10:15am Eastern
BUGS ARE GONE
Some of you may have come to www.fan590.com over the weekend and been unable to access certain components of the site - including this blog. The reasons for the problems are way too technical and far too buried in mumble-jumble for me to explain them to you. But I can tell you that everything is cool now and we’re back to normal. The hamster is back on the wheel.
On to the Raptors / NBA …
BELOW .500?
I know many of you will jump on this and say “I told you so” or you’ll spew things like “I said Sam wasn’t the man” or “The team wouldn’t be in this position with Jose instead of TJ” … but I’m going to ask the question anyway … knowing I’m going to get some of those lame, tired excuses/reasons …
Did anybody see THIS happening? Really? Did anybody see this team being below .500 with five games remaining in the season?
As bad as March was, personally, I took it with a grain of salt considering that the team was going at it without Chris Bosh for a good chunk of that month - including that nasty 0-5 west coast road trip. Plus, I was willing to give them a bit of a mulligan for the fact that Toronto was then trying to work Bosh back into the line up and - like it or not - they were trying to re-jig the starting unit with TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic instead of Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani. I figured those adjustments might take a little bit of time to settle in.
But I looked ahead to April and what looked to be a ‘light’ schedule … and I figured that would be the magical cure the Raptors clearly needed to turn their season around and build momentum for the post-season.
Heck, they’d still have a shot at inching towards their 47-win total from last year … and considering the setbacks this season (Jorge Garbajosa, TJ Ford, Chris Bosh) … that would be a huge success.
Obviously, that hasn’t played out!
Of Toronto’s 8 games in April … only one is/was against a team above .500 (Detroit - on Sunday April 13). In fact, when the month began, 6 of those 7 games against teams below .500 were against teams that were more than 15 games below .500! New Jersey (twice), Milwaukee, Charlotte, Chicago, and Miami didn’t look very daunting. The game against Atlanta looked to be a tough one - given how well the Hawks were/are playing - but it turned out to be a game that the Raps actual won … before fate (and the officials) took it out of their hands.
Perhaps that’s where the downward spiral began. In Atlanta. Here’s why …
If Toronto gets that game against the Hawks … they’re 3 games above .500 at 39-36. Plus, they’ve now won 4 of their last 5 games. They’re starting the month on a high … with that all-important ‘momentum’ seemingly building. But that loss - and the terrible, sloppy defense of late - carried over into Friday’s game against Charlotte … and it was still grossly evident in New Jersey on Saturday as well.
Coaches and players talk all the time about how “one good game” can end a funk and build confidence; and while that may be true … then the opposite is just as legit as well: One BAD game can keep a funk going and continue to kill confidence.
It sure seems like that is what’s happening right now. The Raps are rattled. Their confidence has been shaken. There are holes in this team on both ends of the floor - but especially on D. And with only five games to go and the team sliding in the standings, time is clearly not on their side. For their sake, hopefully that “one good game” theory is legit … and Toronto can reverse their fortunes beginning with the Bucks on Wednesday.
BRACKET BUSTED
I told you this would happen: My bracket is toast. It’s been toast for a couple of weeks now … after my first and second round gambles didn’t pay off.
But I was still hanging my hat on the fact that I had 3 of my 4 Final Four teams alive … and my Championship was still secure … with my UCLA over Kansas pick looking good.
Well, Kansas is in … but … man oh man … did UCLA get hammered! Memphis manhandled the mighty Bruins on Saturday. Ditto for the Jayhawks and their dominant thrashing of North Carolina.
It sure didn’t look like four number 1’s going at it on Saturday, did it? Those games turned out to be two of the biggest dogs of the tournament instead of the heavyweight battles everyone was hoping for.
E. Smith
I think the reason for the bad play of late is the fact that there is no real leader in that locker-room, although CB tries real hard, in my opinion he’s not that type of a guy. Sam can’t be the guy yelling at them right now, they need someone from within the team to start criticizing players for their poor performances and start challenging them. Anyway just my 2cents.
- D12I’m disappointed as much as anyone, but we have to be realistic.
Vegas set the season wins total at 41.5. Nobody pushed it higher. IF we really were a 47-50 win type of roster that line would’ve been obliterated.
Hollinger predicted a 40 win season and explained at length that our 47 wins last year outperformed the margin of victory (expected wins were 44)
Things could be worse - I wonder how Bulls fans feel these days.
- Michaellol. The NBA is not a computer game, I don’t care of Vegas picked The Raps to win 20 games, they are under-achieving right now. Vegas could not have predicted Bosh’s injury, or TJ’s, or Garbo’s. The Raps are a 50 win team, and we are undoubtedly struggling right now.
- JamieThe Raps are still a work in progress and are building for a bright future. Although we would all love to see them doing better, this year is just a step on the road to success. They may or may not win a playoff series this season, but will win many in the next few years. Lets see what Brian C. does in the off-season before we criticize them too much.
- Willy