Transcription
It has already started, folks, and it is something that the front office, the organization will directly have to address because this Raptors team right now should be in a state of excitement. The fan base should be amped up. We have multiple allstars out there on the team this season for the first time in years. We're not overtly trying to lose games to close off this year.
You know, to close off the year, you have a few games against some of the top teams out there in your conference that have serious importance in terms of your seating, in terms of your positioning heading into the postseason, whether that be the playoffs right away or the play in tournament. There should be an aura of excitement. There should be an energy amongst this fan base that we haven't felt in a very, very long time.
But the reality is this, this, this team is soul sucked. The the energy is just dead amongst this franchise, amongst the fan base. And on paper, it shouldn't be. We're a young roster. We're a young squad. That's in theory on the comeup. But anytime we gain a little bit of momentum, anytime we're supposedly in a big moment, which we are right now, this is the most crucial stretch of basketball this team has played in half a decade. It feels like since the bubble, it feels like, of course, 2022, you make an argument, whatever. We're getting into semantics. It seems like no one cares.
I'm not just talking about the fan base, but the the players on the court, too. Ever since the All-Star break, it feels like the All-Star break was the pinnacle of this season. Hey, we got BI, we got Scotty Barnes out there into the All-Star game, and season set. We're all good. The rest of it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter where we go from here. This season has been stamped as a success. That that's the that's the energy being put forth by the team, by the organization. They're saying the right things in interviews and that's all well and good, but the on court product and you see it out there in this game. There's no sense of urgency. You play the Boston Celtics who you were competing with the whole time and then fourth quarter, the most predictable collapse of all time ends up going down. No one really, you know, step leaves their imprint, lives their mark on this game.
Yes, we can talk about Jacobe Walter, Colin Murray Boils being positives out there. And this is less about the roster because I'm seeing a lot of people come out and grill Bobby Webster. I'm seeing a lot of people grill the foundations, the the constructions, the modules this team is built on. And candidly, I don't think this roster construction is as bad as the doomers are saying right now. I think there are some talent on this team. I don't think Scotty Burns is a fraud and, you know, some absolute can't be number one guy. All this that's getting posted around. Yes, the energy is zapped. There's a lot of things. It's more of a critical video than a supporting. I'm not in that camp, but I just don't understand how the team, how how this organized this should be a moment of electricity. We should finally be amped up, ready to go, but this team is too predictable. This team is too predictable.
We go up against the Boston Celtics, you face this team and you just know down the stretch, you know Scotty Burns is going to try to do his thing, take over the game, but you know, he doesn't have that necessary bag against the top tier offensive or sorry, defensive teams in the league to really get his game going. And then the guy that we brought in to be the actual closer because we know how talented Scotty Burns is. I don't care what anyone's saying. There's a lot of Scotty Shay getting through him right now. Scotty's had a fantastic season, but you know, against the top defenses in the NBA, he's not going to consistently be that eight option bucket getter for your squad. He still had eight assists, six rebounds. I thought he played some good defense in this game, all that stuff. But that's what BI is out there on the court for. And I'm constantly making the comparisons of the ideals of this roster. You know, your BI, Scotty Barnes duo being like the Chris Middleton, the Chris Middleton, Yiannis onto Tumbo duo. We know how Chris Middleton used to absolutely just bully and beat up out there on the Celtics. It's one of the biggest memes out there in the NBA. And you know, obviously whatever on on that note, but 15 points, three rebounds, four assists for BI, just not there. Since the All-Star break, BI has had a couple good games, but he has just not been there as the one a scoring option out there on a really competitive team out there in a tough, tough Eastern Conference.
Yes, Jacobe Walter's cool. Yes, Colin Murray Boils is great. Like all those types of things. But the Raptors right now again, the Sixers have lost. The Raptors. It's It's a tight race right now. My standings haven't updated the the Raptor stats. So, we're still tied with the Philadelphia 76ers. So, that is uh one thing to note looking at going into there. So, the Raptors are actually the seven seed. The Sixers are the the six seed, but [sighs] there's no energy from the team. And then I'm seeing it amongst the fan base. Obviously, you know, I I run a Raptors YouTube channel. You I see how the views go and I've been a little bit inconsistent as of late dealing with some other stuff. But like the energy around this team isn't as high. Okay. You know, a bunch of my friends are Raptors fans. And even like passionate Raptors fans, they're not watching. They're they're tuning in to Twitter. They're doing this, you know, they're keeping up. They're text like, "Oh man, the Raptors are trash." E. Like I get those texts like ask me questions about how the team is doing, but like they're not watching. People aren't watching. They tune this team out.
And on paper, we should be on the upswing. Young roster, young team, but this is something that's going to have to be addressed because I understand what's going on and this is migrating beyond a loss to the the Boston Celtics, right? This is migrating beyond anything like that, you know, you but this doesn't seem like there's a lot of movement, a lot of areas for this team to grow. We locked in a giant contract out there with Yaka Purle out there this offseason, this extension. And you know, if he was putting in the 15-10 he was last season, I'd support it. Great. Cool. Great to have Yaka Purle locked down long term. But that's looking really bad. You're locked in there at the center position. He's not even starting the second half. I mean, Colin Murray Boils is already establishing himself as, you know, a natural four, you know, not a true center, as a more valuable piece out there in the front court. Like Neimus Kada was making Yakob Purle his his toy out there on the defensive end. And yes, he had 14 points, seven to nine shooting, but you watch this game, right? And it doesn't feel positive. This wasn't a positive 14 points from Yakapurto. Only two rebounds, just getting absolutely decimated out there on the block. Not good. Not good.
There you have, you know, Emanuel Quickley who's eating up money till 2030. Yo, $30 million. He's not even out there on the basketball court. You have some positives out there in Jacobe Walter, but you know, we've gotten teased by performances like this from Grady Dick. You know, a guy in Grady Dick who can't really get on the court right now for the Toronto Raptors. One minute of action today, he was averaging 17 points per game last season. Like, I get it. It's different. It's different situations, but it feels there's a sense of dejectment. There's not a vision of, hey, where are we going to go from here? And even though this season has been better, has been more exciting, and I'm happy. I'm not rooting for a team that's actively trying to lose these games. It feels like there's a huge portion of the fan base that would rather that be the case. I don't blame them for feeling that way. Like I don't blame people for looking at this team, looking at this roster, not feeling motivated. Not because hey, we got to tank every year if you want any chance. I'm I get it. You know, the if you get a top pick, you get a generational talent and things can turn around. The Raptors, you'd have to s bunt on Scotty Barnes. Have to give up all these different assets we've been accumulating in order to get that point. Teams are egregiously tanking now at this point. So, you know, it it's tough. You can't really be in a position to to tank in the NBA unless we want to really bottom out for years to come. And we already tried that. We rebuilt maybe too fast, whatever.
But I don't know, man. I don't know. The It's just something that they're going to have to figure out because there's no real clear route. I'm not It doesn't make sense to vision. Okay, let's tear it down and be good five years from now. That that seems like a stupid direction to go. But you Bobby Webster, Bobby Webster is going to need to find a way and maybe the Raptors surprise people. Maybe they go on a shocking run. Maybe they do this, maybe they do that. But the the pitchforks have already started out there on this roster, out there on this team. There's a sense of dejectment out there from the fan base. And I know I I want to root for this team. I'm an objectively biased Homer for the Raptors. It's my brand. It's my personality. I'm worse in person than I am on camera, which might sound crazy for people to say, but even I'm struggling to get like super amped up out there for what should be the most exciting stretch of basketball we've had since 22. And I cover it out here every day.
So, Raptors lose the Celtics. Not much analysis there. I just wanted to get more feelings out there on this. But I I want to know what you guys think about this right now. Let me know down below. How confident are you the future of this team? One to 10. Maybe we get some wins coming up this week. It's tough. It's tough. I'm signing out. Cheers.