With the Toronto Raptors falling in the conference standings and no turnaround in sight, maybe it’s time to call it quits on what has been a somewhat depressing season of Raptors basketball.
Not that there’s anyone at fault here. The bulk of the 2020-21 roster had career-best seasons this year, to go along with another outstanding coaching season from Nick Nurse and a reasonably strong showing from the Raptor’s front office.
No, it was merely time for the Raps to take their lumps, as every team does occasionally.
The least winning season since 2011-12, the Raptor’s woes have been well weathered considering the cards we drew this year. Let’s recap one more time:
They were playing in Tampa with minimal Raptors fans at the games, they saw fatigue and injuries increase due to schedule intensity (no Raptor will play more than 60 games this season), they lost a championship frontcourt to free agency, and they were riddled with COVID in March.
The Raptors didn’t make the playoffs during a fake season, so ... did it really happen??
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) May 11, 2021
Any one of those things could cause a franchise to backslide, but all together? It’s honestly an achievement the Raptors have done this well. That’s what we’re focusing on today.
Despite all the previously mentioned woes, the Raptors have put together a season that may have been sub-par, but nevertheless meaningful and occasionally epic. Let’s look back on some of the brightest moments of this 2020-21 season. Yes, there have been bright moments.