Losing is a slippery slope

If the Raps lose tomorrow night, any fan should say thanks for a season of growth and defying expectations. A season going in the right direction. 40% of our starting lineup are D Leaguer's...not back ups...not even back ups to back ups. The outcome from the game is immaterial. But, if by chance, it lets us be fifth worst rather than 6th, that's more of a glass half full than ending on a winning note. Yes, teams can always jump up in the draft but that can happen to anyone and as a whole, those are the exceptions and most teams pick in the order they finish. I hope nobody's going to ask me for a reference on that one :)

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Draft wrote:

Winning this game will be a bitter pill to swallow - probably leading to an erosion of the fan base long term.

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I think that's exaggerating things.

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Draft wrote:

Winning this game will be a bitter pill to swallow - probably leading to an erosion of the fan base long term.
A win is a twisted dagger in the hearts of the fans hopes and dreams for the future!! The promise of great things to come is the only reason to be a fan of this team. One hurtful win after countless losses will also leave a stain of mismanagement and resentment on the organization.

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LBF? Is that you?

lol

I understand the frustration but where did finishing 3rd worst land the Raptors last year?

A bottom 3 record does not guarantee a top 3 pick.

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Draft wrote:

Winning this game will be a bitter pill to swallow - probably leading to an erosion of the fan base long term.
A win is a twisted dagger in the hearts of the fans hopes and dreams for the future!! The promise of great things to come is the only reason to be a fan of this team. One hurtful win after countless losses will also leave a stain of mismanagement and resentment on the organization.

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I disagree with this. All of it.

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Matt52 wrote:

LBF? Is that you?

lol

I understand the frustration but where did finishing 3rd worst land the Raptors last year?

A bottom 3 record does not guarantee a top 3 pick.

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I think if we end up with the 5th pick again this year, we'd all be relieved.

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Matt52 wrote:

LBF? Is that you?

lol

I understand the frustration but where did finishing 3rd worst land the Raptors last year?

A bottom 3 record does not guarantee a top 3 pick.

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It is my belief that the declining fan base is a direct result of the perception that the team will never be able to win anything. They need to show the remaining fringe fans they can win with a loss the last game or risk further alienation!

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Draft wrote:

It is my belief that the declining fan base is a direct result of the perception that the team will never be able to win anything. They need to show the remaining fringe fans they can win with a loss the last game or risk further alienation!

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So yes? haha

Cheer up, buttercup! At least wait until May 30th and we find out where the Raptors draft before doomsday prophecies are declared.

And fringe fans stopped caring about a little over a year ago. They'll be back when the Raptors are pushing for a playoff spot. Hopefully that will be next year. To realistically answer that question we'll have to see what happens at the draft and in July.

Okay let's put this in perspective. If the Hornets win two against GSW and HOU (slim chances, but poissible), and SAC wins one against OKC or LAL (very slim, but possible), and if Cleveland wins against WAS and we lose, we would have an opportunity to be in a 4 way tie for the 3rd,4th,5th,and 6th picks. Chances are this doesn't happen and we have a good chance of being tied for the 5th and 6th pick with Cleveland.

If we win we have a chance of being tied with GSW for 7th or 8th.

I really don't see the upside in winning this last game at all. Who cares about one win in a losing season when you have a better chance of grabbing a player you want in the draft. Yes, there is a chance of moving to the top 3 via the lottery but the odds are not good.

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saints91 wrote:

Okay let's put this in perspective. If the Hornets win two against GSW and HOU (slim chances, but poissible), and SAC wins one against OKC or LAL (very slim, but possible), and if Cleveland wins against WAS and we lose, we would have an opportunity to be in a 4 way tie for the 3rd,4th,5th,and 6th picks. Chances are this doesn't happen and we have a good chance of being tied for the 5th and 6th pick with Cleveland.

If we win we have a chance of being tied with GSW for 7th or 8th.

I really don't see the upside in winning this last game at all. Who cares about one win in a losing season when you have a better chance of grabbing a player you want in the draft. Yes, there is a chance of moving to the top 3 via the lottery but the odds are not good.

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Not only that, but the lower they finish the season, the lower they have the potential to fall. Being in a tie for 5th worst with Cleveland guarantees a top-9 pick. Being in a tie for 7th worst with Golden State means they could potentially pick as low as 11th! One game could easily mean the difference of 2-6 places in the draft, statistically speaking.

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Draft wrote:

Winning this game will be a bitter pill to swallow - probably leading to an erosion of the fan base long term.
A win is a twisted dagger in the hearts of the fans hopes and dreams for the future!! The promise of great things to come is the only reason to be a fan of this team. One hurtful win after countless losses will also leave a stain of mismanagement and resentment on the organization.

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It's a sad commentary about your love of basketball or hometown support when a WIN leads to the erosion of a fanbase.

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CT2010 wrote:

It's a sad commentary about your love of basketball or hometown support when a WIN leads to the erosion of a fanbase.

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Or just an ironic reality of professional sports, when a loss this season would ensure the greatest statistical probability of providing the most significant improvement for the team next season and beyond...

Personally, I'd love for Kleiza to brick another 3 at the buzzer (not on purpose, of course -- I don't think he has too much trouble bricking threes). If we can't have the win for risk of the pick, then we can at least have the illusion of it!

Seems to have been a trend this season anyways.

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CT2010 wrote:

It's a sad commentary about your love of basketball or hometown support when a WIN leads to the erosion of a fanbase.

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+1

And this is not even idealism.
One would expect every fan wants his/her team to fight hard and win every game even if they are labelled talentless underdogs.

There are definitely good points to take away from this season even with a loss to NJ. When players are healthy (Bargs, Calderon, Bayless) we can be in it with the top teams. We've sen improvement from our young players. We have found where we need improvement. Add JV and a high draft pick plus a couple FA's and we are definitely a playoff team.

Will winning against NJ ruin all of this? No. Will losing against NJ change any of this? No. Management will have a better chance of grabbing someone they want though. The longer you sit in the draft the more players you want come off the board.

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Matt52 wrote:

LBF? Is that you?

lol

I understand the frustration but where did finishing 3rd worst land the Raptors last year?

A bottom 3 record does not guarantee a top 3 pick.

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Hey!!...easy!!

How dare you accuse me of having two accounts, sir!

I bid you that french word!!!

Almost forgot

# sarcasm

The thing is.. the raptors are a different team from the wolves. Under Casey, these guys have competed in far more games than the T-wolves even if their record doesnt show it. There is veteran leadership in the locker room that doesnt necessarily win games but keeps the bullshit to a minimum. Losing the last game of the season will not crush the drive of the players we have, most likely because the players who will decide the game probably wont even be back next year. We have nothing to gain from the win so just tack it onto a losing season and get the draft pick we need. If you want pride, you already got it in Boston and Atlanta so let NJ slide for strategic reasons.

+1!

winning the last game or not, we are in a better position to rise up next year. especially having miller declared for draft, i feel like we should win the last game to fall behind the lottery; so picking up miller would justify the pick. The kid is a legit baller! when a kid says he is the best and he aint cocky! thas some confidence right there.--- the last person to do that was Kobe Bryant who was picked 13th overall folks!
now go win that game vs NJ go raps go

The fan base will erode if the Raptors don't soon recover from the past four years of pathetic performances and not due to losing out on 20 ping pong balls by beating the Nets. If you're going to bail on the team because they won a game little significance then what the heck are you doing here? The fact is the diehard fans aren't going to waver over 2% and the rest are mostly only around in the good times and thus probably won't know or appreciate the meaning of 2%.