The Toronto Raptors just finished a stretch where they lost back-to-back games to the Los Angeles teams. Usually, losing in L.A. feels like a scheduled appointment you forgot to cancel, but apparently, the people with the clipboards were watching closely.
JJ Redick, who is now the coach of the Lakers because that is the timeline we currently inhabit, had some things to say about our guys. He mentioned that the Raptors run really hard. He said they are great at getting to the paint. It sounds like he was describing a group of teenagers trying to get to a sale at the Eaton Centre, but in basketball terms, it is supposed to be a compliment.
The View from the Other Bench
Redick noted that the Raptors have young players who can really move. They create havoc. They break down defenses. This is all very high-level praise for a team that is currently trying to figure out if they are a contender or just a very fast group of friends.
The Lakers coach also pointed out that the Raptors gamble a lot on defense. They have "license to do so" and it is part of the fabric of the team. Gambling on defense is a lot like gambling at a gas station, sometimes you win a chocolate bar, and sometimes you just lose five dollars. Redick seems to think the Raptors are winning enough chocolate bars to be a problem.
The Popularity Contest
While the coaches are talking, the players are apparently voting. The latest All-Star player vote totals have surfaced on the internet (specifically on Reddit, where all truths eventually go to hibernate). It is interesting to see how peers view this roster compared to the fans or the media.
Vince Carter used to make this look easy. Now, we look at vote totals and wonder if the other players in the league are noticing the "havoc" Redick was talking about. Or maybe they just think we run too much.
Observations from the Baseline
Basketball is a strange game. One day you are being praised by a guy who used to ruin your weekends as a Duke Blue Devil, and the next day you are losing a close one in a building filled with celebrities who are mostly looking at their phones.
The Raptors are fast. They are active. They turn people over. These are all things my uncle says about his new lawnmower, but for a basketball team in the Eastern Conference, it suggests a bright future. We will just have to wait and see if that future includes actually winning the games after we run so hard. Or maybe we’ll just keep spinning. Pascal used to spin. Now we all just kind of drift.