table entirely). Instead, what the Raptors found was the worst stretch of play they've experienced since The Day Everything Turned Around, save for maybe the Washington Wizards series in the 2015 postseason. The Raptors have dropped 15 of 25 and 10 of 14, their offense sputtering and their defense failing to improve to league average with any consistency.

And so panic set in. The Cavaliers remained the Cavaliers, and the Boston Celtics emerged as perhaps a bigger threat (albeit an unproven one). The Wizards, the hottest team in basketball, looked a stiffer challenge than the Raptors of late, too. Things reached a boiling point Sunday, when the Raptors choked away yet another close game, forcing Kyle Lowry to suggest something needs to change and DeMar DeRozan to admit that help would be welcome.

On Tuesday, Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Jeff Weltman answered the call from their stars. Change is coming. So, too, is help. The Raptors are reportedly sending Terrence Ross and the lesser of their two 2017 first-round picks to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Serge Ibaka, a plus-defender at either frontcourt position and a lights-out shooter who should fit seamlessly as Toronto's new two-way third option.

Shortly before news of the trade broke, word came out that the Cavaliers will be without Kevin Love for the next six weeks due to a knee scope. It is safe to say, then, that the Eastern Conference has undergone a bit of a shakeup today. It would be premature to call the acquisition of Ibaka as a return to form for the Raptors, but it is unquestionably a means to that end, and the East is now in flux, and the Raptors are signaling that they're not willing to fall back to first-round fodder.

What the Raptors can do over the final 27 games of the season may not be enough to shake up playoff seeding. They've dug themselves a four-game hole behind the Celtics for the No. 2 seed, and the Celtics stand as a threat to make an acquisition before the Feb. 23 deadline. The Cavaliers may not be concerned enough with the top seed to fight for it if Love's injury causes some slippage, and Boston securing the No. 1 seed would make Toronto's preferred seeding complicated. Toronto can probably only hope for the second seed at best, and the priority may just be to secure home-court advantage.

The Raptors can't afford to play for a particular seed, anyway, and instead their focus will turn to getting back to a place where they are qualitatively the biggest threat to Cleveland once again. And they are. The Celtics are playing well and are dangerous offensively, but it's hard to crown a team light on playoff experience as ready without seeing how it will respond first. Depth matters a little less in the playoffs, but the Wizards are woefully short on it despite their success. The Hawks and Pacers are probably a level below the Celtics, Wizards, and Raptors.

The Raptors don't deserve the benefit of the doubt with how they've played of late. Still, there is an easy case to be made that they were due some positive regression after the last 25 games—they own the second-best net rating in the conference, and their offense is much better than the point it has fallen to of late. The larger body of work suggests the Raptors without Ibaka are a little better than a 32-23 team, and they now have Ibaka to help pull them out of the tailspin.

The adjustment period could see that improvement delayed some, and so the Raptors will have to try to evaluate the more subjective, difficult though that may be. They'll watch for fit. They'll watch for how they matchup with certain opponents with Ibaka (they play Boston out of the break and Washington twice shortly thereafter). They'll go by feel, knowing full well what this team functioning near its ceiling looks like.

It can be tough to remember, given how the last six weeks have gone, but not long ago an addition like Ibaka would have been perceived as the Raptors making a push to catch the Cavaliers. Tuesday's trade is a reminder of where the Raptors see themselves, and perhaps just the shot in the arm they need to reassert themselves in the East hierarchy.