Raptors Rapture
Fansided

Open letter to the Atlantic Division champ Raptors

By Graeme Klayh

Apr 14, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO and president Tim Leiweke during a break in the action of a game between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO and president Tim Leiweke during a break in the action of a game between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

A love letter to the Raptors: thanks for what you’ve done – now give us more. We both need it.

Dear Toronto Raptors,

Congratulations! You have officially done it, you’ve proved to be the most successful team in franchise history amidst incredible regular season runs. You qualified for the playoffs upon other’s losses, and now have collected our third consecutive Atlantic Division title. Unlike more storied franchises, you decide to pat yourself on the back by putting up our Atlantic Division titles in the rafters. It is a win for the organization, after all. In the years where the Brooklyn Nets have risen and fallen, the surprising Boston Celtics have bounced around, and the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers have been flaming out in the basement, retaining the Atlantic is something to be proud of, indeed.

Dec 2, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and guard Kyle Lowry (7) battle Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) for a rebound during the second half at Philips Arena. The Raptors defeated the Hawks 96-86. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and guard Kyle Lowry (7) battle Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) for a rebound during the second half at Philips Arena. The Raptors defeated the Hawks 96-86. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

The Atlantic, formerly one of the worst Divisions in all of pro sports, has been redeemed because we now have 50 wins in a season. Very few of us saw that coming with this team. Masai Ujiri and Tim Leiweke sure saved our sorry franchise from itself. The run of past GM’s who ultimately proved incompetent and inconsistent in their brand is finally over for the foreseeable future. The Rudy Gay trade, wherein the basketball gods looked down from their clouds, and graced us with a plethora of opportunities to move on up in the basketball world, was hugely important. Playoff appearances and disappointments, free agency excitement, and an All-Star Game. Things are picking up, and another Atlantic division title is proof that it has all come together.

Good for you, Masai. Good for you, Coach Casey. Good for you Toronto Raptors. After we are done giving ourselves a collective round of applause, let us please get down to what is important. Tim Leiweke said two years ago that he did not approve of the Atlantic Division title being raised. He didn’t accept that as an accomplishment and neither do the fans. We want something we can use against our rivals. We need some recognition league-wide. We should have won at least one playoff round by now, but we know you tried your best and have fallen short on your only two chances. It’s okay, we all fail sometimes, but we also get back up and get back at it again.

More from Raptors Rapture

So please, let’s get up again, let’s stop celebrating empty accomplishments and get something real. Let’s get Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and their supporting cast healthy for the playoffs. If we see Lowry play 40 minutes one more time, there might be trouble, not for anyone in the organization, but for our chances of attaining something we want.

Next: Masai will suit up for raptors

As Toronto fans we always want what we can’t have. And that is some sort of post season success. Shout out to the Toronto Blue Jays for alleviating our failures temporarily, but it wasn’t enough. We are Toronto fans, but we are also Raptors fans. So please give the people what they want. Give the people what they need.

From,

The Toronto fandom

Home/Raptors News