This Just In: Raptors Suck Less Than Advertised

The Toronto Raptors are completely flipping the script on what is expected of a professional sports franchise in the Big Smoke. The Raptors have ignored the memo that Toronto teams are supposed to be cellar dwellers, where the possibility of a playoff spot is nothing more than a dream vanishing into the air like chimney smoke on a bitterly cold, winter’s day (yes, I am looking out the window).

I know I have been brutally tough on the Raptors, Chris Bosh specifically, in the past, but I must admit I am very impressed with their play of late. My biggest problem with the team has been that they don’t play with heart and don’t appear to possess one iota of mental toughness or testicular fortitude.

The Raptors are a talented team, but talent can only take you so far. Talent can get you forty wins in a season, with the majority of them coming against teams below you in the standings. To succeed in the postseason, where it counts, you need grit, heart and sandpaper. The top teams in the NBA have this in spades. If they are going to lose a game, then they are going to go down fighting.

Too often, the Raptors just lie down and die in the face of adversity. But, something has changed in the last couple of weeks. They’re starting to play with a swagger. They believe they can hang with teams in the upper echelon of the NBA. It’s becoming exciting to follow the Raptors again.

To whom can the turnaround be attributed? One man and one man only: Jay Triano.

It’s Triano who is responsible for instituting a culture of accountability and challenging his players to play with an edge. Unfortunately, it took him half a season to get his European and American born players to start playing like a bunch of playoff-hungry Canadians.

Even Hedo Turkoglu has proved to be up to the challenge. For the first three months of the season, he played like a corpse. Over the last few weeks, Turkoglu appears to be at least playing with a pulse and the mobility of a geriatric. Maybe by the time playoffs roll around he will resemble a professional basketball player.

I might even have to start watching Raptors games again, instead of just watching the highlights or reading the game recaps the next morning. Look at who they’ve beaten in 2010: Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and the Knicks on the road.

It’s pathetic that this city gets excited about a team that’s three games over .500 but, let’s be honest, beggars can’t be choosers.