The Toronto Raptors are currently a basketball team that plays for forty eight minutes, but only seems to enjoy about thirty six of them. According to Ryan Wolstat, the team has the fifth best offense in the league through the first three quarters. When the fourth quarter starts, they drop to twenty sixth, which is a significant distance to fall in such a short amount of time.
It is like watching someone cook a really nice lasagna for three hours and then deciding to eat a handful of gravel for dessert. Most people think the issue is how much time we spend trying to get the ball to Brandon Ingram. We spend about a third of the shot clock just looking for him, while the other team stands there and watches us do it. They know what is happening, we know what is happening, and my uncle is currently texting me about how Jamal Magloire would have never let this happen in 2012.
The Problem With Clocks
The fourth quarter is complicated because the baskets feel smaller and the atmosphere gets tense for no reason. People are calling for a new lineup consisting of Scottie, Mamu, BI, CMB, and Jak to see if that fixes the geometry of the court. It might work, or it might just be five men standing in different spots while the clock hits zero. Trayce Jackson-Davis apparently had a chat with Darko Rajakovic after the game, which is interesting because everyone has something to say these days.
I am not sure what was said, but I imagine it involved a lot of nodding. Communication is important, even when the offense is stalling like a 1998 Honda Civic in a Scarborough snowstorm. We move the ball well until the lights get bright, and then we forget how hands work. It is a very human way to play a sport, albeit a frustrating one for people who like winning.
Where is Gradey?
A Spurs fan wandered into the conversation recently to ask what happened to Gradey Dick. He is averaging about six points and not playing very much, which is a bit like buying a fancy toaster and only using it to hold up your mail. He was supposed to be the future, but right now the future is sitting on the bench watching Brandon Ingram get double teamed.
It is hard to find your rhythm when you only get a few minutes to run around. Basketball is mostly about running and rhythm, similar to how my cousin describes his brief career as a wedding DJ. If you do not get to play, you can not score, and if you do not score, people from San Antonio start asking questions on the internet.
Remembering the Past
We are also spending a lot of time looking at photos of players who are no longer here. It is a natural part of the grieving process for a fan base that remembers 2019 but is currently living in 2026. Looking at old rosters is like looking at high school yearbooks, except everyone in the yearbook was much taller and better at defense.
The Raptors will eventually figure out how to play in the fourth quarter, or they won't. The sun will still come up over the 401, and we will still wonder why the offense looks so different when the clock starts winding down. It is just basketball, I think, but sometimes it feels like a very long exam that we studied for incorrectly.