Trash-talk Toronto Raptors: The ESPN rankings got it wrong
ESPN: We have collectively decided that the Toronto Raptors are not in the top ten of the NBA right now.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1198968347582455808
To say the rankings from ESPN come as a surprise would be a lie. Admittedly, this season, Toronto doesn’t have the star power and the upside that is reflected in the rankings. As much as it pains me to say, ESPN will likely consistently rank teams with bigger stars ahead of the Toronto Raptors simply because Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet haven’t proved that they, by themselves, can make significant headway deep into the postseason.
Despite that fact, it didn’t deter the Toronto Raptors Twitter-sphere from lambasting the rankings:
Notable omissions include the defending champs, who have defeated the No. 1 ranked team, are 1 of 4 teams yet to lose at home, and own a record of 11-4 despite losing the pictured superstar and missing key players to injury.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 25, 2019
Good list, though. https://t.co/1dXs2LWAWF
Crtl + F "Toronto Raptors"
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) November 25, 2019
[No matches found]
🤔 https://t.co/tHW24QHICv
Of course, there were countless other responses that were… well, let’s just say they weren’t as kind as these responses.
But, you know what? I think being looked over by a national media outlet can be good for the Toronto Raptors. It provides fuel for the fire and gives the rabid fan base a particular reason to keep coming back win after win.
Earlier this month, Chris Herring of ESPN and FiveThirtyEight felt the fire after he made a suggestion that other NBA teams could benefit from sending players to the Toronto Raptors to get properly developed. What was likely meant to be a compliment ended up being heavily criticized to the point that Herring responded with this:
I'm not gonna pretend that I articulated a brilliant thought there. But it wasn't a criticism or a knock, either. I find it very hard to tweet stuff abt the Raptors -- even basic, feel-good compliments -- without way too many of their fans responding, feeling theyve been slighted
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) November 12, 2019
I give Herring the benefit of the doubt and if there’s something that he did articulate well it’s the fact that the fans do respond quickly and fervently. Yet, if Herring took a look at those ESPN rankings, then he’d likely understand why the fans feel slighted.
Until the Toronto Raptors prove in the postseason that this iteration can make headway, then the national media will likely underrate the organization.
But, in this day and age, is it better to be underrated and prove everyone wrong or be overrated and fall flat?
I’d like to think that we’d all choose the former.