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Toronto Raptors: Looking For “It”

By Joshua Howe

Apr 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 106-99, and lead the series 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 106-99, and lead the series 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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What is “It”? Paul Pierce knows. He’s got it and because of him, so do the Washington Wizards. But Pierce called out the Toronto Raptors on not having anything close to “It,” then proceeded to back up all of his talk by playing a big role in sweeping them at age 37.

Most superstars have “It.” That’s why they’re superstars. But there are select role players and young fellas around the league that also carry that something special. It’s a unique desire to win, one that pushes the player and his team to new heights. The player looks at his best and says, I can do better. We can do better.

Then they do “It.”

Here’s a few of my favourite “It” moments:

And there are so many more. But those are great examples of guys displaying exactly what having “It” is like. They didn’t fail their teams. They took it to the next level. They left it all on the court.

The Truth was right. There is no one on the Raptors like that. They don’t have a superstar or a role player like Lamar Odom was for the Lakers. They have a bunch of good pieces that are worth having, but with the current roster it seems impossible to reach the title contender mountaintop.

Kyle Lowry was hurt in the series against Washington. So that doesn’t help. But still, he wasn’t even able to string together one solid game. DeMar DeRozan too, had one strong game out of the series and faltered during the rest.

Just think about it: Toronto lost via sweep in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It’s hard to justify that what you’ve built is still worth holding on to when your squad got obliterated in a mostly-awful conference.

When healthy, Lowry is worth keeping. For the first half of the season, he was an absolute beast. But injuries and running out of steam took him down several notches. He can’t be the team’s best player on a championship club.

I think we’ve also reached a point where it’s safe to say that DeRozan can’t either. His game is old school, not exactly built for the new NBA. He is a shooting guard who can’t hit threes and he doesn’t do a great job of creating for others. His best skill (and one that he should exploit more often) is driving to the rim where he either finishes or gets fouled.

Yet DeRozan has a proclivity to take a lot of midrange jumpers. They killed him and the team in the playoffs. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been making them. But he shot just 18.8 percent from 10-16 feet from the basket. You can’t have your best player chucking up bricks for an entire series.

The Cinderella idea is a nice one for the Raptors. They’re currently a bunch of ragtag players who are blue collared and have something to prove. It fits with the mentality of Toronto, which is such a large hockey town.

But effort and chemistry can only get you so far. It’s a massive part of winning, but an almost equally important part is talent. In this league, talent means hope. It’s why Masai Ujiri won’t let go of Bruno Caboclo until he either turns out to be good or a bust.

The New Orleans Pelicans are the best example of this. Their team isn’t very good. But they’ve got Anthony Davis and he was able to drag them to the eighth seed in the competitive Western Conference by sheer will and his crazy amount of talent.

Ujiri is going to have to do something with this roster this summer. He can’t bring back the same team. Somehow, some way, he’s got to find a superstar talent that will come to Toronto or that he can trade for.

After Game 4, some of the Toronto players noted that maybe exactly what they needed was a guy like Pierce. It’s true, and they haven’t had one since Vince Carter. The way the Raps ended this year’s series wasn’t a good way to make Toronto a desirable place to play either.

The franchise has to do something and fast, before the team falls back into the pit of mediocrity they dug for themselves years prior. This summer we’re going to see what the franchise is all about, and perhaps somewhere along the way pick up a little bit of the “It” that’s been missing for far too long.

Next: Toronto Raptors: Major Changes Need To Be Made

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