Toronto Raptors: What I May Think, Part 1

It seems about right that I’m sitting in front of my television, 30 minutes away from the real official start of the NFL season, and frankly, one the best days of the year with no clue what to expect. It is, after all, the league of parity. Worst-to-first happens; first-to-worst happens, and all we or the analysts can do is chalk it up to the league being so unpredictable and, thus, why we love it so much.

I’m hardly going to disagree. My No. 1 Minnesota Vikings were a disaster last season. But if some stars were to align and they made the playoffs this season it most people wouldn’t bat an eye. The last few Super Bowl champs haven’t even won a playoff game the next season. It doesn’t make sense. The only thing we can predict is the unpredictability. I can only surmise that adds to the aura and invincibility of the league.

But the NBA, that’s a different animal. We’re supposed to know what’s going on and really only be surprised by the circus of the offseason, this last one being the epitome of such hysteria. But when does the NBA really have a New York Giants or Baltimore Ravens-like champ? When does a seemingly great team abruptly miss the playoffs? The so-called “absolutes” are far more absolute in the NBA than they are in the NFL.

So should I know a lot about this upcoming season for the Toronto Raptors and the entire state of the Eastern Conference? Perhaps I should. Let me give a little list of the things I know, or at least think I should know:

I know it would have been a massive setback if Kyle Lowry had decided to sign elsewhere. It would have signaled that even if the team was on the up, the franchise and the city was not a destination spot, and they would be destined to be stuck in that “no man’s land” that GM Masai Ujiri is so afraid of. But Lowry re-signed and he reiterated to his team and the league that whatever perception plagued him should be a thing of the past.

I know that the Atlantic Division will continue to be winnable as long as the Philadelphia 76ers keep mortgaging the foreseeable future in lieu of this asset accumulating thing they’re doing. I’m not even sure I like it, but it is bold. Nevertheless, they are the only team that I see as a long-term threat to the Raptors, and it sure as hell isn’t happening in the next couple of years. I spoke about the Brooklyn Nets’ threat last week and they are a more interesting team with a real head coach like Lionel Hollins, but the Raptors are still in the fortunate situation to have a real young team and have it be the best in the division.

I think I know that Terrence Ross can be become a real two-way star, but I think he may have confidence issues and I really hope that he starts the season strong and has constant backing from his teammates. I don’t think the Raptors will be at their best if Ross is shutting it down for stretches because he’s missed a few shots.

I know that Jonas Valanciunas is an absolute beast who makes shots when he takes them. I’ve asked and pleaded that coach Dwane Casey get him the ball do it as more than a gesture at the beginning of the game to fulfill some promise he made to the local reporters. I’m only guessing on that part, but honestly, it’s frustrating to watch him dominate a first quarter and then watch as the ball never finds him again.

And I know that it’s tough to continue all this speculation even though sometimes I find it even more entertaining than the action. I certainly think that I know a lot more things and I will talk about even more next week. And after seeing Julius Thomas catch his third touchdown in the first half of this Sunday night game, I’m reminded that parity may only apply to the teams that need to make an excuse for underachieving. We’ll see if that idea permeates the NBA narrative when we are reviewing why things happened the way they did.