Okay, so last post I totally forgot that a young, explosive player name John Wall played in the Eastern Conference.
Wall is averaging some stellar numbers this year with an 19, 8 and 4. So yeah, fine, he deserves to play in the All-star game. Demar DeRozan made it, which is cool. He's playing well, and if the coaches selected Joe Johnson, why not select DeRozan too?
Now that my concise summary (read: lazy recap) of the All-star reserve selection process is out of the way, let's get to the most fascinating league event each year: BATTIOKE!
This was what my friend's text message said tonight as I was busy fulfilling my duties as a pizza delivery man (that's right, man) and missing the Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-95.
What could this text possibly mean? Surely my friend wasn't pointing out the obvious fact that, physiologically, Kyle Lowery is a man. So I asked him.
"He just had another sick game."
Okay, this makes more sense. But how sick was his game?
Well, Lowry's game was pretty sick. He had 18 points, shot 7-11, and notched a triple-double. Lowry's latest game is a reflection of how well he's been playing this entire season. All his numbers are up this season, and he's doing a pretty solid job proving to the NBA that he's an above-average starting point guard.
Will he make the East All-Star team? He should, but Kyrie Irving will lock up one of the two remaining guard spots. That leaves the other spot open to either Lowry or Deron Williams. Coaches select the reserve spots, and these spots generally better represent who's playing well season by season much more accurately than the fan vote. Lowry is having a better season than Williams, so here's hoping the coaches make the "right" choice (I consider this the right choice due to my delusional loyalty to the Raptors).
Didn't watch the game tonight? Here's the highlight pack.
After a disappointing and, quite frankly, frustrating loss against the far-below-average Boston Celtics earlier this week, the Raptors bounced back to a 94-89 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road.
The Raps wore their camo jerseys in honour of the Canadian Forces. In case you haven't seen them yet:
Yep, these jerseys look hideous. As bad, if not worse than the alternates some college teams tried out. I know the Raps' jerseys are in tribute to the Canadian Forces but come on. Can't the organization think of a more visually appealing way to achieve this? What about the CF logo replacing the Raptor logo at centre court for home games? Anything must be better than these abominations. And while we're at it, why can't the Raptors return to the days of their old colour scheme of purple, black and white? I understand that red and white are Canada's colours but everything about Toronto's old colour scheme and logo were perfect.
Check this out:
Look at that thing. Artistic perfection.
A couple years back I bought a throwback Toronto Raptors Starter pullover jacket. Do you understand how excited I was for that? I'm still giddy. Do I need to get out more and make friends? Probably, but don't take away from the beauty of the Raptors past logo.
So, to recap, the Raptors need to:
Ditch the camo jerseys and find a better way to honour the CF, and;
Bring back its old logo and colour scheme
Let's not pretend this isn't the best Raptors' jersey of all time.
Well, ever since profit and future Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Masai Ujiri somehow managed to dump Gay's salary on a comically confusing Sacramento Kings franchise, the Raptors have played impressively. I mentioned in an earlier post how much I disliked Gay, especially due to his contract, but I never thought the Raptors would play like a team that HAS A BETTER CHANCE OF MAKING THE FINALS THAN THE MIAMI HEAT!
Of course, Hollinger's projections are a little off here. The Heat are a better team than the Raptors, entirely because of this:
Seriously, the Raptors are playing near-elite-level ball since the trade. Toronto is 13-5 since trading Gay, with some big wins over Indiana, Dallas, and Oklahoma City. Only the San Antonio Spurs have a better record over that same period, at 15-4. There's no talk of tanking for the Raptors anymore, and for good reason: the team is leading the putrid Atlantic Division (though Brooklyn and New York have played better of late). If Toronto continues to play this well, it will easily win its division, securing the three seed in the Eastern Conference.
And why shouldn't the Raptors make a run at the playoffs? The 2014 draft class is deep but Toronto has a respectable starting lineup with a strong bench in Grieviz Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and John Salmons (despite his decreased effectiveness in recent years). Tyler Hansbrough is injured. When he comes back, the Raptors should reduce Chuck Hayes's minutes and have an even stronger bench than they have now.
Can the Raptors contend for the NBA Championship? Probably not. It doesn't have a superstar who can take over games (though DeRozan is improving yearly and playing significantly better on both ends on the floor -- more on this in a later article), its scoring and rebounding is below average, and there's absolutely no way Toronto will beat Miami or Indiana in a seven-game series.
Raptors' fans must be realistic in their expectations of what this franchise can achieve. Take a look at the history of the team. This season has the potential to be the best yet, with young core players to lead the team in coming years. Winning the championship is the goal of every team in the league; however, just making the playoffs is a huge step up for a team that has inspired anger and frustration over the last five years.
