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The Toronto Raptors have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the NBA. You only have to see the number of blogs and message boards dedicated to and dominated by Raptors fans to realize that. If you check out one of those blogs or forums after the Raptors' 94-87 loss to the Celtics, you're sure to see a variety of messages similar to these actual posts:
"I literally blame the refs and no one else."
"I hate sam...period"
"Seriously! How hard is it to get the ball to Bosh?"
These are fans who have a hard time understanding how the Raptors could be up 57-42 midway through the third quarter and yet still find a way to lose 94-87 to the defending NBA champs. One would assume that these same fans witnessed their beloved Raptors come back from 10 points down in the third quarter against Charlotte to win by 10 points the day before. Allow me to provide some perspective: The score in the middle of the third quarter doesn't mean shit.
The Boston Celtics are the defending champs and a superior team and they should beat the Raptors on their own court. If the Celtics had a 22-point lead in the third quarter and the Raptors shaved that lead down to the final score we saw tonight, Toronto fans wouldn't be as outraged as they are now.
We want to point fingers at the refs and Sam Mitchell and various other scapegoats, but the fact of the matter is that these Celtics are battle-tested and they perform best when the game is on the line. I was as frustrated as any of you that Chris Bosh was limited to eight shots and nine points in 40 minutes. But I also saw that the reason why that happened was that Kevin Garnett made it his personal mission to deny Bosh the ball all night. The Raptors had no choice but to look to other options because KG was not going to let CB4 beat the Celtics tonight.
When I watch a game like this where there is no expectation for my team to win, my only wish is to be entertained and this game did not disappoint on that front. You couldn't have realistically expected the Raptors to win this and if you thought the 15-point lead in the third quarter meant anything — you're letting your fan pride cloud your better judgment.
Jermaine O'Neal showed some real fire and he clearly wasn't intimidated by the "Celtics Mystique" at any point. The Raptors played with more guts and hustle than they've shown in any of their previous six games and there is no shame in losing to the defending champs on their court by seven points. At the same time, how the Raptors use this loss as motivation for their re-match in Toronto on the 23rd will speak volumes about this team. 
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