Hello Raptor Fans,
After an eight-game winning streak prior to the All-Star break the Toronto Raptors was a team that was moving in the right direction. They were finally healthy and playing with a full squad. The team was forming chemistry and everyone’s role was clearly being defined. The Raptors after two years of trials and tribulations with Covid Protocols, no fans in the building, going to the bubble, then having to play a season in another city, Tampa Bay. There was finally light at the end of the tunnel. However, in a flash that light has quickly dimmed.
Coming out of the All-Star break the Toronto Raptors had a favorable schedule, however the injury bug has found its way back to this team. Fred Van Vleet was trying to play through some knee problems and OG Anunoby experienced pain in his right ring finger. Both have had to shut it down to recuperate. This gave an opportunity to some of our young guns to step up and step in. Malachi Flynn was one of those bright spots who helped contribute to back-to-back wins against a team missing more key players than us – the Brooklyn Nets. These are our only 2 wins since the break. We got blown away by the (Charlotte Hornets & Atlanta Hawks), two team below us in the standings. After initially getting crushed by the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference (Detroit Pistons & Orlando Magic), we showed a little bit of heart battling back but eventually still lost close games to them both. Then, last night if we had just kept the train on the tracks, we could have moved closer to the Cleveland Cavaliers for that coveted sixth spot in the East. Instead of pushing our way higher in the standings, we find ourselves sliding down a slippery slope, back to where we started.
It is like we are playing a game of snakes and ladders. Two steps forwards and then two steps back…
So much promise, so much hope. This fan base was ready to erupt. Finally coming out of lock downs and ready to cheer as loud as we can. We now find this team back in the trenches having to grind for one of those Top 6 spots in the Eastern Conference and avoid the dreaded “Play-In” Tournament.
Our brief success has blinded the real identity of this team. We tried to change the “rebuilding” label to “retooling” however the truth is this team lacks depth. The lack of depth gets exposed with any injury to our core players. We need every soldier to have any real chance of winning.
As fans, we just want to win however we need to have patience and more realistic expectations for the Toronto Raptors. Realistic expectations are we are indeed a “Play-in” team. Our talent level should warrant a final position of (7-10) in the standings playing in the tournament, to determine if we make the playoffs. The healthier the team is, the greater chance we have pushing for that sixth spot. If we continue with injuries the more, we will slide down that slope in the standings.
Fans will point fingers at Masai and Bobby Webster saying that we should have made trades at the deadline to bring in more experienced players to help our bench, however those short-term gains are not conducive to our long-term goals. As difficult as it is to watch some of our younger guys struggle with consistency and our mish mash roster playing a new style of Basketball. In the long run Masai and Nick Nurse will now have a large enough sample size to know what this team is all about and form better intelligence on what is required to fill those gaps, to make this team better.
When you conduct too many changes you never get a true indication of what is wrong and what is right. I think it is a smart decision by the Toronto Raptors executive team to take the approach they have. We are rebuilding. Time for retooling is in the summertime – when the season is over.
We know what our core group can do when healthy. We can push up the standings and maybe surprise a team in the first round of the playoffs. If we continue to have the injury bug, we will still be in that (7-10) range anyways. So, might as well give playing time to the younger players to gain experience and trust the process.
It is funny when you read the comment boards after games. If the Raptors win a couple of games many in the fan base go nuts. If they lose a couple of games that same fan base is doom and gloom. Don’t matter how we perform; I will be cheering every night win or lose. We need to curb our expectations and understand the reality of our talent level and your stress levels will be much more manageable!
Chill and enjoy the ride!
Go Raptors Go!
