Basketball Newsletter - April 4 2000
The horror, the horror
This isn't the first time Toronto sports fans have seen a colossal collapse. The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967 then didn't have a winning record again for 2 decades. In 1987, the Blue Jays were winning the AL east by 3 1/2 with 7 games left to play, then they lost 'em all AND the pennant. So as the Raptors' promising season seems to be ending with a whimper and not a slam, the hardened fans aren't really surprised. And talk about insult to injury: Vince Carter hurt his shoulder in a game against the Pacers last week, and when he left the floor to be examined by the doctors, the whole team seemed to leave with him. Offence? Nope. Defence? Nope. These guys looked like the Clippers on a bad day!
Some people say Toronto will live and die by how its superstar plays. Some say no, it's not a one-man team, the talent is spread all the way down the bench. There are 9 games left in this season of hot and cold flashes. Which Raptor team will we see down the stretch?
Enough hibernation already!
The Grizzlies are sitting on 19 wins. One more will give them a franchise-high record. A dubious achievement, if you ask us. And the remaining schedule doesn't bode well for this milestone either. Apart from a game against Golden State and another in Dallas, the Bears don't have a hope in Hades of beating the likes of Houston, Phoenix, Portland (back-to-back this week! EEEK!) So, what about next year? They do have a promising team with young guards Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson at the ready, but since they've already signed Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bryant Reeves to large contracts, will they be able to hang onto the up-an-comers? Hmmm. We think it's back to the cave for these guys.
Who's hot
* Orlando Magic. Wasn't this supposed to be one of the bottom-feeding teams this year? Instead, thanks to a recent 6-game winning streak, Orlando's boys are playing above .500 and sitting pretty for the final playoff spot in the East. Not bad for a team without a huge star -- no offence to Darrell Armstrong. And if all the rumours are true about who is going to end up on the team next year (can you say T-Mac? Can you say Eddie Jones?) a great finish in 2000 may just be the warm-up to a huge 2000-2001 season.
Who's not
* Boston's Antoine Walker. Now, maybe it's a team-wide letdown, but this guy is supposed to be the star. After a 7-1 run to get back into the playoff race, Boston has lost seven games in a row. And where was Walker? Well, he made only 38 percent of his shots, so even though he averaged 19 points -- only two points off his season average -- those misses meant he wasn't
necessarily the best guy on the court. You're slumping, Antoine. Pass the ball to someone who will make the score! But let's face it: the whole Beantown squad seems to have dropped the ball along with Walker. The team is ugly again in spite of that promising stretch.
Pacific potential
Is it a slam-dunk? A no-brainer? A done-deal? The Pacific Division has been the strongest all season long and the mighty Lakers are looking to reclaim the NBA crown. But CTVSportsnet's Paul Jay still thinks the rest of the division is worth looking at as we head into the playoffs:
"Sacramento? Get serious. What a shame it would be to waste Chris Webber's marvelous season. But the Kings are throwing this one away like one of Jason William's off-the-elbow passes. The Bench Mob comes to play every day, but too often the starters, namely Williams and Nick Anderson, don't even bring their B-games, much less their A-games. This team should be much better than it is."
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What the fans are saying
This has been the turn-around season for the Raptors, despite their recent skid. But their run won't be enough to win a championship this year, according to the general managers in the fan forum. Here are some of your suggestions for putting together a championship team:
Anonymous says:
"1.) Trade Carter, the biggest hog in the NBA for a second round pick. Hopefully, Glen Grunwald will not waste his draft picks like he did with Carter two years ago and pick someone that's good.
2.) Start the best duel in the NBA, Yogi and Kiwi instead of two aging useless piece of garbage in Davis and Oakley
3.) Solve their point guard situation by starting Haywoode Workman who'll lead the NBA in assists and be an all star averaging 12 pts and15 assists and 2 steals with a Assist-TO ratio of 10 to 1.
4.) Pick up free agents like Rusty Larue, John Amaechi..."
KP's thoughts:
"I think that Oliver Miller was highly unappreciated here in Toronto, I hope we can trade Carter for him... that would be the biggest steal in NBA history...it is like trading Ken Griffey for Cecil Fielder."