Tip-In: Do You Believe In Magic?

There may be a smoke and mirrors element to this. Looking at the last three games, Orlando was missing a lot of guys and playing on the B2B, and still shot 50% (albeit mainly because of D12's near-100% shooting). Clippers have gone on to lose two more games on their road trip. Atlanta were hot in January, but they're still the Hawks.

I could keep going, but you get the picture - i.e. the recent run may be a bit deceptive. The next three games will tell us a lot. But for now, I agree it's fun to simply enjoy the moment.

I hear ya Howland, I am loving all this winning, but am SO used to being disappointed that I won't let myslef get too excited. I have been saying since the summer that a big part of the Raps success is they have atleast two quality options at every position. This means that they have competition in proactice and competition for minutes. Even without their top pick this summer, I have faith in BC. There are a few contracts dropping off the cap and armed with a mid-level exception, we might be able to make some Raja Bell type signing. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a pick but I know BC will make the best of it.

Yeah - these next 4 games are serious. I would be very pleased with a 2-2 record here, but I know 0 and 4 isn't out of the question - which drops "us" back under 500.

That Bargnani dunk in the second quarter actually made me drop my phone. The person I was talking to thought something serious happened cause I yelled "What???!!!" and then the phone hit the floor.

I'm very excited right now as a raps fan - but I share your views Howland. This could turn any minute and the next four/five are huge. For the most part the raps have been beating teams that they should be beating. But the ride is awesome - and its fun to say the raps "should be beating teams" for once.

My only advice for the avid Rap fans. Enjoy the success before the suits and the rest of corporate jumps on the bandwagon. Sitting in the Sprite Zone during the first playoff series was completely electric. It was easily the most fun I've had, even though we had been swept. It was where the "Lets go Raptors" chant was at its deafening best. Subsequent years as the suits out muscled the average Joe, it became more like watching a Leafs game.

So.. take your friends out, fill up the ACC, put some money in MLSE's hand, and enjoy the product.

Franchise and Howland, you guys rock with your expert analysis. It is beyong me how we have to put up with the local media scrubs putting out their fluff on a daily basis when you guys can sum it all up so consisely. This is the absolute must go-to site for the hard core Raptor fan.

All I can say is that paying Bryan Colangelo $3M annually to come in here and get us not only to the point where they are now and the unlimited potential down the road is the best bargain in the NBA.

I have a buddy going to Vegas this weekend and I gave him $50 to lay down on teh Raptors to win the Eastern Conference. Yes, I do not expect to win, but at the same time, I would not completely rule it out.

My confidence lies in getting home court in the first round, winning it, and then going on a roll from there. Call me crazy, but I really think they have a shot to win the East.

good times. and I agree with you utes, the fact that we're even talking so casually now about beating teams we 'should' beat, is fantastic. first it was the bottom feeders, then it was the middle of the pack teams, and now we sit on the verge of finding out whether all this 'should' stuff extends to the contenders as well. what a week coming up!

I'm sure even if they do go 0-4 over the next week, that I'll be content with their progress and keep my eye on the long term prize. (that seems highly unlikely, though.)

Is anyone else annoyed by Chuck’s occasional disinterest in the game? At times, he goes on and on about things that have nothing to do with the game. I find my self yelling at the TV for him to pipe down so that I may at least hear the public announcer and may get a glimpse of what the call on the floor was. Also poor marks for the TV camera controller. I really don’t need a close up of Derrick Martin for 2 minutes while the game is going on, even if you are talking about him.

I guess I can’t complain too much, you ever catch the YES Network broadcasts of the Nets? Some broadcast teams are downright hommies.

And Brian, not to burst your bubble, but winning the Atlantic guarantees us 4th seed, not home court. For home court, we would need to have a better record than 4 other playoff teams.

Hate to be the Debbie-Downer here but I see losses against the Lakers and Detroit. We could get by the Lakers since they'll be playing the second of a back-to-back but it's a long shot.

I just don't see us having beaten any teams of significance during this great stretch. While I'm enjoying all the success and cheering for the Raps like crazy, I don't see us better than a lot of teams. Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Miami, just in the East. I like our chances against a Cleveland or a Washington in a seven-game series.

But the biggest stat for me is our record out of the conference: 8 and 14, and that was boosted by recent wins against the Clippers and Hornets. One against a struggling team that essentially played at 9 a.m. PST, and the other missing a huge piece in CP3. I would argue that we could easily be 6 and 16 against the West.

I'll be the first to admit though, if we can win BOTH games against the Lakers and Detroit this weekend, I will jump on the "Raptors Super Team" bandwagon. If we can beat two elite teams in a back-to-back situation, something we haven't done in probably 3 years, I think that's enough to support the argument that this is a completely changed team.

Erezona, I am aware that we need the 4th best record in the East to get home court in the 1st round.

We are on track for 46 wins, and I can see us getting hopefully a few more and sneak into that #4 spot.

I'd rather we end up with the 7th (still get #4 with the win of the Atlantic) but get to keep our draft pick

My favourite thing about the raps these days is our ability to make adjustments. Call howard unstoppable if you want, but it seemed like he never beat us the same way twice. He went baseline on rasho one possession and the next time it was sealed off. Magic weren't shooting well, so the double team came sooner and howard was kind enough to give up the ball. The scary things though, if the magic was shooting hot or if say, this was miami, well we just can't stop that kind of inside/out combo yet.

The real test (until the next one) is the Bulls, who have consistently shut down bosh.

Great time to be a raps fan - and lovin' the blogs! Thanks dudes!

Brian - thanks for the props man, and bingo, you touched on one of the main reasons we started this site...both Howland and I find more often than not that the actual hardcore fans of the Raps have way more interesting things to say than most of the local media.

Some great points about teams like the Pistons and Bulls. These indeed are the teams Toronto is going to have to "show and prove" against in order to really get full recognition of their recent winning ways. We'll be previewing the Lakers game tomorrow and talking a little more about this then...

So how many of you have watched that show on Sun Tv from "Rama"??? I'm tired of watching Steve Buffery's bald head and the host scream about the futility of the Raps on oone hand and then profess BC Mastery on the other?? It goes the same with other shows and articles we read in the daily paper....NAG> (Not Any Good)
Franchise and Howland got to give you guys major PROPS for this blog. Buddy of mine told me about it and said it was really cool and that I should check it out...now I'm hooked and check in every day. Hoop life was already a good site and I follow every division of ball, but this blog has made it very fresh (pardon the referral) and always exciting to see what others have to say.

Keep up the GREAT work and I think 2 -2 over the next 4 would be a good start to getting up some flavour for the playoffs.

I'm out!

Fresh 1

I have watched 90 per cent of every Raptor game since franchise inception and this group is the best "team" I have witnessed. The run with Vince might have been better, but it was his team, he knew it, we knew it and so did his teammates.

Superstar Bosh included, this is a group of guys who flat out want to win, not for themselves, but for the good of the team. It may sound cliche, but when a worthwhile play is excuted, on offence or defence, you can actually feel the building of the energy between the players. They earnestly want the others to succeed. It is refreshing in this day and age of the "when am I getting mine"
mentality.

It's a good time to be fan of the team, the sport of basketball, and of sportsmanship in general.

J.