The Raptor Report: Heart over Hype

Heart Matters More than Hype

They gave up 43 points in the second quarter and stormed back in the third to get the Pacers lead down to single digits. The Pacers seemed to have weathered the storm in the fourth as they went up 14 with just over four minutes left in the quarter. The fortitude of the Raptors was too strong for the Pacers. The comeback was completed with a game winning three-pointer from the surging Serge Ibaka. It was once again a great team effort led by our All-Stars Lowry (32 PTS, 8 REB, and 10 AST) & Siakim (25 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL), with Ibaka playing huge minutes and contributing a clutch 30 point performance (30 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST). Coach Nurse is getting more recognition as the top Coach of the Year candidate.

The Hype

The Toronto Raptors are the hottest team in the league. They have their head coach and two players representing in the ASG. They currently are in first place in the Atlantic Division, and second in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are in third place overall according to the NBA: Power Rankings. ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan says on the show “The Jump” that Nick Nurse is the top Coach of the Year candidate. She also had an interview with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and asks Tatum “who is the toughest guard for you, whos the guy who gives you the most trouble on offense?”

Jayson Tatum says:

Well its a team…its the Toronto Raptors. They throw so much stuff at you. It drives me crazy!

– Jayson Tatum

The Toronto Raptors with all of their mid-season accolades still don’t have ENOUGH respect from the league & media and they don’t care how much hype there is or lack there of.

The Heart

The Raptors know that media ‘hype’ is all a façade. It doesn’t matter if they are being respected or not by the NBA or media. The Raptors have the heart of a champion and are focused on staying the course. Now lets keep it real, with how well the Raptors are doing in the standings, they are currently 8-12 against teams above .500. There is a lot of work left to do. They have taken care of business with teams below .500 with a 29-2 record. There is still the looming feeling that they don’t have enough to contend, when it comes to playoff time.

The message the Raptors have sent to the league is that they are coming for another championship. Despite an abundance of injuries they are still excelling this season and a lot credit has to go to Coach Nurse as he has been phenomenal.

Trade Deadline

The NBA Trade Deadline is on February 6th at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. There has already been some moves around the league from teams in playoff positions. It would be shocking to see Masai Ujiri make any trade moves. It’s difficult to find any available deal that would add enough value to the Raptors championship run. The Raptors do have first round picks and expiring contracts that are valuable and Masai will definitely listen and probe different offers. At the end of the day the Raptors right now have enough to be in contention for the NBA Championship (HEART over HYPE), but need to get healthy.

Representation with Bigger Aspirations

The 2019-2020 All-Star weekend in Chicago is around the corner, February 14th-16th. Unfortunately Terrence Davis was not chosen for the Rising Stars game on Friday featuring Team World vs. Team USA (this is my favourite event of All-Star Weekend). Terrence Davis deserved to be there, but in my opinion was snubbed.

On Saturday, Pascal Siakim will represent the Raptors in the Skills Competition. On Sunday, Pascal Siakim will start the ASG and Kyle Lowry will be in a reserve role. We don’t know which teams they will be on as the ASG format is a fantasy draft happening on Thursday, Feb. 6th at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Coach Nick Nurse will be the head coach of Team Giannis. The Raptors are well represented in All-Star weekend, which is a tribute to their teams success.

The focus for the Raptors is still the NBA Championship and the week long All-Star break is exactly what the doctor ordered for those injured, before the final 27 game stretch of the season.

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By: Dan Chandran
Lets Go Raptors!