The Raptors lost to the Detroit Pistons by 18 points recently. It was a 113 to 95 affair (if you can call it that) which feels like finding out your favorite childhood park is now a parking lot for a payday loan center.
Detroit is a city that produces many fine automobiles, but their basketball team is usually not one of them. Losing to them by nearly 20 points suggests that things are moving in a direction, though I am not entirely certain which way that is.
The Statistical Silver Lining
Scottie Barnes finished the game with seven stocks. For those who do not speak in modern basketball abbreviations: that is seven combined steals and blocks. He was also remarkably somehow only a negative one in the plus minus category during a blowout.
Being a negative one in an 18 point loss is like being the only person at a disastrous potluck who brought a dish that was actually edible. Everyone else is dealing with food poisoning, but you just have a slight headache. You are part of the problem by association but you did your best.
Employment Status and Scheduling
Chris Paul is still on the roster, which is an interesting choice for everyone involved. It is like having a very expensive, very decorative vase in a house that is currently on fire. You realize he has not been released yet and you just sort of blink at the screen.
The players are reportedly asking Coach Darko Rajakovic if there will be another canceled practice this week. I understand the sentiment. When I was in middle school, I used to hope for snow days even when it was clearly twelve degrees Celsius outside.
Artistic Expressions of Grief
There is an artist who draws a sketch after every Raptors game this season. They are currently at 55 sketches out of 82. I admire the commitment to the craft because looking at this team for 82 straight nights requires a specific kind of mental fortitude.
I once tried to learn how to play the harmonica after a particularly bad loss in 2011, but I gave up after two days because the breathing was too difficult. This artist is much stronger than I am. They have captured the essence of whatever it is we are doing right now.
The All Star break is coming up on February 15th. It is a time for rest and for forgetting that we just lost to the Pistons. My uncle says that losing builds character, but at this rate, the Raptors are going to have more character than a library has books.