September 23, 2007

FORGET IT LEAF FANS—THIS YEAR TORONTO IS A BASKETBALL TOWN

       If you are a dedicated Leaf fan—the sort that lives and dies (metaphorically, I hope) by the results of your team—I have some rather sobering news for you that might lessen your excitement over the upcoming season.   First off, I’m sorry…I can’t continue without acknowledging the pain you feel from loving a team that uses, abuses and manipulates its adoring fans.  You don’t agree?  Well, then you know what they say about a fool and his money.  This year though, the casual sports fans in this city will be passing on your favourite team and eagerly jumping onto the basketball bandwagon, leaving the hockey world to its sad and lamentable addicts.  Get set because Toronto is about to rock—basketball has arrived.

       Remember the energy and the interest that evolved from each game those years ago when the Raptors beat the Knicks for the franchise’s only playoff series win.  When the playoffs arrive it will be seven years since the city was within a buzzer-beating Vince Carter bucket from playing in the Eastern Conference finals.  Well, the progress of that team is eerily similar to this year’s team--the only difference being that this year Toronto can actually envision playing in the NBA Finals.  Winning is, at this time, too daunting for even the dreamers.  So if the path of the two teams turns out to be comparable then this city will be swept up in Raptor-mania as the basketball team takes dead aim at a conference championship.  I feel for all of those sad and lamentable hockey fans—once again they will miss out on all the fun.  

       Let’s begin by comparing the two teams.  Each team possesses a superstar that can take over a game when needed.  Each team possesses a strong supporting cast of both offensive weapons and defensive stoppers.  Each team possesses the requisite amount of experience needed to get through the ups and downs of a long season.  And each team has had to learn how to deal with a disappointing loss in their initial playoff series the year before.  This year’s club actually has the advantage in a couple of areas—it’s best player is the team’s well-respected leader, and the head coach doesn’t have all of his defensive alignments and offensive plays written in big bold ink on an index card.

       I can’t stress the importance of having Chris Bosh as the team’s best player, and also the its leader.  Carter just didn’t have the personality and the competitive edge needed to be a team leader—but Bosh has both.  We saw it then with Michael Jordan, and we see it today with Tim Duncan—a superstar leader can raise the ability and the determination in everyone around him.  Decent players become good and, more importantly, good players—like Scottie Pippen—become great.  In Andrea Bargnani the Raptors possess a player that has potential greatness within him, and he can develop into that secondary star needed for any team that has championship aspirations.

       Remember this club won 47 games last season even though it began the year with a slew of new players and unsure of its potential.  This year the players are familiar with each other, with the coaching staff, and with the organization.  Strengths and weaknesses are a know commodity.  Plays can be designed, defensive formations can be created and combinations can be used to better utilize everyone’s talents.  Take Bargnani for instance.  They have seen first-hand how quick he is on his feet, and how smooth is his shot.  They can design plays to free him up and take advantage of his unique combination of size and skill.  This is a player with such a quick and effective shooting style that they merely have to get him the ball in the paint—where he can exploit the inherent mismatches, either shooting over smaller defenders or driving past larger ones.  Then add in the natural double teams that Bosh attracts, the open court that is consistently found by the quick point guards, and the array of shooters the coach can send in at any time and you can see the formation of a deep and varied offense—one that will more than make up for its defensive limitations and be very, very difficult to beat by any team. 

      Of course, before we continue I need to understand how a Leaf fan thinks.  How a Leaf fan begins a season hoping for one result but in reality expecting another.  Sorry again, but this basketball team is different.  It isn’t patched together with a slew of aging veterans and average youngsters.  This basketball club has the potential to be very good, and very consistent for a very long time.  It has a tremendous amount of skill.  They can operate at a high speed--faster than most of its opponents--and has the depth needed to maintain that high level of play throughout the lengthy regular schedule.  It also has the right amount of leadership and experience on the court to keep the ship moving in the right direction. 

       No longer will Raptor fans have to endure winless trips through Texas and California—this year this club has the potential to beat any team any place.   And at home, in front of a raucous crowd, this club can destroy the league’s bottom feeders and make Toronto a place where opposing players loathe to visit--rather than judging the city as a nice safe place to have dinner.

       In essence, Raptor fans will be enjoying this season the way Leaf fans can only dream.  Once again, I’m sorry.

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