Are the playoffs out of sight?

It seems as though playoff hopes for the Raptors are always a mere dream that they are trying to make into a reality. After the Raptors had had such a horrible starting to this season no one would have ever even suggested the idea that they might have had a shot at the playoffs. But with the huge headlining news that was the Rudy Gay trade, things started to look up for the Raptors. When Gay had first arrived the Raptors were playing like never before and had achieved a record of 7 wins out of 10 games. However the past six games have been more of a nightmare for the raptors as they have lost every one except the most recent against the Phoenix Suns; and now sit at 8-7 with Rudy gay (8-8) if you include the game he did not play because of injury. This could lead to the argument that the only reason why the Raptors were winning was because of the adrenaline and the hype that they had received when gay first arrived. Now that everything is settling down and the Raptors are no longer on the tip of everyone’s tongue, their drive has slowed down and their game has equally weakened. One of the most crucial games that the Raptors have lost was the one against the Milwaukee Bucks. This game was nothing short of exciting as it was sent into overtime thanks to Alan Anderson who tied it up at 104 in the final seconds. In the end however, the Raptors still ended up losing 122-114. The Raptors needed to win this game if they wanted a real shot at their playoff dreams. The Bucks are in the 8th and final position for the eastern conference playoffs and the raptors are currently in the 10th position sitting at about 7.5 games behind them. With only 20 guaranteed games left in this regular season it would appear as though the Raptors chances have left them. Some would argue that after their horrible start, there was never really a chance and that Raptors and fans were merely flirting with the idea of any playoff hopes seeing as how they would now have to not only win the majority of their remaining games but they would also need the Bucks and other teams ahead of them to do poorly. One can only hope that it wasn’t just for the moment and that the Rudy Gay trade really was for the best and better things are still ahead for the Toronto Raptors.

Who is our franchise player???

With the trade deadline gone and all trades finalized the answer to this question may seem plain and simple to most, but we must remember that nothing is for certain. Before I talk about the obvious player that we are all thinking about (Rudy Gay); I would like to look into the Raptors history on who their previous franchise players have been, what they have done for the team and why the Raptors might have been struggling in the past few years.

Without going too far back, we all remember the “invincible” Vince Carter who led the Toronto Raptors to their very first playoffs ever in 2000. Vince came into the league in 1998 and brought with him a lot of buzz. Vince Carter was added to the Raptors lineup in 1998 and was named rookie of the year in 1999. Everything was going great for Vince. He was voted an NBA All-Star in 2000 and also won Slam Dunk Contest that same year. All of this praise for Vince Carter was bringing with it a lot of praise for the Raptors. There was no question that Vince was the Raptors Franchise player and arguably the best player they’ve ever had with a career average of 22.2 points per game. Sadly however things took a turn for the worse in the year 2003 when Carter started to have problems with management and was then traded the next year. Luckily for the Raptors the year before Vince’s departure they acquired new talent Chris Bosh. Almost simultaneously as Carter left, Bosh was named the team’s new focus and was being built upon. Bosh was a 1^st round 4^th overall draft pick and like Carter he was also showing impressive numbers and doing big things for the Raptors. In the years following, it was soon made official that Bosh was Toronto’s new franchise player and was voted to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star game (He has continued every year since). Bosh had a steady run with the Raptors averaging 20.3 points per game. But like Carter, Bosh came to the conclusion that he would not likely win a ring with the Raptors anytime soon. So he decided to leave the team that helped make him into who he was and left to become part of the big 3 in Miami, alongside LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in 2010. After Chris Bosh left Toronto it would appear as though Toronto was trying to focus on being and all international team with a focus on European players. It was in this time that Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon were at the forefront of the raptors line up. Hedo Turkoglu also played with the Raptors for a little while. With Bosh’s absence it would seem as though the Raptors no longer had a drive or determination to play as hard or with as much heart as they use too. During this time many would say that Bargnani was the new franchise player, but this was only because he was able to steadily put up the points. However he was still getting the biggest paycheck which is something that is usually reserved for a team’s franchise player but many doubted that he deserved the title. Bargnani was the 1^st round 1^st overall draft pick by the Raptors back in 2006, this made him the second player ever without experience in the USA to be drafted first overall. Ever since then Bargnani has earned a career average of 15.2 points per game. His average has been steadily dropping in the last two years. Bargnani has never been an NBA All-Star and he was unable to lead the Raptors to the playoffs after Bosh left. It is because of this as well as Bargnani’s off and on game performance that has caused Toronto fans to frequently boo him in recent games. However, all of this being said it would seem as though all hope is not lost for Toronto, as new Star Rudy Gay has joined what seems to be a new and greatly improved Raptors team. Gay brings with him a career average of 17.9 points per game. But more importantly it would appear as though he brought a certain fire with him that has once again ignited the Raptors team. The new lineup is indeed an impressive one and alongside Gay is DeMar DeRozan who is averaging 14.9 points per game and continues to be one of Toronto’s most reliable players. DeRozan performance along with the entire team has risen since the arrival of Gay. In the past one could say that Toronto could almost be considered somewhat of a starter team as former players have developed their skills there and then moved on elsewhere. With the acquired Gay however, Toronto has for once picked up a player who is already well established. Toronto fans can only hope that Gay continues to be a positive move for the Raptors as they fight for a spot in the playoffs. If great things are in the future, one can only hope that this is just the beginning for the Raptors and they well continue to rise up as a team with Gay Leading the way.