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Toronto Raptors: All You Need Is Bruno

By Joshua Howe

Oct 17, 2014; Wichita, KS, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Perry Jones (3) puts up a shot against Toronto Raptors forward Bruno Caboclo (5) during the fourth quarter at Intrust Bank Arena. Toronto won 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2014; Wichita, KS, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Perry Jones (3) puts up a shot against Toronto Raptors forward Bruno Caboclo (5) during the fourth quarter at Intrust Bank Arena. Toronto won 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
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We’ve reached the dog days of the NBA season. March Madness is in full swing, college and university students are in the midst of preparing for exams and NBA squads that are going to miss the playoffs are trying to go on little five-game win streaks before the end of the season to give their fans a false sense of hope for next year.

Ah, yes. Spring is in the air.

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Meanwhile, in the land of teams that are actually going to appear in the postseason, squads are trying to motivate themselves enough so that they can end the 82-game marathon on a high note. No club wants to limp into the playoffs. It’s like eating a doughnut after just brushing your teeth–it doesn’t sit well.

While most teams are doing a pretty good job to close out the season, whether it’s keeping their spot on the top of the hill safe (Atlanta and Golden State) or fighting to keep themselves relevant in playoff contention (Miami and New Orleans), the Toronto Raptors have taken the doughnut.

They’re still hobbling around right now, although it’s difficult to judge exactly to what degree they are in trouble. They’re still playing mediocre-at-best basketball, but they are finally starting to beat the teams they’re supposed to be beating. They’ve now won three of their last four games and the one they lost was to Portland, which sits fourth in the West.

Toronto has an easy schedule to close out the season. It couldn’t have been better gift wrapped if it came with a bouquet of flowers and a “Get Well Soon” card attached. After crushing teams early on in the season, then playing decent ball in the middle of the season, and now playing like crud to close out the season, the Raptors need all the help they can get.

Thankfully, their schedule is a thing. The hope now is that they will be able to use it to their advantage and actually recover enough that they at least resemble the team they were in the middle of the season. By the time the playoffs come, then, they’ll be ready to dive headfirst into a series against whichever opponent they draw if all goes well.

But that’s not what I really want to talk about. What I want to talk about is the 19-year-old international sensation known as Bruno Caboclo and in doing so distract you from the insanity-provoking thought of the playoffs coming up faster than a cheetah on roller skates.

During this recent period of sadness, while the Raptors have spiraled downward, Bruno has been there for all of us, waiting patiently for any blowout game in which he can enter and instantly change everything.

I’m serious. Just look at this:

Toronto loves Bruno. No matter how bad things are or how great things get, he’s a constant. When the Raptors are getting hammered, people ask, “How many points do we have to be down by before Casey pulls the plug and puts in Bruno?” and when the Raps are laying the smack down people say, “This is great! We’re up 30! It’s BRUNO TIME!!!”

Yes, indeed. Bruno is love. Bruno is life.

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    • He is the Brazilian Kevin Durant. He is two years away from being two years away except not really. He’s the beacon of hope for Toronto’s future in the form of a gangly teenager who shies away from doing interviews at times because he doesn’t have a spectacular handle on the English language.

    He is the light at the end of the tunnel. He’s the failsafe. And he’s the reason everyone goes nuts when the difference in scoring is 20 points with less than five minutes to go.

    Bruno represents the future.

    Even when the Raptors are playing well, he gets the loudest applause. And with the way they’re playing now, that clapping only grows in volume. Masai Ujiri knows what he’s doing. He’s letting the team he’s assembled now do their best to win while also cultivating young, raw talent like Bruno into (hopefully) the next leaders of the franchise.

    So just remember folks: no matter how good or how bad things get, all you need is Bruno.

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