Storyline: I don’t know if the Raptors can continue hanging with the Cavs. But this team should have earned our respect by now, the way they keep outlasting our expectations. Toronto has heart.
Not many NBA teams can make their way to the Eastern Conference Finals while getting maligned the entire way. The Toronto Raptors have somehow pulled off the trick in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
Courtesy: telltalegames.com
Yes, they’ve played horrendous at times, but the team who claims “We the North” still plays on. The same can’t be said for our northern friend, Hodor. Game of Thrones fans will understand my sadness.
The Raptors are not close to dominant, far from consistent, and must be infuriating for their fans. However they have entertained us with some crazy games, so let’s give them their due. So here’s some respect for “We the North.”
It all started in the first round against the Indiana Pacers. Toronto was the two seed while Indiana was the seventh, which should have been an easy series on paper. Not with these Raptors. They got blasted in Game 1, which made them 0-8 in playoff openers. Toronto’s all-stars, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, shot poorly most of the series, while Pacer Paul George was definitely the best player on the court.
Toronto managed a 2-2 split heading into Game 5, but the Raptors were on the verge of losing the home court advantage once again. Indiana held a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter but saw it melt away with a 15-2 Raptors run. The exciting comeback was finally complete when Solomon Hill’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was ruled too late. DeRozan finally busted out with 34 points in the game.
The Raptors almost were on the other end of a Game 7 Pacer comeback, but held on for an 89-84 victory. This was Toronto’s first Game 7 win in franchise history. We aren’t quite talking Celtics or Lakers here, but it’s quite a series win for Team Canada, eh?
Courtesy: USAToday.com
Next up was the Miami Heat in the second round. Of course the Raptors dropped Game 1 on their home court. (Maybe it’s a Canadian thing? Are they just too nice to let the visitors lose that first game in Toronto?) Lowry tried to be a rude guest when he hit a miraculous half-court heave to force overtime, but the nice guys were back in OT and Miami walked away with a 102-96 win.
It was déjà vu in Game 2 as, once again, the Raptors were almost too nice a host. providing the Heat with another OT game. This time big man, Jonas Valanciunas, was having none of it. He put the Raptors on his back and scored 11 points and had 7 rebounds in the fourth quarter and OT to help Toronto prevail.
Through the Raptors first nine games Valanciunas had been the breakout star. At times the big fella was just dominant in the paint and has been averaging 17 points and 14 boards in the playoffs.
I say has been because, of course, Valanciunas sprained his ankle in Game 3 and has yet to return to the playoffs …as if the Raptors hadn’t been inconsistent enough. Through two games in Toronto the Heat looked like the superior team, just like Indiana did for the most part. No way in hell could “We the North” not suffer a total meltdown in the heated enemy territory of South Beach.
Courtesy: cbc.com
Then Kyle Lowry decided to wake up. Lowry outdueled Dwyane Wade in the fourth quarter and led the Raptors to a 95-91 victory. Wade may have had 38 points to Lowry’s 33, but Lowry hit five straight points with under two minutes left to seal the game. Wade and Lowry both had 29 points in the second half in what was a truly entertaining mano-a-mano battle.
The series went small-ball after Game 3 with both starting centers, Valanciunas for Toronto and Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, out with injury. Each team held their home court moving forward with Toronto eventually prevailing with a 116-89 blowout victory in Game 7.
It’s a first-time Eastern Conference Finals appearance for the Toronto faithful! But, like, sorry for that blowout, eh.
If Toronto was sorry for the blowout, they repaid the favor two fold against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors were trounced by 29 points in Game 1 and shaved ten points of that in margin in Game 2, so it was only a 19-point beat down by the Cavs.
Once again, Toronto looked outclassed by their opponent. The experts were saying the Raptors would need a miracle to win just one game. “A Cavs sweep was inevitable.” “Toronto may be the worst team ever to make a conference final.” Lowry even took major heat when he left with two minutes in the first half to “decompress” while his team was getting trampled. Mentally this team looked to be finally finished.
Courtesy: thestar.com
Then, on Saturday night, “the North” retuned with a vengeance. The Raptors breezed to a 15-point win in Game 3 that looked easier than anyone could have expected. DeRozan tossed in 32 points and back-up, but now starting, center Bismack Biyombo hauled in 26 rebounds. Holy Wilt Chamberlain…26 rebounds! That’s what we refer to as active in the paint.
I don’t know if the Raptors can continue to hang with a more talented Cavs team. I could easily see them going out 4-1 after their ‘one shining moment’ this weekend. However this team should have earned our respect the way they keep outlasting our expectations. Could more surprises be in store?
Toronto isn’t a great basketball team and their talent level isn’t close to the teams remaining. But the Raptors have heart. That heart has made for some entertaining playoff moments–maybe not quite a Game of Thrones level of entertainment, but “The North Will Never Forget” just may apply to both.
