The Raptor Coaster
15. Jan, 2010 
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Can anyone believe these Raptors?! I thought Canada’s Wonderland had roller coasters, but they’re nothing compared to the one Canada’s team has got me on right now! Take December 4th vs. the Wizards for example. I turn on the tube midway through the first: your Raps are up 24-7. I’m thinking good news. This is what I’ve been waiting for! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, back it up just for a moment. Just a day before that, the usually calm Raptors squad had a bit of controversy. The previous game vs. the Hawks yielded their highest scoring total in over 16 years, 146 points scored. Calderon was -23 while on the floor. Jack had one-third of the team’s turnovers. As a whole, Toronto barely had half the rebounds as Atlanta. The lone bright spot was rookie DeMar DeRozan, who netted a career-high 21 points. But to cap it all off was the main man, Chris Bosh, with two points in sixteen minutes.
So as things often transpire in sports, a blowout loss is enough to make tempers flare. The team was not a team at all; they were a group of individuals put back to basics to fend for themselves. One player described the tensions as North Americans vs. Europeans, as if culture had something to do with it. But in reality, it was everything that had built up over the weeks of near-pure losing. A team (or group of individuals, whatever you feel is most applicable at this time) can only lose for so long. Right?
On December 4th, the tides turned. Two of the worst losing slumps in the league, held by New Jersey and your Raptors, came to a close. Whether Nets’ part-owner Jay-Z’s birthday that night had anything to do with it, I am unsure. Nevertheless, it happened.
So as I balance watching the Raps-Wiz game with playing Super Smash Bros., it seemed the team couldn’t hold that 24-7 lead I swear I saw in the first quarter. Wait a minute: the Raptors couldn’t hold a lead? That’s nothing new, but that’s a different story. I watched the two team exchange buckets as if they were putting out a fire, but the relentless Wizards simply would not go away. In fact, they were creeping up on the Dinos until they tied the game on a dunk by Nick Young at the buzzer to end the third quarter. Little did I know, the game was only just beginning.
Fast forward to three minutes remaining: Toronto down three. Two minutes remaining: Raps up one. Ten seconds left: tie ball game. After Hedo Turkoglu missed his three-pointer for the win, it was time for overtime.
Now, any true Raptor fan like myself would experience the rush of memories of recent wild finishes in Washington. March 30, 2007. Wizards up three with just 3.8 s left. Michael Ruffin, a former Wizard, intercepts a Hail Mary pass intended for one of the Raptors up-court. He heaves the ball into the air to expire the last few seconds on the clock. Game over, right? Not a chance. The beloved Mo Pete catches the ball and tosses a up wild three. Swish. Raptors take the game in OT. I still get chills today thinking about it. Now, even more recently, Toronto pays another visit to Washington. Down three with just 1.2 s on the clock, Anthony Parker receives the inbound pass for a final shot attempt. Over three, yes three, defenders he nails a Derek Fisher-esque three-pointer. The ball nearly scraped the rafters it was so high.
That said, the Wizards know by now not to take the Raps lightly at the end of games. Lucky for Toronto, they’ve got an ice-in-the-veins kind of guy named Turkoglu. His clutch fade-away, combined with a “How did he miss that?” layup from Gilbert Arenas, sealed the deal for Toronto.
It’s their first win in much too long, but things look oddly optimistic for the team. Their differences have been settled, and they look like a stronger bunch moving forward. I guess what they say is true: what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
That’s no excuse, though. As a team managed by the top GM in the league and one of the finest Canadian coaches, we’ve got to step it up. Bosh’s future as a Raptor depends on this season; lose the season, lose the franchise player. Simple as that. Let’s go out and show we’re an elite team in the East! Or at the very least, stop the up-and-down play. As much as I love Top Gun and Drop Zone, I can only handle them every once in a while. Toronto’s newest roller coaster, the Raptors, is not up to safety standards and needs to be shut down immediately. Please, for everyone’s sake.
JB
