It seems through the 20-years of Toronto Raptors history there’s been a number of games labelled “biggest game in franchise history”. Most likely all those games have also been the ‘most important game’ in the franchises past – Game seven loss in the second round of the 2001 playoffs, and last year’s first round loss in game seven rank as the top games in franchise history.

Currently to start the 2014-15 season the Raptors are 7-1; good enough for the lead in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the NBA. Yes, the 20-year old Toronto Raptors are first place in the NBA for the first time since, ever.

Understandably so that is all worth being excited about. Raptor fans and the country of Canada has the right to get worked up about a 7-1 record. There hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer about in Toronto sports lately and the Raptors are changing that.

On Thursday night the Raptors take on the 6-2 Chicago Bulls. A Bulls team that has only played one game with all their starters healthy so far this season. It will be the first true contest for the Raptors since the season started depending on where you rank the Miami Heat – the Raptors lone loss. That game is not just big for the Raptors, but for the NBA as well. The Raptors and Bulls will be on National TV Thursday. This will be the first National TV game for the Raptors in 12 seasons.

The 7-1 Raptors, could be the 8-0 Raptors, and could easily be the 5-3 Raptors depending on how you look at it. Slow starts have been killer to the Raptors, but they’ve shown to be one of the best, if not the best fourth quarter team in the NBA.

The Raptors have given up 30+ points in the first quarter four times out of eight games this season. They’ve trailed at half five of eight games. And we can call them a fourth quarter team but they’ve only outscored their opponents 203-201 in the fourth. Though the fourth quarter point differential doesn’t show it, trailing at half five times and coming back to win four of the five times is not easy to do. Head Coach Dwane Casey has been emphasizing the fact the team needs to show up from the tip till the final buzzer. At some point the slow starts will catch up to the team.

The Raptors allowed Miami to score 31 and 33 in the first two quarters of their game, and then held them to under 25 in the final two quarters. The Heat without LeBron James are slightly worse on paper but still a playoff team. Miami’s off to a 5-2 start with solid play coming from the new defined big three of Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh-Luol Deng. Though, the Raptors only lost by five to the Heat in the third game of the season, a better start that game has the Raptors at an undefeated start.

The Raptors haven’t made the 7-1 start look easy at all. And if you want to be critical, a true contender in the East doesn’t struggle against the teams the Raptors have played so far. Out of the eight games the Raptors have only played two possible playoff teams. Winning one of those two games.

The seven wins have come against Atlanta (3-3), Orlando (2-6), Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant-less Oklahoma City (2-6), Boston (3-3), Washington (5-2), Philadelphia (0-7), and Orlando again.

The only win to come against a playoff team so far this season has been against the Washington Wizards. One of the rare games the Raptors played a full 48-minutes. However, a 7-1 start is still a 7-1 start. The Raptors have been impressive for the most part, but a slow start against the Bulls on Wednesday will probably see no comeback, and it will leave the critics wondering if the Raptors are truly meant to be ranked third in the East. A loss to the Heat and Bulls will make a 7-1 start look meaningless, especially with the weak schedule the Raptors have had so far.

Nonetheless, a win against the Bulls could be labelled one of the biggest wins in franchise history. A 7-1 start is fun, beating one of two playoff teams is acceptable, but beating a possible Eastern Conference champion to boost the record to 8-1 and the Conference lead to two games would be one of the biggest gifts on the 20th anniversary.

The Raptors put their undefeated home record up against the Bulls undefeated road record.

A win on Thursday will make people believe the Raptors are not just a team that bullies bad teams, but are truly an Eastern Conference contender, probably a first in franchise history. The Raptors record early on shows they can be a threat for the Eastern Conference title, but a win over the Bulls sets it in stone.