You know things have been really bad for Toronto Raptors supporters when a 5-1 start in preseason play kicks up this kind of excitement. Yes, with Toronto’s 123-120 overtime win over the New York Knicks Monday night, the Raps have won five of six games that will mean absolutely nothing by the time the playoff run rolls around.

Be cynical if you want (it’s actually encouraged), but it’s becoming harder to ignore this team that does look possibly watchable so far. Oh sure, they still have a pile of questions – grit in the paint, outside shooting, defence, any form of general consistency, the bench. You still have to wonder if anything coach Dwane Casey says is actually sinking in and if it’ll make any difference once these games actually mean anything.

Then again, maybe Monday’s game might have been the start of something, anything at this point, really. With Toronto’s starters stapled to the bench down the stretch, Casey stuck with his second unit and pulled out a win.

“The guys fought, scraped [and] got their way back into the game,” Casey told reporters. “It’s a great experience for those young kids to be able to play in those situations because in the regular season most likely, unless something catastrophic happens, they’re not going to be in the game.”

Anyway, Terrence Ross hit six of his 13 attempts from outside including one at the buzzer in the first overtime period and finished with 27 points. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and added seven boards in 29 minutes of work and Rudy Gay added 19 and seven more rebounds in 26 minutes. Tyler Hansbrough mixed it up in the paint. There were a lot of good things going on Monday night.

Now, can the Raptors turn a strong preseason into a good start to the real season? They have two games left on the exhibition schedule – home to Memphis and at Milwaukee. After that, the real thing starts Oct. 30 at home to the Celtics.

The reality is that there looks as though there might be three or four of the final playoff spots in the East up for grabs, so the Raps need a fast start. That’s not going to be easy. Toronto is plays six of its first nine games on the road and hosts Miami in one of its first three home games.

At any rate, the Raps are going to have to play over the 35.5 season win total Sports Interaction has set if they’re going to have a chance to play in the postseason. They’re back in action Wednesday against Memphis.