The LeBronto Raptors: A Postmortem
In the end, the Raptors are exactly who we thought they were. They have two all-star caliber players, but still can’t beat LeBron. They have one of the better GMs in the league, but still can’t beat LeBron. They have a deep bench, but still can’t beat LeBron. They have a solid head coach (though that should be called into question now), but still can’t beat LeBron. When the going got tough and they saw that number 23 Cavaliers uniform, they predictably rolled over. And now their season is over once again at the hands of the league’s best player. And no matter how they try to spin it, it’s time for the citizens of LeBronto to come to a harsh truth: it’s time to blow it up.
A quick glance at the Eastern Conference showed a clear path for the Raptors to finally get over the hump. The well-coached Boston Celtics are missing their two star players, the Philadelphia 76ers are young and inexperienced, and this year’s Cavs team is the weakest team LeBron has played on in ages. It was right there for the taking for the Raptors. And once again, they failed. And with this latest failure, they’ll never get a better chance. The Celtics will be whole again next season, the Sixers will be a year older and wiser, and LeBron owns them if he remains in the East. And even if LeBron heads west, the Sixers and Celtics aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Raptors are getting ready to enter into the territory of a treadmill team. A treadmill team is an organization that is good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to do anything once they get there. So instead of miring in an extended mediocrity, it is simply better to just blow it up. Because at the end of the day, you’re either competing for a championship, or you’re just another team that is slowly getting worse or better.
For four of the last five years, the Raptors have been routinely eliminated in the first two rounds. And to make matters worse, the players they expect to be stars are lesser versions of themselves when it counts. Their coach all of a sudden can’t make proper adjustments to put his team in the best possible position to win. This team was specifically built to beat LeBron and the Cavs, and they can’t even get one win. If they continue down this path with this core, they’re essentially doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. That is literally the definition of insanity. I believe five years of insanity is enough for the fans north of the border.
