Guess Who's Bizzack?

Our favorite dinosaurs of the hard court, that’s who. The Toronto Raptors open their new season tonight at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, but I’m more upset than excited. The Raptors are being shown no love and I won’t stand for it much longer.

First of all, what the hell is a 76er? I’m curious as to:

a) how Philadelphia’s franchise got that name
b) why Philadelphia’s franchise got that name
c) why it hasn’t been changed

I guess I could Google it, but it’s the 76ers, so really, who cares?

The Raptors are coming off a ridiculously successful season. 47 wins, the franchise’s first division crown, a playoff series, Coach-of-the-Year honors for Sam Mitchell, and Executive-of-the-Year honors for His Majesty Bryan Colangelo. Yes, the playoff ouster at the hands of his whore-ness Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets was tough to swallow, but it was vital experience in the evolution of the Raptors (get it, evolution and Raptors? You know, the whole dinosaur connection? Oh, forget it). Bottom line, it was experience this team needed to gain in order to take the next step.

What does it all mean for this year? To the NBA pundits and prognosticators, nothing at all. The Raptors are being slept on and being shown zero respect. What’s a basketball team got to do in order to be shown some love around here!?!?

The Raps boast one of the deepest rotations in the league, an All-Star power forward in Chris Bosh who is getting better every year, and super-sophomore Andrea Bargnani, who is poised to break out and become the star we, in Toronto, know he will eventually become. So what's the deal? As a buddy of mine would say, where's the love?

I’ve got a lot of love for Bill Simmons from ESPN’s Page 2. His column is one of the best in the business. I read it on the regular – got the RSS hookup on my Google Reader – but I was shocked and chagrined to see his predictions for the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Brace yourselves, here they are:

BILL SIMMONS:
PREDICTIONS FOR THE SEASON
EAST PLAYOFF TEAMS
1. Chicago, 56-26
2. Boston, 49-33
3. Miami, 43-39
4. Detroit, 50-32
5. New Jersey, 45-37
6. Milwaukee, 41-41
7. Atlanta, 40-42
8. Indiana, 40-42

Where the fudge are the Raptors on this list, Bill?!?!? He’s taking Milwaukee, Atlanta and Indiana over Toronto?!? This has got to be some kind of joke. My guess is that, because the Raptors play in Canada, the great country to the north of our ignorant American cousins, Simmons has simply forgotten the Raptors exist. Or he’s still drunk from celebrating his Red Sox’s World Series victory (the latter deserves some serious consideration).

Bill, my man, these Raptors are not extinct! They are alive and well, and on their way to another Atlantic Division title (Dave Feschuk, of the Toronto Star, is predicting 50 wins).

Simmons has got the Boston Celtics winning the Atlantic – what a surprise. It’s the cool thing to do. Everyone’s doing it. Yeah, yeah, I know they’ve got Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. But who else? Name another two guys on that team other than Rondo or Posey? I can’t do it. The Celtics will be much improved, but they aren’t knocking the Raptors off their perch, no sir.

Simmons isn’t the only one disrespecting the Raptors. Sports Illustrated has Toronto pegged to enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as the eighth seed. The last seed.

It’s not just the media that's invited to the Show No Love to the Raptors party. In the NBA’s annual general manager survey, no one picked the Raptors to repeat as Atlantic Division champs.

I don’t get it.

Let’s not forget that this was a brand new team full of fresh faces last October. His Majesty Bryan Colangelo - I refer to him as His Majesty because of the way he turned the team around - is royalty. He’s a savior sent from the heavens, and after he managed to trade the lump of coal known as Rafael Araujo, it became clear that he is also a miracle-worker. BC came in and gutted the team he inherited, bringing in nine new faces. On a basketball team, that’s unheard of. And it worked.

After the team got off to a rough start – they were something like 2-8 or 2-10 – the calls for Sam Mitchell’s head got louder and louder, but BC stuck by his coach and his team. The team was able to stay above water with Chris Bosh on the injured list. Bosh returned, rounded back into All-Star form and the rest, as they say, is history.

BC and the Raps had a quiet off-season. Jason Kapono is the prized acquisition and he is the best three point shooter in the NBA. Not too shabby. He will help an already potent shooting team. If Andrei Kirilenko in Utah is AK-47, Jason Kapono is JK-47. He’s got a sweet stroke and can get his shot off in a hurry, a la Dell Curry (hey, that rhymes!). Welcome to Toronto, new friend.

Yes, the Raptors still can’t rebound and don’t play really tough defense, but with the talent Sam Mitchell has at his disposal, the best defense for the Raptors will be a strong offense.

With the point guard tandem that Toronto Star beat grunt writer, and one of the best in the biz I might add, Doug Smith calls “T.J. Calderon” the sky is the limit for this Raptors squad. Jorge Garbajosa, the blue-collar Spaniard is back and although he’s still technically playing on a broken leg, he looks like he’s ready to go. He was sorely missed last year in the playoffs. Here’s hoping his leg will hold up (literally), because his injury still sends a chill down my spine when I think about it.

For His Majesty BC, it’s all about continuity and chemistry, two things that are seriously overlooked when people try to predict how many wins a team will get. This Raptors squad is a notoriously tight-knit one. They’ve garnered a reputation of being almost too nice. They need to add a little Charles Oakley to their game, and I’m looking to Chris Bosh to bring it.

As upset as I am about the continued disrespect shown the Toronto Raptors way, a part of me is thinking it may be a good thing. Let the league sleep on the Raptors. Let the Raptors use it as motivation in their quest to an NBA championship. It’s going to happen, of this I’m sure, as long as His Majesty BC is at the helm.

Tip off’s at 7:00pm and Jason Kapono is in the starting lineup.

Monday night, while the Leafs were getting their tails handed to them, once again, by the Washington Capitals, a chant broke out in the third period of the 7-1 debacle:

“Let’s Go Raptors!” (clap, clap…clapclapclap).

Now that’s what I’m talking about...

Thank You, Raptors

What a tough way to go out, eh?

All I wanted out of game six was for it to be just that, a game. The last two games in the swamp were a joke, and I just didn't want the Raptors to go out like, for lack of a better word, bitches. I wanted them to fight and leave it all on the floor.

They did that. They went out fighting. They did not back down. There was no quitting. I'm really proud of these guys. Proud to be a Raptors fan. Especially proud of Calderon, Ford and Bosh. I know Jose messed up on that pass to finish the game, but Calderon, you're still my boy. There's no way he or TJ were 100% yet they came out and played tremendous. Ford was huge off the bench, and I still don't understand why Mitchell took him out early in the fourth.

Bosh by no means had his best shooting game, but he was aggressive and hungry. He wanted it tonight. He was going to do whatever it took. He passed the ball beautifully, picking up nine dimes and still scoring 23 on putrid shooting. The nine assists are what's key. He's got to learn to find the open man when all the focus is on him, and he did that tonight.

On a sad note, it looks like the Toronto Raptors have downloaded their last MP3. In what was probably Mo Pete's last game in a Raptors uniform, he went out playing hard and with a lot of class. He was huge on the boards. Thank you Morris Peterson, for all your years of service. Peterson's been through the good and bad with this franchise, and we all know how bad the bad was, but he's always played hard and been a professional. There's not a lot of his ilk in the NBA. Stay classy, Mo.

I also got to shout out AP. Anthony Parker was such a huge part of this team this year, and no one really expected that. This guy's got a sweet stroke and his jumpers when he comes off screens are beautiful to watch. I think the Raptors have got to make it a point to get Parker more touches next year. This guy can play.

The future is bright for the Toronto Raptors. Bosh, Ford, Calderon, and Bargnani are all so young, and already so talented. I'm not really sure what I expected of these guys in the playoffs, because they already exceeded all my expectations when it came to the regular season.

The playoffs were a bonus, and as much as I wanted them to win, getting New Jersey was a tough, tough match up. Jersey ain't no sixth seed. That's a damn good team over there. Jason Kidd, at his age, man, you've just got to respect what he does on the court. How the hell does a point guard lead his team in rebounding? It blows my mind. He's a tremendous passer and playmaker. Whenever the Raptors made a turnover, it seemed like Kidd made them pay. If Wayne Gretzky had a special vision for the game of hockey, Kidd's got the basketball version of it. It's tough to hate on Jason Kidd.

As for Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, it's easy to hate on those guys. I rather enjoy it. Carter's an embarrassment, mainly to himself. I can take some solace in the fact that Carter did not beat the Raptors in this series. Kidd and Jefferson beat the Raptors. Carter shot less than 44% from the field throughout the series, and was only good when he wanted to be. And the booing definitely gets to him in Toronto. He just doesn't have the mental strength to play through it. A lot of the media was saying that the Vince-booing was getting old, and no longer needed, because the Raptors are a new team, with a new identity, and have turned the page on Carter's tenure in Toronto.

But forget that! Boo him. Incessantly. Every time he's in Toronto and on the floor, boo him with pride and passion. If you're sitting courtside when the Nets are in town, talk smack to him. Tell him he's a bitch. Make fun of his annoying mother. Tell him you slept with his wife. Get in the man's head. It is your moral and civic duty as a Raptors fan.

The "Lets go Raptors, VC SUCKS!" chant is the best in the business. Sheer genius!

As for Jefferson, I hate him too, but he did have a strong series. He's aggressive and doesn't shy away from the rim, unlike his pal VC. I'd still like to slap him, though. Just once. And Mikey Moore too. The only Nets player I respect is Kidd.

Enough about the Nets.

One point. That was the difference. Raptor ball, 8.3 seconds left, our destiny in our own hands. The Raptors, tonight, looked like the Raptors of 2006/2007. It seemed like they were finally figuring out how to play playoff basketball. They looked like the confident squad that wasn't going to get blown out of the water. I thought they were going to grind out a win, because that's the only way it was going to get done. There was no way the Raptors were going to go in and spank New Jersey, we all knew that. It just wasn't meant to be. Game seven in Toronto would have been a hoot. I think deep down, the Nets knew that they had to close out the Raptors in six. I think the Raptors would have won this series had they been able to bring it back to Toronto. The ACC's just too tough a place to play.

A tough and disappointing way to end the season. It was a one posession game, but the Raps didn't even get a shot off. It was another astonishing way to end a playoff run for this franchise, something that's becoming a habit (think back to VC's rim-job against Philly in game seven at the buzzer, and Chris Childs math skills, or lack there of, the last time the Raptors were in the playoffs).

Overall, it was a fantastic season. Forty seven wins. Home advantage in the playoffs. A division title. Thank you, Toronto Raptors. Credibility has been restored to this once pathetic franchise. Basketball has been bleak in these parts the past few years, but the Raptors have officially turned the corner.

Almost to a man, this was the first real taste of the playoffs for most of the squad. It was definitely a learning experience and the Raps will most certainly benefit from this six game loss to the Nets. You can't win in the playoffs until you learn how to lose. Chris Bosh, surely, learned what the playoffs are all about. It's a lot different than the regular season. And just think about how good Bargnani is going to be. It's almost frightening. Almost not fair. He started rounding back into form in games five and six, after his appendectomy, and once he develops a post game, it's over, the Raptors will be impossible to stop. Gotta love Il Mago.

Jorge Garbajosa, you were missed, my man. What a huge loss Garbo's season ending ankle injury turned out to be. The Raps season ended only a couple of hours ago, but I'm already looking forward to Garbo's return and next year.

I hope Bryan Colangelo can keep Sam Mitchell in the mix. I know Mitchell realizes that the Raptors are building something special here, and I hope he wants to stick around and see it through, and see the fruits of his labour. This is his team. I think the boys enjoy playing for Mitchell, a coach just a few seasons removed from being a player, and a guy who knows what the NBA life and grind is all about. Mitchell is also a great character and a refreshing guy in the media. He keeps it real. Stick around Sam, because we're going places.

When the Leafs make the playoffs, and inevitably lose, I'm absolutely crushed by their defeat. That's always because I know the likelihood of them winning is always so small. The window is open only so much, and for only so long. When it comes to the Raptors, yeah, I'm upset that they lost, but I'm optimistic, because I can see what the future holds for this team. This is just the beginning, my friends. The window is just opening.

This team's going to win 50 ball games next year, and the Air Canada Centre is going to be rocking once again come next April. If there's one thing the playoffs proved, it's that the ACC is an electric place to be during the playoffs. The crowd is fantastic, and New Jersey should be ashamed of itself for not being able to sellout their games.

Hold your heads high, Toronto Raptors. You've saved basketball in this city.

Appreciation is there.

Oh, and FU, VC.

Goodnight, Toronto...

The Injury Plague Strikes Again...

I can still hear Jorge Garbajosa screaming.

The MLSE Injury Plague has struck once again.

The Raptors lost last night to the pitiful Boston Celtics, but they lost much more, as Jorge Garbajosa is done for the year after breaking his leg.

The Raptors haven't said that Garbo is done, or that he broke is leg, but I saw it live, so believe me. He's done.

This was one of those freak injuries. I'm talking Carlos Beltran's face smacking into Mike Cameron's face at full speed; that type of freak injury. That's the last one I can remember seeing that left me feeling a bit queasy (like I just had a poutine from Burger King).

The ironic part is that the injury only happened because Garbo works so bloody hard. Damn him and his excellent work ethic. He raced down the floor after a Raptors miss and tried his hardest to contest a slam dunk by Al Jefferson. The Raps were down by eight and needed some stops, so Garbo was out there busting his ass. Anything less, for Garbo, would be uncivilized. Garbo went up, there was contact with Jefferson, and he came crushing down on his left leg.

It buckled.

It broke.

And, oh my, it was not pretty.

As soon as Garbo hit the floor he knew he was in trouble and signalled for the bench. Then he looked at his leg. Then he started screaming.

It's tough to pick up sounds off the court on tv, but I could hear loud and clear on my television that this man was in serious agony. Everyone in that arena could hear Garbo's shrieks. It was tough to watch.

Jose Calderon was the first one on the scene at Garbo's side and he knew his teammate, and fellow Spaniard, was in big trouble. He clutched Garbo's head and it was clear that Calderon was struggling with the fact that he couldn't help his fallen comrade.

Calderon did the right thing, however, by grabbing a towel from the towel boy to cover up Garbajosa's twisted leg. It was tough enough to hear Garbo's screams full of anguish. Nobody needed to see his leg lying twisted the wrong way.

To my astonishment, Sportsnet showed multiple replays of the injury. I don't know what the hell they're smoking over there, but really, no one needs to see that from multiple angles. We know it's bad. We get it. Thanks.

The depleted Raptors, who signed Luke Jackson (who?) to a 10-day contract on Sunday, are just getting clobbered with injuries right now. The ankle sprains are one thing, but this one is serious. Sam Mitchell and Co. just lost a key member of their starting rotation, surely for the rest of this season. When a guy goes down the way Garbo did, in such agony, you know he's not coming back anytime soon.

It was disturbing to watch Garbo practically go into shock and start screaming like a madman. Everyone on the Raptors bench had to turn away when they saw him come down. There's a feeling of helplessness like no other when you see a guy hit the floor like that. I thought the Raps might make a run and win the game for Garbo, but it just wasn't to be. The team played one of their weaker games all year, and after Garbo went down, the life went right out of them.

Garbo, although inconsistent most of the season, has been a true warrior for the Raptors. He plays hard every night and is one of the Raptors that hits the floor with regularity. He's always chasing down loose balls and doing whatever he can to help the team win. He doesn't know any other way. He could have jogged down the court last night and let Jefferson slam it uncontested, but that's not the Garbo way. He was going to do his best to block the shot, and that's why his season is over.

This is another tough pill for the Raptors to swallow, especially with the playoffs so close I can touch them. The ball club will address the media with the usual "it's time for someone else to step up," but this is a significant injury. The Raptors, remember, struggle at that thing called, what is it, rebounding. They just lost their second-best rebounder for the rest of the season, at 4.9 a game.

The Raptors have dealt with a lot of injuries this season - to pretty much all their top players (Bosh, Ford, Parker, Bargnani) - but this one, just the way it went down, man, it really hurts.
It sucks, but there's nothing that can be done about it. Someone really is going to have to step up and pick up Garbo's boards and his points.

The Raptors, like the Leafs, have proven to be resilient in the face of the MLSE Injury Plague. They've done a remarkable job and I am confident they will once again answer the call in the face of adversity. These aren't the Raptors of old; these guys are winners.

But please, no more injuries. The Raptors and Leafs have suffered enough. Damn you MLSE Injury Plague, damn you.

Goodnight, Toronto...