FanPost

Have the Raptors Taken a "Step" Versus the Cavs? 5 Reasons the Answer Might Be "Yes"

Some will be moaning today. "Trade this guy!" "Bench that guy!" "This team is going nowhere without a third star!" But I see some reasons to think the Raptors might be edging ever closer to the Cavs - a team expensively constructed, by the game's biggest star, to win multiple championships.

1. The Cavaliers clearly realize who their main competition is in the Eastern conference. No one picked the Raptors for second place, or to make the conference final last year. Toronto fans looked forward to the contests, but the Cavaliers took them casually enough to lose the season series. Not this year.

Surely it was the combination of ending a three-game losing skid and spanking the Toronto Raptors that had the Cleveland Cavaliers in "Japanese fighting fish" mode last night. But there was nothing casual about it: LeBron played 42 minutes (he took a game off after playing us earlier this season), and abandoned the "pass-first" and "shoot the 3" approach he's used to pace himself, versus other teams. He took the game on his shoulders and drove to the basket repeatedly. And it's just true: any team will lose some games on nights where LeBron deems that that is necessary. But he did deem it necessary. I won't argue with Bron-Bron (or indeed, the rest of the Cavs), on this point ...

2. We lost 3 early season games, to the reigning, hustling champs, by a combined 11 points. Fact. No blowouts ... try as they might. I was pleased to see the youngsters Joseph, Ross, Siakam, Nogueira and Powell shoot 12 for 21, adding 7 rebounds and 6 steals (though our bigger "guns" let us down, some).

3. Rebounding really hurt us. But it shouldn't four months from now. The Cavs grabbed 15 more boards than the Raptors did, on Dec. 5th. Ouch. But if nothing else (and that's quite unlikely) Jared Sullinger will improve our rebounding significantly. I'll be interested to see how Jonas, Bebe, Pascal and Jakob (don't forget him) will be coached to contribute, over the coming 17 weeks. That will happen. But I'm sure Mr. Sullinger was watching - and pleased to see where he can clearly make a solid contribution.

4. Patterson, Carroll and Jonas shot a combined 7 for 30. That's no real indication of what they'll bring. As committed as the Cavaliers were, these were largely unforced errors. But there are three basic reasons we can all agree upon, as to why playoff series are scheduled for 7 games: (1) to generate revenues (2) an odd number of games produces a victor and (3) playing more than a single game tends to even out anomalies, producing more reliable results.

So I'll still expect two of three of these guys to shoot quite well on most nights. And that matters a great deal. Sure, it's still possible that all three will shoot around 23%, for most of a series. But it's also still possible the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup this season. Please bet responsibly.

5. The Raptors All Stars played like champions. After recent playoff success (and failure), All Star berths and Olympic medals, Kyle and DeMar simply refused to be intimidated by this moment. They led. A combined 55 points on 19 of 37 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals is just what you hope for, versus elite competition. And DeRozan, in particular, refused to let the Cavaliers leave the ACC without a scare. But for his heel touching down on the side-line, this could have been an epic comeback. I was more thrilled by DeRozan's determination, growth and execution than disappointed in the result.

And where men of character will lead, lesser lights will often follow. "Moral" victories are what they are because they are memorable. Because they show courage, dedication and character. And because they thus have the capacity to inspire ...

These are all speculations on my part, obviously. But given the result, I don't feel the Raptors will be set back from their ambitions. Or be more afraid of the big moments, come this spring. Nor do I think Masai Ujiri will feel it necessary to send prospects packing to add a veteran at the trade deadline, should Jared Sullinger return healthy (unless just the right deal appears). He might do a little something. But I think he'll largely take the view that this coaching staff, and this roster, ought to be allowed to take another "shot".

Amen, I say. Ever closer ... :)

[And in case you missed it, here's the latest ESPN feature on our prolific, but evolving shooting guard: From the shadow of Kobe, DeMar DeRozan rises ]