Toronto Drakes are on a Tear

What's happening?

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.