Yeesh, the last few have been rough. We need some Holy Water, a few sacrifices on the Mountain Top, some seaweed burnings for the Sea Gods, and whatever else is out there for breaking hexes and curing curses. Because this one is deep.
The Raptors have lost 6 of their last 10. Three wins against teams slumping worse than they; one win terribly lucky; and three recent losses that felt inexcusable as we helplessly watched them unfold.
I almost think I should stop commenting on what can/should/needs to be fixed now. Whatttttt's the pointtttt? I was, likely, one of the last bastions of optimism, but there's now a feeling in Toronto Raptor air (internally and externally) that what was...is, and will soon be, no more.
I told myself I'd wait until the Knicks game this past Friday to decide where I stood. I lied. I still don't know. Maybe, that's okay. Maybe I will let greater basketball minds make more important decisions than I and be content with whatever transpires.
After all. I am just a loyal fan. Nothing more, nothing less.
Let's roll.
*All data is prior to Thursday night's game
1. Big Leads Go Buh Bye
This hurts more than most.
The poor guys are busting their tails and excelling, in moments, only to, helplessly and exhaustingly, watch it all slip away.
Peeps this:
OPPONENT
BIGGEST LEAD
RESULT
DIFFERENCE
INDIANA
13
L
-8
MILWAUKEE
1
L
-3(OT)
NEW YORK
2
L
-4
PORTLAND
19
W
12
CHARLOTTE
15
W
12
CHARLOTTE
18
W
10
ATLANTA
0
L
-11
NEW YORK
10
W
2 (OT)
MILWAUKEE
9
L
-8
MINNESOTA
18
L
-2
I feel for them. Losing leads and games like that breeds a kind of discouragement that can metastasize quickly.
You see these guys put their heart and soul and bodies, thanks to Nicky No Sittin' Nurse, into every game, and either tragically give the games away or narrowly claw their way out of them.
Look at the swings against Minny, Milwaukee, New York, and Indiana. Even in some of the other wins, things got hairy, viewers' butts puckered.
These games are the ones that probably pervade Masai and Bobby's minds more than most. The inability to hold leads and the struggle to eke out wins swaying their transactional frameworks more than any other.
It's also making it harder to look at this team as cup half full. The losses are against "lesser", undermanned teams (even Atlanta has several injuries) and look more like inevitable demises than extremely unfortunate sequences of events.
Either way, it's not promising. And for a fan, it makes for really bad heart palpitations.
