Are They Getting Better??

Tuesday January 13, 2009 - This is your Raptor Rant!

Well you’ve scratched another week off your NBA calendar and yet you didn’t see any progress from the Toronto Raptors, or did you? After two close losses to the reigning champ Boston Celtics, many fans feel the Raps have made steps in the right direction. I’m not sure I agree with this. I have heard terms like this over the last few days, ‘they gave it their all’, ‘what a great effort’, ‘they worked really hard and almost had it’. I won’t lie all of those are factual statements, but I’m not digging them. A great effort?? Ok, so you want me to sit here as a fan and say, my team did what they are capable of doing and still aren’t winning – but you want me to be happy about it? I will admit, I have seen a lot of growth in players like Andrea Bargnani, Joey Graham and Roko Ukic – congrats to those dudes, keep it up. However, I didn’t learn this one in math class but this equation isn’t doing it for me, youth + effort = not winning.

I will still cheer as loud, if not louder than most fans and support my team, but I now truly understand the frustration of fans. I urge you to continue to support your home team and help encourage their strong play with your cheers and not bring down their confidence with jeers.

This upcoming week provides a few tests for the Raps. Wednesday night at the ACC the youthful and rebuilding Chicago Bulls, with rookie sensation Derrick Rose, try and knock off the Raptors. Rose, is one of the quickest guards in the league and with the troubles the Raptors showed with Rajan Rondo, it will be interesting to see how they match up against him. The Indiana Pacers are next and are playing better as of late, however I think the Raps got this one. Steve Nash, Amare, Shaq, and the Suns hit the ACC on Sunday and as I type this, I feel nervous for the Raptors. The Suns are a smart versatile team and the Raps need to be absolutely perfect to stop them, I think the Suns got this one. Monday, Toronto travels to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. This is a must win for the Raptors as they have already lost to this team earlier in the season and it’s crucial for a potential tie - breaker situation.

Again, I encourage you to support your home team, even if you are a little discouraged. Any questions, comments or concerns – devo@flow935.com