Raptors Win In The Face Of Defeat
The Toronto Raptors might have fallen to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals, but may have gained a whole lot more in the loss.
It was supposed to be a four-game sweep, but ended up being an announcement to the NBA world: the Toronto Raptors are for real! Behind the passion and ferocity of Raptor fans Canada-wide, these Toronto Raptors exceeded expectations by winning a franchise best 56 games and enjoyed a postseason run the likes no one truly thought possible.
Amidst all challenges, scrutiny, doubts and criticism, the Raptors would do what they’ve always done, which is prove the skeptics wrong. With the typical “Toronto vs Everyone” attitude we’ve come to expect from the team and the fanbase, the shortlist of what media pundits expected of us was plentiful.
“They” expected the Raptors to only win no more 47 games and finish between 6 through 9 in the Eastern Conference standings. The result: while accurately predicting that every team would have a winning record with 82 games played (sorry 2011-12 lockout season) for the first since the 2004-05 (2010-11 season if you count a 41-41 record as winning – I don’t), the Raptors go on to win 56 games and earn the 2nd seed, the first time the franchise has ever accomplished the feat, and the last franchise to do so (because the NBA would have you forget the Charlotte Bobcats). The Raptors would also be 4th best team in the Association, behind only the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers.
“They” expected that loss of starters Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll to injuries during the season would hinder the progress of the team. The result: not only did JV and Carroll not miss a beat upon their return, the time they took off gave way to establish Bismack Biyombo and rookie Norman Powell as forces to be reckoned with. Biyombo would benefit the most, but we’ll get to that in due time.
“They” expected that Toronto would be the most likely team to be upset in the opening round of the playoffs against a resurgent Paul George and the Indiana Pacers. The result: The Raptors took the Indiana Pacers the distance and defeated them in the wake of a Game 5 comeback win and solid Game 7 performance, winning the team’s first-ever best-of-7 series and advancing to the Conference Semi-Finals for the first time in 15 years.
“They” expected the Miami Heat to defeat the Raptors in six games, allowing Dwyane Wade to face off against former teammate LeBron James. The result: the Raptors would not buckle when Valanciunas went down with an ankle injury and Lowry and DeRozan went in search of their shot. They would once again take the Heat the distance and blow out Miami in Game 7 116-89, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
“They” said Toronto had no chance in hell to beat Cleveland, that the Raptors should be satisfied just to make it to the Conference Finals. “They” even suggested that the Raptors had no shot at making the NBA Finals let alone winning. “They” excluded Toronto’s name from a poll asking who would win the whole thing, listing the Raptors as “Other”. The result: Toronto would embrace the disrespect as they always do – with a “Toronto vs Everyone” attitude. The city would take on the moniker “We The Other”. The Raptors themselves would rebound after two bad losses on the road to win two convincing games at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors would lose in six games to the Cavaliers, but would win the respect of NBA community. They would walk off the court to 21, 000 fans chanting “Let’s Go Raptors” to the awe and amazement of their opponents and critics.
If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is.
All stats are provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise stated. Matthew Allman is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. For more coverage on the Toronto Raptors, follow Matthew on Twitter @ShadowRapsFan and also follow @RaptorsRapture for the latest in Raptors news.