what happened to...the toronto raptors (pt. 4)

WELCOME BACK TO PART 4, THE GRAND FINALE OF THIS SPORTS MINI-SERIES!

This season, the expectations for a young Raptors team led by an All-Star caliber Siakam, close to defensive player of the year in Anunoby, gritty floor general in VanVleet and burgeoning young star Barnes, were high. 

The Raptors were seen as contenders entering this season, championship level by no means, but a potential dark horse that could play toe to toe against the best. If I told a Raptors fan that the Raptors would be five games under five hundred, and that’s with their recent stretch with some of their best play of the season, they would tell me to get on the next bus to Etobickoe and become a supporter of their local rec team, the Thunder. At one point in the season, the Raps were seven games under five hundred following a close loss to the Raptors and it’s not hard to pinpoint why. Most of the time, the Raptors scratch and crawl their way to the later stages of the offensive powered by an offense similar to an old Chevy whose sputtering engine was in no position to get them that far, only to lose in the final minutes because of one of their signature scoring “droughts.” 

Other times, the Raptors lose the game before the first quarter reaches the halfway mark, as they often find themselves down by hefty sums in the early stages of the game.

THE SOLUTION?

Many analysts blame Scottie Barnes sophomore slump or Vanvleet’s ice cold shooting as the reason for the poor offense, or the lack of interconnectedness on defense — drive-bys right to the rim are frequent against this raptors team. One name who is not at the heart of the pundits blame is Siakam, who has put together one of his strongest seasons yet, a close-to certain all-star scoring line that made his name one of the biggest snubs entering the all star break. The rumours surrounding Og Anunoby should also be taken into consideration...

SO, WHAT'S NEXT?

One could only hope this Raptors team turns it around before the trade deadline or we could see hefty team cornerstones be moved before the deadline...

NOTE: By the time you’re reading this, we will have already seen the trade deadline's outcome!

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE TORONTO RAPTORS! 

WE HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED READING ABOUT ALL THE VICTORIES, LOSSES, PITFALLS AND SUCCESSES. HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE LESS TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS IN THE FUTURE!