Raptors barely mentioned in HoopsHype awards

The Raptors got precious little recognition in the HoopsHype poll. Who should have received the most love from voters?

As I’m sure many of our readers do, I spend considerable time rolling around quality NBA sites. One of the earliest and still one of the best is Hoops Hype, and I was intrigued to see the winners of their 2016 awards.

Would it surprise you to know that no member of the Toronto Raptors, a team with a 56-26 regular season record (fourth-best in the NBA) “won” a single trophy? The only members of the organization who even got a mention were our brains trust. Masai Ujiri finished third in the Executive of the Year voting while Dwane Casey was named the fifth-best Coach.

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Feb 10, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives to the basket against Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t have a huge gripe with most of the voting. Stephen Curry of the 73-9 Golden State Warriors was my Most Valuable Player, and I wouldn’t have named anyone for second. He got 83.7% of the first-place votes; he should have run the table. Chris Paul got 1%…are you joking?

There’s no argument about the Rookie of the Year. Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves has the stats of a five-year veteran, yet he was a teenager when the season began. Kristaps Porzingis sucked up virtually all the rest of the ballots. He’s going to be a remarkable player in 3 years, but I’d rather have Towns.

Lou Williams enjoyed much better results as the Raptors Sixth Man than he did as a Los Angeles Laker. His cross-town rival Jamal Crawford won again, and Lou wasn’t mentioned.

I guess I’m most rankled by the All-NBA players elected. The only bone we Raptors fans were tossed was Kyle Lowry’s elevation to the Third Team. Oh boy. Who’s the Second Team centre? DeMarcus Cousins of the 33-49 Sacramento Kings. After six NBA seasons, Cousins has played in precisely zero playoff games. Who would you rather have – that manchild or Jonas Valanciunas?

The Third Team center is Andre Drummond, who shot 35.5% from the free-throw line. They should have picked Towns.

Paul George was named to the Third Team, but you’d have a hard time convincing me he had a better season than DeMar DeRozan. George has received a lot of shine for his remarkable return to play after a career-threatening injury, and that carried him to this recognition.

Norman Powell would have been our only possible candidate for Second Team All-Rookie, and he didn’t play enough to slip onto the voters’ radar. Too bad. How about Norman as an early candidate for 2016-17 Most Improved Player? That award was won by the Trail Blazers’ C.J. McCollum, which is a righteous choice.

I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know when I assert the Raptors are like an after-thought to most NBA fans and commentators.

Here’s my position: for a team with no meaningful representation in the player awards, the Raptors sure had themselves a wonderful season. My Coach of the Year is Dwane Casey. If it’s not the players, credit has to go to the coach.

Yes, there’s a case to be made for Masai. However, he didn’t select a Rookie of the Year candidate in the draft (that’s not a complaint; I’m quite happy with Delon Wright and Powell), and DeMarre Carroll, our boffo free-agent signing was sidelined. Masai needed more flags waving if he was going to leap over Danny Ainge, who has his Celtics ready to win now and in the future.

Everyone and his dog Spot selected Golden State, San Antonio, and Cleveland in the pre-season polls to be the NBA’s best, and those squads certainly didn’t disappoint. Neither did OKC, the league’s #5. How many knowledgeable types had the Raptors listed at #4? Not you, not me, not anyone. Dwane Casey deserves the CoY honour.