It wasn’t close. That’s what seems to have upset Raptor fans the most about the loss in Boston the other night. In reality the team already knew the odds of catching the Hawks were extremely long anyway and played like this game doesn’t matter. Fans didn’t like what they saw and Twitter turned into utter disgust for a team that has played much better of late but any little let down triggers it’s fans.
Having lost the first Boston game when arguably they should have won this game was a no doubt’er for the Celtics. The Raptors in fact couldn’t score for about 4 mins to start the game and with one of the top teams in the NBA that’s a death sentance. Sure enough, Boston’s 12-2 lead after only 4 mins only got worse as the Raptors mailed this game in and the Celtics bench enjoyed the big minutes just in case they get the call come playoffs time. We could analyze this laugher but the truth is the Raptors didn’t try all that hard so why bother. It wasn’t a game they had to have really anyway and they played like it. Fans need to understand it’s an 82 game grind and being fresh and ready for 2 sudden death games is much much more important than beating the Celtics this night. Let’s dig through the train wreck and see if some important points can be highlighted…
The Good
Sam Hauser
Dude was stroking them all night…nothing but net! I was a bit surprised he got the start but it didn’t take him long to shut me up. By the end of the game I certainly knew his name. Point taken young man! Well played!
Payton Prichard
Shooting…passing…defending…22 pts in 24 mins off the bench! Somebody’s pushing to be a starter somewhere in the league!
Pascal
Doesn’t give up, doesn’t matter what the score is. I liked his effort on D as well with 4 steals. The team didn’t follow him but he sure didn’t pack it in like most.
Precious
Had a spark and was hitting some shots finally. Great to see! I still remember last year’s playoffs and this guy carrying the D and making some big deep balls. Can he come out of nowhere and do it again this year? X Factor!
Dalano
4 for 4 in only 4 mins for 10 points. I don’t care if one of them was unguarded it was pretty deep. Ah…WTF? This guy was my sleeper pick for a huge year this year and Nick buried him in the deepest hole on Earth. Now he throws him in for garbage time and we see this??? Good on you kid! That’s the way you show management they should be playing you. Not fans whining about you getting time, not cryptic social media posts by your dad…flat out hoop’in when you get a few mins. I knew it was in you and I think this might have opened a few eyes.
The Bad
The list is too long…let’s just say everyone else and wrap this up! Special shout out to O.G., Scottie, Freddy and Jak for stinking up the joint against Boston’s bench.
I let this game marinade a bit in my mind before writing this up because the instant reactions on Twitter blew me away. Fans were calling for complete tear downs trading everyone and throwing this team under the bus. I’m not in that camp even though I didn’t think adding Jak was a good move. This team has potential. Clearly it has faults but when they give 100 and play the right way they can do some damage. Is it enough to upset a top seed in the East? Probably not but I want to see them in a 7 game series with this size and defense. A break here or there and this Raptors team could boot out a good team.
It’s very disappointing fans have abandoned almost all hope it seems after a rather meaningless loss. This team needs fans. They need support. Especially when it’s all on the line, win or go home, like it will be very, very soon. I hope fans get behind these guys and give them everything possible for this Run. You play the games because you never know what’s going to happen. After the music stops we can all sit down and discuss what happened and why. For now let’s rally…let’s cheer these guys on!
How does this team stop the 3? They will find some success if that can happen. It’s hard to watch, as they play hard but shoot like me in pick up. Stop the 3 win some games?