|
How am I supposed to feel about the newly resurgent Toronto Raptors? After beating the Bulls 134-129 yesterday in Toronto, the Raptors have put together their first legitimate winning streak of the season — albeit with all four wins coming at home against teams ranging from terrible to mediocre.
There have certainly been some good signs during these past four games. Derrick Rose simply couldn't cover Calderon off his numerous pick-and-rolls and Jose made him pay by making eight of 11 shots for 22 points while he dished out a career-high 19 assists. It's nice to see Numero Ocho playing at 100 percent again. Chris Bosh doesn't appear to be letting his recent baby-mama drama affect his play — he punished the Bulls for 31 points and 15 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani torched Tyrus Thomas yesterday for 28 points and he continues to show progress in taking advantage of size mismatches in the post.
And we must not forget to recognize Pops Mensah-Bonsu for his crowd-electrifying play yesterday. While he didn't get credit for a block in the boxscore, he had what I like to call a "Josh Smith Special" when he blocked a shot on one end (I think Marion also got a piece of it so he must have received the credit) and then took a feed from Bosh at the other end for a rim-rocking dunk. I think it's safe to say that, for all of Bryan Colangelo's missteps, Raptors fans will be particularly outraged if Pops isn't still wearing a Raptors uniform next season.
Now that I've dispensed the obligatory compliments, I want to make perfectly clear that I still think this is a tremendously flawed team and I still want Chris Bosh to be traded in the off-season. The Raptors are closing the season with a ridiculously weak schedule — their previous eight opponents all have sub-.500 records and six of their remaining nine games are against teams below that mark — so I'm not going to let a strong finish trick me into thinking this team is better than it actually is. If the Raptors win seven of their last nine games (certainly possible given the schedule), that will mean they won 11 of their last 13 games and some people — possibly including Bryan Colangelo — could fool themselves into thinking, "See! This team just needs to be healthy and they can compete!"
Well, I'm not buying it. Sure, the Raptors would have won more games if Bosh and Calderon had been healthy this season, but those extra wins would have, at most, elevated the team into a seventh or eighth seed. Besides, I don't like using injuries as an excuse because pretty much every team has to deal with injuries at one point or another — and let's not forget that Bosh gets hurt every year. He's missed an average of 11 games over the past four seasons, including this one.
Don't be lulled into a sense of false optimism, people! I expect Wednesday's game in Orlando will be the bracing jolt of reality some Raptors fans will need to be reminded of this team's softness and lack of talent. But hey, look at the bright side — we'll probably end up with the 12th overall pick in what appears to be an historically shitty draft. HOORAY! 
|
