The Rise and Fouls of the Toronto Raptors

To kick off the Raptors portion of The Toronto Turnover, a friend of mine requested to post a special article on the state of the Toronto Raptors. He is a die-hard. I'm talking BFF-with-Doug-Smith die-hard. For several years now, while I've wallowed in self-pity at the site of mediocre Leafs teams, he's done the same in Raptors red. He knows the excitement and frustration that comes with being a Toronto basketball fan.

And so without further ado, a cautionary tale by CBForce:

Two years ago I was working at a summer camp when I heard the news that the Toronto Raptors had acquired six-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal. Yeah we gave up two of my favourite Raptors in TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic, and almost half our team, but honestly we were going to be the next San Antonio Spurs. No really – we were. The modern day ‘Big Three’ in Boston was going to be one-upped by the new ‘Twin Towers’ in Toronto. Our front court was going to be unstoppable. You’d have Jermaine working the paint alongside CB4; Bargs would either light it up off our bench or run the 3 spot and make our starting line up huge. And don’t forget Calderon, our breakout feel-good story from the last few seasons, a pass first PG with an amazing assist to turnover stat finally coming into his own.

I know right? You read that and you laugh, maybe giggle a little. You amuse yourself at my, and probably your, ignorance a year ago. I bring it up because basketball, like a lot of sports, is all about runs, momentum, swings – and right now the 5th place, 26 – 22 Toronto Raptors are in the middle of a swing.

The funny thing is eventually the pendulum has got to go the other way. So you take news like “The Raptors are 19 and 9 since December” and “Friendly February” with a grain of salt. Yes we’re 4 ½ games behind Boston and the number 1 spot in the North East but it amazes me how many ‘true believers’ emerge after we scrap together a few wins. Don’t get me wrong, the Raptors are playing some of the best basketball since the VC era, but let’s come back down to earth a minute. I myself am guilty of reading way too much into one, two or even five victories. But we’re a 15 year old franchise now, so let’s show a little maturation.

I’m asking, pleading, for a bit of patience Toronto. A season is 82 games and we’re just a little over half way through. That’s a lot of basketball to be played. There are going to be some ugly ones before the end. They’re going to lose by 20 point some nights and they’re going to lose by 2 in others – but can we just…you know, watch them play?

If they keep playing the way they have this week, I promise you’ll enjoy it.