It’s Christmas Day, and you know what that means: Hand-wringing about the Toronto Raptors not being one of the 10 teams featured in the NBA’s marquee regular-season showcase.
At this point, the reasons are fairly well established: League partners drive things, so for as good as the Raptors have been for the last five years, the fact that Canadian TV ratings don’t matter to many U.S. networks (and maybe advertisers) hurts their chances. It’s disappointing, sure, but the Raptors as currently constructed have thrived off of being The Other, the chips on their shoulders fueling them.
So when DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Dwane Casey make comments like the ones that follow below, it’s at least a little upsetting they feel disrespected and aren’t getting a showcase. Basically, this all matters to me only as much as it matters to them. Otherwise, I don’t care much. They do.
DeRozan (via The Undefeated):
It has gotten to the point where you just sigh and say, ‘Another year …’ That’s crazy. I always wanted to say that I’m playing on Christmas…We’ve won. We’ve been one of the best in the league the past few years. To not get that look is definitely crazy. There is really no excuse. We’ve proven we are a top team in the league for a reason.
…
We always have that underdog mentality. We thrive off that. We always keep that in the back of our minds when we play. We never get comfortable, because we don’t get the credit we deserve.
Lowry (via The Undefeated):
You get the special shoes. The Christmas jerseys. That’s one I want to frame one day. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to do it…I care when the schedule originally comes out. But then, after that I say, ‘All right, whatever.’ I plan my Christmas Day. I get to be with my kids and all my family. So that’s more important. That’s one of the first things I look at. I know me and DeMar, that’s one of the first things we see…I’m not mad at it. We just want the opportunity. It would be really cool to play on Christmas.
Casey (from Saturday):
I wish we were in that group. I think we’ve earned that right in the last few years to be in that. I don’t know if it’s advertising. I don’t know what the reason is. I think our record is to the point where we deserve to be one of the teams. To me, it doesn’t mean anything. Some of the teams that are playing are not in the playoff picture right now. Fighting for our team and our organization, I feel like we should be in the conversation when it comes to that.
I know the advertise the heck out of it. It must be important to them. I think our guys have deserved the right to be in the conversation. I’m happy for the other teams that are playing, but I think we should be in that conversation, too
At this point, it kind of is what it is. Another deep playoff run will give the league even less reason to snub the Raptors, and when they ultimately do, it’ll be even more motivation for them. As it stands, here’s your schedule for the day:
- 12: Philly @ New York
- 3: Cleveland @ Golden State
- 5:30: Washington @ Boston
- 8: Houston @ OKC
- 10:30: Minnesota @ L.A. Lakers
We’re taking the day off here at Raptors Republic, but what the last few years showed us was that there are at least a handful of people looking to chat ball during the NBA’s back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back extravaganza. So do that in the comments. Or not. Either way, have a wonderful day and a terrific holiday season.
…And hope that our Toronto Raptors finally have a place on the Dec. 25 slate next season.
Love,
RR
