Listen to That’s A Rap #84: Isolating ourselves with Raptors games

“We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.”

Rudyard Kipling may have been right about one thing — staying indoors every day does feel like we’re all on our own islands. However, there’s no misunderstanding with Raptors fans — we have witnessed every type of game and run through a full gamut of emotions.

Imagine if you had to self-isolate in a room where the television only played four Raptors games — gut-punch game, returning Raptor game, regular season all-timer, and playoff all-timer — on an endless loop.

This was a fun exercise to compile and great trip down memory lane for the boys to discuss in the latest episode of That’s A Rap.

On This Episode:

The thought of self-isolating can be very stressful. Selecting the right isolation room may boil down to which one provides the least amount of anxiety. With that in mind, room # 1 may be the choice. It may not reach the emotional highs of the other rooms, but the lows aren’t as low. Losing Game 1 last season to the Magic may not sting as much knowing how those playoffs ended. Losing T-Mac’s return game has a different feel knowing the Raptors got a championship before he did. The 2000 Slam Dunk contest is not only a franchise all-timer, but for the NBA as well. Game 7 against Miami in 2016 was a coming-out party from tip-off to the final buzzer.

The second isolation room brings us the highs of the Bulls upset and the lows of JV’s tip misses against Cleveland in 2018. Vince Carter’s first game as a Raptors opponent was as visceral as Fred VanVleet’s performance in Game 5 in Milwaukee last season — obviously of different ilks. The Bulls and Bucks games were franchise-altering moments. Are they defining enough for you to select this room? With a championship in tow, is it more tolerable to re-watch Game 1 against the Cavaliers? Carter’s impeding retirement and all-but-forgotten past should make re-watching his return palatable, no?

For the third isolation room, it’s quite simple: We. The. Champs. You may not remember the details of Chris Bosh’s return to Toronto (Raptors lost) or Game 4 against the Wizards in 2015 (Raptors REALLY lost), but you definitely remember the night when your Toronto Raptors finally hoisted the Larry OB! The inclusion of the franchise’s first game is a nice juxtaposition to Game 6 at Oracle Arena. Spoiler alert: at least one of us chose this room.

The final isolation room takes you to both extremes of the emotional spectrum. Game 5 in Cleveland in 2016 is arguably the worst gut-punch game because the Raptors entered the game with so much hope, only to be bludgeoned by Lebron James and company for 48 minutes. Is that worth sitting through knowing the other three games were Raptor victories? Or does the most re-watchable moment (The Shot), most memorable return (DeMar), and most incredible run (30-point comeback) make this the room for you?

1:30 - Sucker for memes

4:10 - Introduction to the isolation rooms

8:00 - Isolation Room #1

14:20 - Isolation Room #2

26:15 - Isolation Room #3

31:50 - Isolation Room #4

38:10 - Choosing our isolation rooms