Toronto Raptors: Can They Handle The Truth?
By Joshua Howe
Last season, the Toronto Raptors snatched a playoff berth for the first time since 2008. They finished with the third seed after a magical run stemming from the Rudy Gay trade that they made in December. Everything looked excellent.
Toronto then played a war of a series against the Brooklyn Nets, taking and dealing blow after blow. There were moments of fun, hilarity and sorrow.
Of course, we all know how it ended. The Truth hurts:
This season, the run has been less magical than the 35th time Steve Carell walked on stage to the tune of “Abracadabra” in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. In fact, the season feels as if it’s gone in reverse of 2013-14.
Think about it. Last season, the team started off very slow with Gay and DeMar DeRozan having trouble co-existing on the floor. Then, Rudy was traded and the Raps picked up some spare parts from the Kings in Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes and John Salmons. Suddenly the team hit a new level.
Instead of tanking for Andrew Wiggins, they ran club after club out of the gym until the playoffs began.
This season? The team started off scorching hot, winning 15 of their first 19 games. They didn’t make any trades before the deadline and played decent basketball during the middle of the season after their quick start ended.
And now, as the season wanes, they almost look as if they’re falling apart (unless that Rockets win Monday night changes things) despite having a vice-grip on the fourth seed in the East.
But there’s one thing that likely hasn’t changed from last season: To win their first playoff series, Toronto is going to have to go through Paul Pierce again.
I don’t know what it is. There’s something about Pierce’s teams that send a chill down my spine. He’s not averaging very threatening numbers this season (just 12 points, four rebounds and two assists), and maybe he finally has reached the point where he’s just too old to make a substantial impact on a playoff series.
Or maybe he’s not. I tend to fall into the latter camp. Why? For the simple reason that Pierce is the type of player who can go 0-for-50 and still hit the game-winning shot. He could be having the worst game of his life and he’ll still drain that one shot that seems tougher than all the ones he already missed.
All you need to look to to remind yourself of that is the play above. Pierce didn’t have a crazy-huge impact on last season’s series either, but he’s still the one who haunts fans in their sleep.
“Kyle Lowry had that shot. He had that shot. He always makes that shot.” That’s something I told my friend via text in the devastating moments after Game 7. And it was true up until that moment; Lowry did always make that shot: a floater in the lane.
And then with one swipe, Pierce ended Toronto’s playoff dreams and broke fans’ hearts.
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He’ll be there again, waiting, if the Raptors (likely at this point) do meet the Wizards in the first round. Toronto arguably looks like the better team on paper, but Washington is sneakily good. I say “sneakily” because they, like the Raps, have gone into a recent slump where even when they win games, they do so unconvincingly.
Yet their roster is filled with young talent and savvy vets. John Wall is a star just waiting to go supernova. Bradley Beal is a great shooter. Marcin Gortat is a quality big. Pierce is a killer and brings a bucketload of experience.
Raptors fans can thank Randy Wittman for a lot of Washington’s past and (certainly) future struggles.
Toronto has gone 3-0 against the Wizards this season. They’ve looked pretty good while laying the smack down on them so far. The matchups are pretty favorable and with a healthy squad, it wouldn’t be insane to think that they could take the series in six games.
Who knows. For now, the truth of what will happen lays shrouded. But don’t bet against the man whom they’ve given that very name to.
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