The Raptors played the Spurs tonight, and the general feeling in the city is one of mild, consistent exhaustion. It is the kind of exhaustion you get from staring at a microwave timer for three minutes. You know what is going to happen, yet you stay to watch the end anyway.
We had this game, or at least we held it in our hands like a very small bird. Then we let the bird go, and it flew away, probably to somewhere warmer like San Antonio. People are asking if it is mindset, nerves, or inexperience, but it might just be the way things are now.
Small Victories and Tall People
There is some talk about Chris Boucher being a stopper for Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama is very tall, like a tree that decided to play basketball (and succeeded). Watching anyone try to stop him feels like watching a man try to argue with the wind.
If we are having a pizza party for stopping him, I hope the pizza is good. My uncle once told me that the quality of the crust defines the person eating it. I am not sure what that means for a professional basketball team, but I hope they got the garlic dipping sauce.
The Ritual of Getting Dressed
Some fans are sharing their game day attire, which is a nice gesture of hope. It takes a certain level of commitment to put on a specific jersey when you know the fourth quarter is coming. The fourth quarter is where our leads go to live on a farm in the country.
It is depressing, according to the internet, and the internet is usually quite certain about these things. We get so close to a win that you can almost smell it, and then it disappears. It is like when you think you have a twenty dollar bill in your pocket, but it is actually just a very crisp receipt from a pharmacy.
Looking for Meaning
People say these developments are more important than the result of any regular season game. I suppose they are right, because the results have been fairly predictable lately. We are learning things, apparently, though I am mostly learning that I should probably go to bed earlier.
Anyway, the Raptors will play again soon. We will probably lead for a while, and then we will see what happens. It is a cycle, much like the changing of the seasons, though usually with more turnovers in the final two minutes.