It’s hard to catch your breath when a series goes badly this quickly. You can get so caught up in disappointment and frustration that you don’t, or maybe can’t, stop and see that there are silver linings even now.
The series against Cleveland isn’t over, at least in the strictest sense. The Cavaliers are up three games to none, and aside from three quarters in game 3 before Cleveland pulled away and took over. Maybe that game was a microcosm for this era of Raptors basketball, the ability to look like a contender, without actually being one. This isn’t a doom and gloom piece either, those have been written, and there’s really nothing left to say. Cleveland is simply a better team, and if you need more proof of that check the comments of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan who have both sounded defeated when talking to the media, while the series is still ongoing. This disappointment, both in players on the team and in the fan base in general is nothing if not understandable. There were expectations of greatness, and those have been dashed in three frustrating games against one of the truly elite teams in the NBA. But it’s worth it to stop for a few minutes before this ends, whether that comes today or later, to appreciate what this era has meant for the Toronto Raptors.
Self-awareness is an uncomfortable thing. We fought it two years ago, after becoming the first team with home court advantage to get swept in the first round of the playoffs. Told ourselves that the roster simply needed an upgrade, the pieces around the core of Lowry and DeRozan wasn’t good enough to compete. So DeMarre Carroll was brought in, Cory Joseph came back to Canada from San Antonio to back up Lowry at the point guard position, and Bismack Biyombo was acquired to fill the backup center position. That edition of the team was supposed to challenge for the title in the East, and at least on the surface, they accomplished that goal. Making the Eastern Conference Finals and taking two game off the Cavaliers was a sure sign of progress and seemed to indicate that the franchise had arrived as a contender.
On the other hand, maybe what we weren’t seeing was the warts, the fact that the series against the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat were much tougher than they should have been for a team of the Raptors apparent stature. In the Eastern Conference Finals, despite the Raptors stealing two games at the Air Canada Centre, the margin in the series was +93 Cleveland. The remainder of the games were blowouts and that got left behind in the excitement over the season. It was truly an impressive year, and the Raptors were definitely a good team, but they weren’t yet great, and that difference is significant.
This year is different, not just in that the Cavaliers might complete a sweep today comprised entirely of blowouts, but also because this team was supposed to be better, they were supposed to contend. Even just equaling last year’s effort would’ve felt insufficient, but losing like this with the additions of PJ Tucker and Serge Ibaka, acquired just for a matchup like this against Cleveland, is harder. It’s franchise altering, because with Masai Ujiri showing a willingness to go all in to compete, the expectation has to be more than this, more than simply showing up. Ujiri clearly stated his goal in Toronto was a championship, and this team clearly signaled they aren’t in that tier.
That’s not to say good isn’t something to be celebrated, especially given where this organization has come from. It’s an accomplishment just being a team that can be depended on to win 50 games, and it’s worth appreciating that crushed expectations requires you to have had those expectations in the first place. From the beginning of DeMar’s career, when season highlights tended to be surprising upsets or big dunks, because there was nothing more to look to, to where the Raptors are now is a big thing.
This definitely isn’t what anyone wanted for the Raptors, and may not have been what we expected. After all, I picked them to win this series in seven games. But there’s a certain clarity that comes when you’re sure of the outcome, an understanding both of where you’ve come from and where you’re headed. That clarity will benefit Masai this summer, as this series left little doubt of the remaining gap between the Cavaliers and the Raptors. Even if game 4 doesn’t go the Raptors’ way, there is lots to have enjoyed about this team. Two three-time All-Stars in DeRozan and Lowry, back-to-back 50 win seasons, three time division champions, and even a D-League Championship this year. It’s been fun, and that’s worth remembering in these somber times.
