After Tuesday’s column on the positives, it’s time to rip off some bandages and gawk at the scars.
It has become something of a tired rhetoric: the Raptors were not the same in 2015. After a miraculous 2014 spanning two half-seasons of 58-win ball, the bubble burst as 2015 brought about a sub-.500 record and an ass-whopping at the hands of the Wizards.
In the spirit of masochism, let’s revisit the worst games of the polarizing 2014-15 season.
5. Trail Blazers 102, Raptors 97 (OT) (the “death of a dream” game)
It’s a bit disingenuous to brand this fantastic effort as one of the worst games of the season. On the basis of competitiveness and entertainment, this was one of the best.
A shorthanded Raptors squad, missing their leading scorer in DeMar DeRozan, managed to push the Portland Trail Blazers to overtime on the fourth game of a gruelling roadtrip. It’s disingenuous to have expect anything more. The odds — and some questionable clear path calls — were against the Raptors, and they still nearly came out on top.
Rather, this game lands on the list for what it came to symbolize: the downfall of Kyle Lowry and the Raptors’ season as a whole.
Lowry had led the Raptors to an 11-4 record during DeRozan’s absence. He carried the squad, putting up All-NBA numbers while single-handedly propping up the Raptors’ top-ranked offense. The team owned the East’s best record at 24-7. Times were good.
But something happened in the Portland game. Lowry shot just 10-for-26 and made a number of costly errors as the Raptors blew a chance to win in overtime. And from that moment onwards, superstar Lowry and the Raptors’ dominance were no more.
When discussing the Raptors, keep these splits in mind. pic.twitter.com/PLsW3DRARW
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) April 27, 2015
Lowry came into that game averaging 20.7 points, 7.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds in 34.5 minutes per game on a plus-minus of +6.6. Those numbers dipped to 15.6 points, six rebounds and 2.7 turnovers on 34.6 minutes per game in 2015. That included an abysmal field-goal percentage of 37.6. The loss in Portland was the beginning of the end.
4. Pelicans 95, Raptors 93 (the “defensive specialist Greivis Vasquez” game)
No Anthony Davis usually means no victories for the Pelicans. Take out Jrue Holiday as well, and the Raptors should have cruised to a double-digit win. Instead, it was one of the most dispiriting performances of the season, from the players down to the coach.
The Raptors got out to a slow start. That’s bound to happen from time to time when half the playbook is composed of isolations for a trio of gunners in Lou Williams, DeMar DeRozan and Lowry. But the Raptors never quite clamped down on defense, either. They let the severely shorthanded Pelicans build a lead and spent the entire game playing catch-up.
Incredibly, it was the Tyreke Evans-Alexis Ajinca pick-and-roll that gave the Raptors fits. Then again, it’s not surprising that Ajinca had his best game of the year against Toronto. Game after game, former Raptors paraded into the ACC to enjoy breakout games; a fitting theme for the team celebrating its ignominious 20-year history. With Evans bullying the Raptors’ undersized guards with his brute strength and Ajinca roughing up a similarly miniscule frontcourt (without their 7-foot threat Jonas Valanciunas, of course), the two carved up the Raptors in the fourth quarter. They finished with 48 points on a combined 19-of-27 shooting.
But that wasn’t even the most embarrassing part. With the game tied, the Pelicans had possession late in the fourth and the Raptors badly needed a stop. With Evans dominating possession, there was no question that he was getting the ball. In response, Dwane Casey tasked Greivis Vasquez — of all people — to stop Evans. Predictably, Evans blew by Vasquez before hitting the game-winning basket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0X1aM–eX8
3. Knicks 103, Raptors 98 (the revenge of the Bargs)
Yet another embarrassment. The Raptors somehow lost to the freaking Knicks. Here was their starting five from that game:
PG: Langston Galloway (undrafted rookie)
SG: Tim Hardaway Jr. (mired in a sophomore slump)
SF: Cleanthony Early (second-round rookie)
PF: Lou Amundson (ponytale enthusiast; 10-day contract)
C: Andrea Bargnani (former No. 1 pick … of the Raptors)
That Knicks team beat the Raptors. But, admittedly, I’m selling the Knicks a bit short. They also had Lance Thomas (another 10-day guy) come off the bench to shut down DeRozan while pouring in a gritty two-way performance.
Sigh.
The Raptors came into the game looking for a turnaround. The night prior, they were thoroughly embarrassed on their home court by the Golden State Warriors, who could have easily doubled-up the Raptors if they wanted to. Instead, the Raptors doubled the embarrassment by losing to the league-worst Knicks as well. It was their fifth-consecutive loss as they slipped down the Eastern Conference pecking order.
This also happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOy5DQ53L4
2. Celtics 107, Raptors 106 (OT); Celtics 95, Raptors 93 (the “C***tics” double-header)
These two were tough.
Even with their steady slide to end the season, the Raptors still had a chance to control their own destiny. The third seed (and a date with the Bucks) was well within their sights, but they missed out by a game thanks to a pair of heartbreakers at the hands of the hated Celtics.
The first one was rough. DeRozan played quite possibly the best game of his career in carrying the Raptors through the fourth quarter and overtime. Time and time again, DeRozan came up with clutch baskets to offset the Raptors’ non-existent defense. He sent the game into overtime and the Raptors held a one-point edge with just two seconds remaining.
But that’s when Marcus Smart came up with a miraculous game-winner. The Celtics inbounded to Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt. The clock started slightly late (I’m still bitter about that) and Thomas raced down the floor and missed a layup over James Johnson. But Smart was left open under the basket and somehow managed to hit the putback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M9srX6nVCE
Only 10 days later, the Celtics stunned the Raptors once more. Yet another tightly-contested game came down to the wire. But at least Boston spared Toronto of overtime. Instead, Jae Crowder nailed a catch-and-shoot corner trey over two defenders.
The loss pushed the Raptors a game back of the Chicago Bulls, which saddled Toronto with the fourth seed. I argued that it was actually for the best; the Wizards were a better matchup. I was so very wrong about that.
1. Wizards: 4, Raptors: sadness
I’ve written enough about the Raptors’ playoff failures. From my column after Game 3:
But it wasn’t real. The playoffs revealed that much. The later 40 games of the season previewed as much. Our gut instincts were right. The outside critics were right. This team isn’t good enough. Lowry is playing hurt and largely out of control. DeRozan has made strides and improved marginally as he always does, but was remains doomed by fatal flaws. The prospects in Ross and Valanciunas remain prospects, not reliable starters and the supporting cast is too often stuck trying to fill in for absent leading men.
I assure you that I take no delight in this. No part of me takes pleasure in deconstructing and undressing this team. I don’t feel duped. I don’t blame them for this, not their fallen stars, not their limited bench producers, not Masai Ujiri, not even Dwane Casey. They worked their hardest and made the best of it. I can accept that. I don’t think it was a case of hidden agendas or egos colliding. They worked their hardest but it didn’t work out. I think this point is too often lost on people.
I can accept that because the disappointment isn’t necessarily rooted in the team’s shortcomings. I feel disappointment that I can no longer dream the dream in all consciousness. I can no longer suspend my disbelief and believe in a fantasy. Even if I wanted to, I cannot summon enough hope because every sliver of delusion has been brutally stripped away. The spirit and swagger we once toted is now empty.
The option to dream is gone. We have no choice: we can now only live in reality.
