To the Republic....

[Jclaw]

I have been a fan since day 1. I have been a member since 2010. Tonight is a relatively historic (in raptor terms) night. In a blink, six games may go by and the raptor season may be over. Before the season, most people agreed that the worst outcome would be the dreaded 7-11 zone, losing the first round and out at best with no pick to show for it. Is that where we'd be? Not at all. This is a playoff team going in the right direction. Not one with aging veterans or led by one star player who is destined to leave (yes, I will have to edit that if lowry goes). Some say we only got a meaningless three seed because the rest of the east was bad. Well, guess what? They're going to be bad for a while. The Knicks are a mess. The nets have a narrow aging window. The celtics, magic and sixers have youth and picks but not much else. Cleveland looks like they're becoming the East's version of Sacramento. Atlanta is treading water. The bobcats don't seem much better. Milwaukee? Detroit is a mess. Washington is interesting. That leaves the heat and pacers and the bulls if the third time is a charm for Rose's knee. In reflection, I am so happy with going the route of improving and trying to sign the star in four years that we would have had to decimate our team to have a chance of drafting now.
A long post I know, but before the playoff blur begins, stop and appreciate a rare feeling for a raptor fan. Hope. This was an amazing season. My best to the team.

[iblastoff]

i think bobcats have definitely gotten better. wizards are also 'uprising'.

i joined the raptors bandwagon around the VC era. Pretty sure I only had dialup internet at the time and forums and all this social stuff never really existed on the mainstream level.

maybe we get knocked out the first round, maybe not. I expect a tough fight regardless, as thats what we've been doing all season.

as for the future, we have financial flexibility and no crazy insane contracts that would really hold us back too much. bargs and gay are gone. the only player people seem to have some animosity towards is salmons, who for the most part has been good for us save for that dreaded OKC heartbreaker and his stretch of awful shooting coming back from injury. he seems to be getting better though.

everyone including me expected the scrubs from sacramento to just be temporary fodder while we tank. but *insert DD's michael phelps quote here* and look we what made of this season. too fucking awesome.

see everyone down in maple leaf square tomorrow! (ps how easy is it to sneak booze in there??)

[white men can't jump]

Yeah, the East is still a mess.

Charlotte has played well, but I don't know how much better they can actually get.

Washington is in win-now mode without a contender-level roster....so I see them being a playoff team for a few years, never getting over the hump, and Wall leaving at some point.

Heat will stay the beasts of the East for another couple of years.

I don't know what to make of the Pacers after this year. Stephenson could go, West is getting old, Hibbert is overrated, and Hill is pretty average....so I feel like they're at their peak right now.

Lots of disasters at the moment. One or two of them could be helped greatly by a solid pick (although it likely takes a couple of years to see the fruits of that)....but yeah, just a big mess for a lot of teams.

[saints91]

This team has so much potential! I think this is just the tip of the iceburg. The best thing about this team is their personality and work ethic. You look at each player and you can see a person you feel proud to support. I admit, I was a die hard Knicks fan until prior to becoming a Raptors fan. I made the switch because I saw a team I once loved (EWING, Oak, Starks, Allan Houston) were all replaced with Starburys, and players of that mentality. I'm glad it happened though because it gave me a chance to get behind this team, and I've never looked back (2004). LETS GO RAPTORS!!!