warriors vs raptors preview (Photo: San Francisco Chronicle)
We took a moment to ask both Raptors Cage (Twitter: @RaptorsCage) and HipHoopJunkies.com (Twitter: @romyaquino) three questions each about the Toronto Raptors perspective on things.
1) What was the feeling in Toronto from that 27-point come-from-behind victory at #Roaracle? More of a letdown by Raps, impressed by GSW, or both?
Sachin Arora, Raptors Cage: Don’t really want to talk about it. I was excited because I really had thought that a victory over the Warriors had marked the turning point on the season. And as the Warriors started to come back, I knew it was too good to be true. When they were within 10, I knew it was over. It was hard to sleep after that one.
Romy Aquino, HipHoopJunkies.com: Can I blame it all on Rudy Gay? That seems like the easy answer.
The Raptors have always had a negative reputation, and this loss was in typical Raptors fashion as the Raps were known to blow second half leads and haven’t had the ability to close out teams. On top of that, when you face a team like Golden State who have shooters like Thompson and Curry that can get hot…in front of their home crowd…Toronto just lost all their confidence. This was probably one of the lowest points of the Raptors season
2) What are your thoughts on Jermaine O’Neal‘s tenure with Raptors?
RaptorsCage: Too bad that it didn’t work out. Him and Chris Bosh had ridiculous potential and if O’Neal still had some prime JO in them, that’s a team that I have pictured doing great things. However, it was evident that he wasn’t the player Bryan Colangelo traded for.
HipHoopJunkies: Like most big names that were brought to Toronto, there were big expectations for O’Neal when he came to the Raptors and it never really panned out. Toronto was always known to be a “soft” defensive team and O’Neal was brought in to bring the grit and toughness that was missing. I thought the addition of O’Neal to the front court with Chris Bosh would open up more opportunities for Bosh but it didn’t really work out and the chemistry wasn’t there.
3) What are your thoughts on Raptors’ potential in playoffs?
RaptorsCage: About damn time. This team is still under the radar, and believe me when I say there will be a time US media notices the Raps. I can’t wait to go see some playoff action — this fan base definitely deserves it.
HipHoopJunkies: Going into this season, I had no idea Toronto would be in the position they are in at this point. Masai Ujiri came in and worked his magic and got rid of Andrea Bargnani and then Rudy Gay, getting a few pieces in return that would help Toronto build for the future.
Little did we know, guys like Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and even Chuck Hayes would have such an impact on this team.
The ball movement is better, the bench is deeper, everyone is getting involved in the offense and the team chemistry on the floor has drastically improved. On top of that, you have DeMar taking his game to another level and Kyle Lowry has just been ridiculous this season, I think the goal is to finally to get into the playoffs and win a first round series.
If the playoff matchup is right, Toronto could definitely move into the second round of the playoffs, which would be a first since the 2000-01 season. There’s just a few playoff-experienced teams in the East like the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets that Toronto could have a tough time with.
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