The Raptors recently lost to the Suns but beat the Jazz. It is a very Raptors thing to do, losing to a team with championship aspirations and then immediately beating a team from Utah. It makes you think about consistency, or perhaps the lack of it, which is just another form of consistency if you look at it long enough.
I was at a convenience store in Scarborough yesterday buying a bag of milk and the guy behind the counter asked if I thought we were making the play in. I told him I wasn't sure if the play in was a real place or just a state of mind. He just stared at me until I paid for the milk.
The Home Stretch
There are eleven games left in the season. People like to ask what the final record will be, as if knowing the number of losses will make the losses feel any better. It usually doesn't. We have the Clippers coming up on the 25th, which is tomorrow, or today, depending on when you wake up and acknowledge the passage of time.
There is also a lot of talk about the Hawks schedule. Whether we play them now or later feels a bit like deciding when to do your taxes. It has to happen eventually, and there is a high probability that Trae Young will throw a lob that makes me feel slightly annoyed for no specific reason.
Ja'Kobe and the Art of Hitting Clips
Ja'Kobe Walter is showing some efficiency improvement. In basketball, being efficient is good, because it means you aren't wasting the limited time we have on this earth missing contested mid range jumpers. He is starting to look comfortable, which is more than I can say for myself when I try to find a parking spot near Scotiabank Arena.
Watching a young player figure it out is one of the few things that still makes sense. It is like watching someone finally solve a Rubik's cube after two years of just turning the sides randomly. You're happy for them, even if you still don't understand how the colors align.
Arena Etiquette and Other Mysteries
Someone on the internet mentioned they are visiting the arena for the first time this Friday to take their dad to a game. They don't even support the Raptors, which is a very honest way to live. Their dad just wants to go, which is a noble reason to do anything, like when my uncle makes me go to the garden center because he likes the smell of mulch.
If you are going to the game, my advice is to avoid doing things that make people look at you. Just sit there and occasionally clap when the giant screen tells you to. The arena has 20,000 people in it, but it can still feel very lonely if the Raptors go on a four minute scoring drought in the second quarter.
Anyway, the season is almost over. We are all just spinning, much like a basketball, or a very tired fan in a swivel chair. We will see what happens in these last eleven games, but I suspect it will involve a lot of dribbling and some whistles.