The Raptors are having a stellar season. They are among the top of the league and signed TO native, singer, actor Drake as their Global Ambassador.
It’s been an interesting 2013/14 season for the Toronto Raptors so far with a lot more positives than negatives this time round. Indeed the team that a number of experts reckoned
would end up at the foot of the Eastern Conference has confounded expectations by sitting on top of the Atlantic Division with 31 wins to 25 losses. It seems likely too that the Raptors will make it into the playoffs, a fitting end to a season where they had almost been written off before it started.
A good start to the season
Confounding the critics has always been a good thing, with the Raptors winning against the Boston Celtics on their first outing onto the basketball courts, though they were vanquished a couple of days later by Minnesota Timberwolves. Revenge was sweet on October 12 as Minnesota was beaten 104-97, and the Raptors didn’t lose another match in October, winning against Boston twice, New York Knicks twice and the Memphis Grizzlies once.
November was more of a mixed bag with nine losses to five wins and things not looking quite as good as the previous month. December began to redress the balance with eight wins, a good one over Chicago Bulls on the 14th and again on the 31st, and a very tight victory over the Dallas Mavericks, squeezing home 109-108.
The New Year started well with a victory over the Indiana Pacers 95-52, though losing to them away 79-86. Six further wins in the month against one other loss put the raptors in a good position as the season began to move towards its close. February has seen more wins than losses so far, five to four and a particularly good score of 104-83 versus the Atlanta Hawks.
March sees a range of important games coming up, with 16 matches to look forward to. They include current Southeast Conference leaders Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets lying second behind the Raptors in the Atlantic Conference, and two more meetings with the Celtics. The final game of the regular season on April 16 is against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and it will be interesting to see if the Knicks have resurrected their quiet season.
As the season ends it’s just the time for fans to keep the mood going by putting basketball courts indoors or outdoors into backyards, and maybe running a mini league with local players.
Next season
As ever, the rumor mill is awash with speculation as to who’ll be coming and going for the 2014/15 season. A recent exchange has been bringing in guard Nando De Colo with forward Austin Daye making the reverse trip to San Antonio to play for the Spurs in the Southwest Conference.
Some reports are suggesting that Rajon Rondo, point guard for the Boston Celtics, could be headed for Canada with the Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry moving over to the Knicks for the end of this season, and fans will be hoping there is a strong finish to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
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