No. No, they didn’t. The Raptors didn’t just beat the Spurs did they? The TORONTO Raptors?

No Chris Bosh. No Jose Calderon. No Kris Humphries. No Joey Graham after 10 minutes.

That didn’t just happen…

… did it?

There is only one thing I have to ask. If - IF - the undermanned Toronto Raptors beat the healthy San Antonio Spurs, and no one sees it because it’s on TSN2, did it really happen?!

Well, major sports sites are reporting that it did, so even though nobody saw it, I am fairly confident in reporting… that yes, the Raptors won.

I just have no idea how it happened.

I’m looking at the box score right now. The Raptors played, essentially, six guys - Bargnani, JO, Kapono, Parker, Moon and Ukic (Graham played nine minutes, had one assist and one TO before leaving for good). They shot 40%, had a total of 13 assists and were outrebounded by 7.

And they were playing one of the best teams in the league! Parker, Ginobili and Duncan combined for 74 points, 15 assists and 24 rebounds!

I just don’t understand how this happened.

And I’m incredibly pissed off that I missed it. Fuck you, TSN2, MLSE and Rogers. Fuck… you… all.

So, it’s all-star time. I said two weeks ago, I needed the Raptors to go 5-3 before the break to give me any confidence that they could make a playoff run. Well, they went 2-6. They’re now a god-awful 21-34, are five games out of 8th with five teams in between them and the Bucks. I know we’re all happy and ecstatic that they beat the Spurs and go into the break on a high, and we can try and convince ourselves that the schedule gets easier, but really… there’s no chance. Well, OK, a slim chance. But it’s so slim. I want to believe it, I really do… but I just can’t. I really can’t see this happening, at all.

But hey, if they can win a few more and keep it interesting, I’m all for that. Believe me, as far as future success goes, that’s a much, much better concept than tanking. Please lord, help make the remaining 27 games interesting!

Raps win! Unbelievable.

No posts for the last few days, because frankly, those were some unbelievable awful basketball games. And not just because the Raps lost. 70 points against Memphis? Ugh.

But, they managed to “gut out” a win against the Jefferson-less T-Wolves last night in what was actually a pretty entertaining game. Both teams made runs, the Raps just made the final one and that’s the key. Gotta say, I really liked they way they went inside down the stretch. Yeah, it helps that JO was being guarded by a rook (Kevin Love) so he could take advantage, but hey. At least they recognized and took advantage, something this team rarely does.

You know what else I saw there which I never see and it drives me crazy? A re-post! Seriously. This is a basic basketball play that I never, ever see the Raptors do. They throw the ball into the post, a soft double comes, JO/AB kicks the ball out, the defense relaxes. That’s the best time to get the ball right back to the post-player, because the defense is moving away. But the Raptors just don’t do that. Ever. I’m not saying it should be done every time, but you HAVE to do it sometimes to keep the defense honest. The Raps don’t. And it exposes them, because opposing teams know they’re not serious about getting the ball into the paint.

Anyway, I saw this happen twice in the fourth quarter and I was stunned. Finally! JO ended up with 22, and 10 of them came in the final four minutes.

As for the rest, well, the Raps got contributions from the 3-spot, and that’s the key. Another solid outing from Joey Graham, being his aggressive self; so nice to see him create opportunities for himself like that. Jamario had a solid game; even though he took a couple questionable Js, they dropped, and he was active on the boards. And Kapono had good shooting night, even threw in a four-point play, and you know what? I don’t think he traveled once. Amazingly enough.

Bargnani has started to cool off a bit of late, his shooting isn’t quite as hot and he’s making a few too many TOs. But still, if this is the production we can expect - 18 points, 6 boards, and a block - I can live with that. Heck, I’d be happy with 15/6 but I would like him to get that FG percentage back up a little (only 35% in the past six).

So, one more game tonight, against the Spurs, before the break. It really is a shame Chris Bosh is out, because if the Raptors were ever gonna beat the Spurs, tonight would be the night. They played last night and this is their fifth straight road game. They’ve got to be feeling tired. But without CB4? Forget about it. I actually think Andrea and JO will keep Duncan in check, but look for Manu and Tony Parker to completely shred our perimeter “defense.” I expect them each to drop 30. Actually this might be a total Spurs blowout so they may not play long enough to score that many. Sigh. Spurs by 19. Gonna be ugly to watch… oh, wait. It’s on TSN2 so no one will be watching. Nice job there, MLSE.

Sigh.

So, last game before the break. Raps clearly need the time off, as they’ve clearly been frustrated with each other lately. And maybe CB will heal up, maybe Jose can finally get to 100 per cent, and maybe they’ll actually start winning a few games! Gotta wonder though if JO and CB will be able to keep their hearts in it, now that the playoffs are out of the picture. You’d hope they both have enough pride to, you’d hope they continue to go out there and earn their big paycheques. To me, this is where Chris can really show some of those leadership abilities. Yes, the cause is hopeless and everyone knows it. But if you can inspire your teammates to keep playing hard - and it starts with leading by example - then maybe you will finally start to silence some of those “not a franchise player” critics.