The Toronto Raptors won a basketball game recently. This is a thing that happens sometimes, and when it does, the internet provides a specific code that allows you to purchase a pizza at a slightly lower price. I often wonder if the people making the pizza are Raptors fans, or if they just see the code and feel a sense of impending dread.
It was a productive night for the standings, too. The Hawks lost and the Heat lost. In the grand ecosystem of the Eastern Conference, this is helpful, though I mostly just think about how those team names (Hawks and Heat) both start with the letter H.
The Point Scottie Experiment
Scottie Barnes has been playing the point guard position lately, mostly because Immanuel Quickley has been out. Over the last three games, Scottie is averaging 17 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. He is shooting 63 percent from the field.
These are good numbers, the kind of numbers that make you think about the future. It is interesting that the team is shooting 37.3 percent from three without Quickley, which is higher than the 34.6 percent they shoot when he plays. Statistics can be misleading, like when my uncle says he has never lost a fight, despite having several visible scars from a confrontation at a Bulk Barn in 2007.
Art and Logic
We are 73 games into the season. Someone has been drawing a sketch after every single game. That is a lot of sketches. I respect the commitment to the bit, because most things in life do not last for 73 consecutive iterations before you just decide to take a nap instead.
The Raptors are an enigma, wrapped in a red jersey, playing in a city where the transit system occasionally works. We are seeing Scottie pass the ball more, and we are seeing the ball move in ways that feel purposeful. It makes me feel a strange sensation, which might be hope, or perhaps just the lingering effects of the aforementioned discounted pizza.
Small Samples and Large Hopes
Six games is a small sample size. You can't really learn much from six games, just like you can't really learn much about a person from the way they eat a single grape. But the trend is there. The Raptors win, other teams lose, and we all continue to orbit the sun at a very high rate of speed.
Maybe the PG Scottie experiment is the answer. Maybe it is just something to do until the summer comes and we all start talking about draft picks. Either way, the pizza code is active, and that is a tangible win for the community.