Who are the Toronto Raptors toughest opponents?
Who are the Toronto Raptors toughest opponents?
I’m not worried about Toronto’s poise over the next 20 or so games. I’m worried about how calm they can stay when things get hectic. Remember - the second things go wrong for Toronto in the playoffs the media will be snatching up every lowlight and angle to push the “same old Raptors” narrative.
I’m not worried about Toronto’s poise over the next 20 or so games. I’m worried about how calm they can stay when things get hectic. Remember - the second things go wrong for Toronto in the playoffs the media will be snatching up every lowlight and angle to push the “same old Raptors” narrative.
On Friday, March 9th, the Raptors cut the Rockets win-streak at 17 in a wild game at the ACC. This didn’t even feel like a playoff game, it felt like a game 6 or 7. After Toronto’s hot start it looked as if they could do no wrong and had this game in the bag.
But you can never count out Harden, right?
Right.
Harden finished with a cool 40/4/2 on 15 of 22 shooting, but the Raps’ literally scraped by, as Harden’s game-tying 3 (from almost half) missed iron to the left.
The Raps’ took down Harden, CP3 and company 108-105, defeating (by record) the toughest opponent in the NBA at 51-14 (after the loss). But for Toronto, who serves as the ultimate test?
In the East, the potential foes range from the Greek Freak in Milwaukee (8th) to Kyrie and the Celtics (2nd). In between lie the Wall/Beal tandem in Washington (4th), the much-improved Oladipo and his Pacers (4th), the terrifying Process and all in Philly (6th), the scrappy Heat who are long-overdue for a playoff spot (7th, and should’ve got in last year), and lastly, Lebron and his island of misfit role-players (3rd).
The seeds of the East are practically set but may jumble as the season finishes. The West, however, besides seeds 1-2, is up in the air from 3-10.
These forces are comprised of rookie-sensation Donovan Mitchell and the red-hot Jazz (10th)
The scorching Trailblazers (3rd), and their nasty backcourt of Dame and CJ.
The Nuggets (9th) - who have stumbled a bit, but have tons of scoring from the guard position and a post-wizard in Jokic.
AD, who is a seismically unstoppable force and his Pelicans (4th, Jrue Holiday has been super solid too).
The Clippers and their ragtag mix of solid players from Houston and Detroit (8th).
San Antonio, who may be looking human for the first time in 20 years, but can still push any team to the test no matter who they play (5th).
The Timberwolves, who are trying to survive until April without Jimmy Butler (6th).
OKC, who can’t decide if they can figure themselves out, but are surely terrifying to a certain degree (7th).
And lastly, Houston-Golden State. The two kings who sit atop the throne of the west, duking it out for the 1st/2nd seed.
So who serves as the ultimate foe for Toronto? Houston, Golden State or Lebron, surely. But what if I told you Toronto’s toughest opponent may just be themselves?
In last night’s win against Houston, it’s inevitable that things will get testy with the officiating. That’s almost always the case when two good teams square off, especially with Harden and CP3, who (to their credit) are adept at drawing fouls (akin to Kyle/Demar).
But what if Toronto’s toughest opponent was maintaining their poise?
- a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight.
- a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession: to show poise in company.
- steadiness; stability: intellectual poise.
A state of balance or equilibrium. Composure. Steadiness; stability. All things that championship teams must possess to find their way on the coveted road to ultimate success.
In the past, we’ve seen Toronto historically beat themselves in big games. In fact, you can blame almost every loss this season on a lack of composure. This has been a demon for Toronto in playoff games over the past few years.
It’s frustrating to not get foul calls and it’s almost unbearable when shots you can hit 90/100 times rim-out every time when you need them to fall. Refereeing in the playoffs is different, too. There’s a higher tendency for the officiating crew to swallow their whistle, but it usually goes both ways. DeMar shoots the 6th most free-throws per game and this relies heavily on his sweep-through layups and pump-fake mid-ranges.
We’ve seen it before; DeMar pump-faking an eager defender out of his shoes and drawing the foul. But what happens when you don’t get this call? It’s a dicey call to make, as sometimes the defender is truly going straight up in his jump, but it’s one that he gets 9 out 10 times.
But we’ve also seen the alternative before - DeMar getting someone to jump on a pump-fake than leaning in for the call, and not getting it. This results in DeMar losing his poise and playing outside of the offense. DeMar isn’t the sole perpetrator of losing poise. Lowry is evidently vocal with the officiating, and we’ve seen him lose his poise during key moments many a time.
Is this what could destroy Toronto? Themselves? At this moment in time, I like our chances with any of the other Eastern seeds. This isn’t to say I’m “comfortable” in all of these matchups, but if I had to predict it with my life on the line, I’d put my essence and being in the Toronto Raptors.
But I’m scared about our poise. We’ll have nights like the one with Houston, fantastic contributions from players 1-through-10, no matter the injuries (OG, Delon). But we’ll have nights like the one against Washington, November 5th. Lowry gets frustrated early with a missed call, let’s the referee know about, and gets slapped with a double-tech-ejection.
This is a nightmare scenario for Toronto.
Not getting calls is frustrating, but you can’t let the officiating dictate your actions. Nobody should ever play differently because of how the whistles are being blown (or the lack thereof). Playing the officials is one thing, but getting upset, losing your poise and worrying more about getting calls than beating your opponent essentially creates another opponent. Something no basketball team needs; there’s already enough opposition to deal with.
Look for Toronto try to keep their poise down the road. If they’re going to reach the NBA Finals, they must maintain cool heads even when things get frustrating. The trust between the stars and the bench is much stronger than it was ever before, which leads to improved maintenance of poise. It’s easier to keep composure when you trust the men behind you.
I’m not worried about Toronto’s poise over the next 20 or so games. I’m worried about how calm they can stay when things get hectic. Remember - the second things go wrong for Toronto in the playoffs the media will be snatching up every lowlight and angle to push the “same old Raptors” narrative.
With proper poise and increased trust amongst one another, they can block that out and stay focused. Truly, Toronto’s toughest opponent can be themselves.
On Friday, March 9th, the Raptors cut the Rockets win-streak at 17 in a wild game at the ACC. This didn’t even feel like a playoff game, it felt like a game 6 or 7. After Toronto’s hot start it looked as if they could do no wrong and had this game in the bag.
But you can never count out Harden, right?
Right.
Harden finished with a cool 40/4/2 on 15 of 22 shooting, but the Raps’ literally scraped by, as Harden’s game-tying 3 (from almost half) missed iron to the left.
The Raps’ took down Harden, CP3 and company 108-105, defeating (by record) the toughest opponent in the NBA at 51-14 (after the loss). But for Toronto, who serves as the ultimate test?
In the East, the potential foes range from the Greek Freak in Milwaukee (8th) to Kyrie and the Celtics (2nd). In between lie the Wall/Beal tandem in Washington (4th), the much-improved Oladipo and his Pacers (4th), the terrifying Process and all in Philly (6th), the scrappy Heat who are long-overdue for a playoff spot (7th, and should’ve got in last year), and lastly, Lebron and his island of misfit role-players (3rd).
The seeds of the East are practically set but may jumble as the season finishes. The West, however, besides seeds 1-2, is up in the air from 3-10.
These forces are comprised of rookie-sensation Donovan Mitchell and the red-hot Jazz (10th)
The scorching Trailblazers (3rd), and their nasty backcourt of Dame and CJ.
The Nuggets (9th) - who have stumbled a bit, but have tons of scoring from the guard position and a post-wizard in Jokic.
AD, who is a seismically unstoppable force and his Pelicans (4th, Jrue Holiday has been super solid too).
The Clippers and their ragtag mix of solid players from Houston and Detroit (8th).
San Antonio, who may be looking human for the first time in 20 years, but can still push any team to the test no matter who they play (5th).
The Timberwolves, who are trying to survive until April without Jimmy Butler (6th).
OKC, who can’t decide if they can figure themselves out, but are surely terrifying to a certain degree (7th).
And lastly, Houston-Golden State. The two kings who sit atop the throne of the west, duking it out for the 1st/2nd seed.
So who serves as the ultimate foe for Toronto? Houston, Golden State or Lebron, surely. But what if I told you Toronto’s toughest opponent may just be themselves?
In last night’s win against Houston, it’s inevitable that things will get testy with the officiating. That’s almost always the case when two good teams square off, especially with Harden and CP3, who (to their credit) are adept at drawing fouls (akin to Kyle/Demar).
But what if Toronto’s toughest opponent was maintaining their poise?
- a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight.
- a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession: to show poise in company.
- steadiness; stability: intellectual poise.
A state of balance or equilibrium. Composure. Steadiness; stability. All things that championship teams must possess to find their way on the coveted road to ultimate success.
In the past, we’ve seen Toronto historically beat themselves in big games. In fact, you can blame almost every loss this season on a lack of composure. This has been a demon for Toronto in playoff games over the past few years.
It’s frustrating to not get foul calls and it’s almost unbearable when shots you can hit 90/100 times rim-out every time when you need them to fall. Refereeing in the playoffs is different, too. There’s a higher tendency for the officiating crew to swallow their whistle, but it usually goes both ways. DeMar shoots the 6th most free-throws per game and this relies heavily on his sweep-through layups and pump-fake mid-ranges.
We’ve seen it before; DeMar pump-faking an eager defender out of his shoes and drawing the foul. But what happens when you don’t get this call? It’s a dicey call to make, as sometimes the defender is truly going straight up in his jump, but it’s one that he gets 9 out 10 times.
But we’ve also seen the alternative before - DeMar getting someone to jump on a pump-fake than leaning in for the call, and not getting it. This results in DeMar losing his poise and playing outside of the offense. DeMar isn’t the sole perpetrator of losing poise. Lowry is evidently vocal with the officiating, and we’ve seen him lose his poise during key moments many a time.
Is this what could destroy Toronto? Themselves? At this moment in time, I like our chances with any of the other Eastern seeds. This isn’t to say I’m “comfortable” in all of these matchups, but if I had to predict it with my life on the line, I’d put my essence and being in the Toronto Raptors.
But I’m scared about our poise. We’ll have nights like the one with Houston, fantastic contributions from players 1-through-10, no matter the injuries (OG, Delon). But we’ll have nights like the one against Washington, November 5th. Lowry gets frustrated early with a missed call, let’s the referee know about, and gets slapped with a double-tech-ejection.
This is a nightmare scenario for Toronto.
Not getting calls is frustrating, but you can’t let the officiating dictate your actions. Nobody should ever play differently because of how the whistles are being blown (or the lack thereof). Playing the officials is one thing, but getting upset, losing your poise and worrying more about getting calls than beating your opponent essentially creates another opponent. Something no basketball team needs; there’s already enough opposition to deal with.
Look for Toronto try to keep their poise down the road. If they’re going to reach the NBA Finals, they must maintain cool heads even when things get frustrating. The trust between the stars and the bench is much stronger than it was ever before, which leads to improved maintenance of poise. It’s easier to keep composure when you trust the men behind you.
I’m not worried about Toronto’s poise over the next 20 or so games. I’m worried about how calm they can stay when things get hectic. Remember - the second things go wrong for Toronto in the playoffs the media will be snatching up every lowlight and angle to push the “same old Raptors” narrative.
With proper poise and increased trust amongst one another, they can block that out and stay focused. Truly, Toronto’s toughest opponent can be themselves.