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Fucking Vince Carter.
This post isn't supposed to be about him. It's supposed to be about Chris Bosh having another superstar performance with 42 points, nine rebounds and four assists. It's supposed to be about Andrea Bargnani scoring a career-high 29 points (after a 25-point performance in his previous game) and posting his first double-double of the season. It's supposed to be about how two great point guards — Jose Calderon and Devin Harris — put on dazzling offensive exhibitions in their own unique styles.
But all those performances were overshadowed by the Raptors blowing an 18-point lead in the third quarter and by one man scoring 12 points in the last 44 seconds of regulation — including a 27-foot fadeaway bomb with a defender in his face — to send the game into overtime. Who was that man?
Fucking Vince Carter.
I'm tired of writing about him. I'm tired of talking about him. I'm really tired of reading about him. He's that super-hot ex-girlfriend that you had mind-blowing sex with but also drove you crazy a lot of the time. And every time the Raptors play him, it's like I'm running into that hot ex somewhere when I'm with my current girlfriend and she asks, "Do you think she's prettier than me?"
That's a ridiculous question and so is wishing that he was never traded or pining for him to come back. He does have a tendency to go to another level against this team — especially at the ACC. (Hey, here's a suggestion: Stop booing him. It doesn't throw him off his game and might, in fact, inspire him to play even better. Plus, it makes Raptors fans look pathetic.) But next game, he might be held to seven points like when the Raptors and Nets played last November.
Of course, we don't remember the games where Vince Carter laid an egg against the Raptors. We remember the games where he shot the dagger in our hearts, like last night. I don't hate him, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that he's the last person I want to see beat the Raptors.
For me, it's not even about him anymore. It's about the drama surrounding him — how people can't just let it go no matter which side they're on. As I post this, I studiously avoided any other blogs or message boards because I couldn't bear to read what other Raptors fans were saying — undoubtedly while wailing and gnashing their teeth.
It was a wildly entertaining game but it was ultimately quite damaging for the Raptors and for Sam Mitchell's job security. It's a virtual impossibility that the Raptors will make it out of November with a record of .500 or better. The Celtics, Lakers and Hawks are three of their next four opponents and Jermaine O'Neal will probably miss all those games after hurting his knee last night.
But how differently would we be looking at this situation if that one ridiculous shot with 0.5 seconds left had rimmed out? We'd still be worrying about J.O.'s knee and grumbling about Smitch almost blowing an 18-point lead, but you know who wouldn't be the primary topic of conversation?
Fucking Vince Carter. 
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