Nothing Magical Or Surprising About Raptors Loss In Game One
By Walter DubowecThe Raptors' disheartening loss in Game One to Orlando should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.
Those who thought the Raptors could 'magically' hit the "ON switch" at play-off time were nothing more than delusional. Oh sure, the homers have been all over the theory that the Raptors match-up well to Orlando, our point guards are superior, team stats are identical, Raps have more meaningful post season experience, blah, blah, blah ....
Once you cut through all that crap, its a fact that Orlando won 52 games because they are a damn good basketball team. Dwight Howard, Hedo and Rashard are a potent big three who are considerably more skilled than Toronto's top three players.
In the NBA - superior talent wins!
An expected result from an average team
It is also a fact that the Raptors struggled to a mediocre 41 win mark - not as a result of injuries as some might have you believe, but because they are an average team.
A 41-41 record defines 'average' - no way around it. It also wasn't an accident that the Magic held a 2-1 advantage over the Raptors this season.
All season long, realistic observers have been saying the Raps don't have the necessary on-court intensity or mental toughness to win in the play-offs. Their perimeter defence is among the league's worst, they don't rebound well and they are a jump-shooting team who struggles miserably when shots aren't falling.
This afternoon, the average, mentally weak Raptors got mowed down by a very good Orlando Magic team. All the Raptors glaring weaknesses were exposed by Orlando. From uncontested three balls to domination on the boards - the Magic hit Toronto hard.
Now the statistical odds of a Raptor series victory are a meagre 1 in 5. Still possible, but not likely.
The Raps had momentum and then folded like a cheap lawn chair
The pivotal point in this game occured in the 4th quarter. The Raptors had reduced a 24 point Magic lead to only 5 points with 8 minutes left (88-83). The Amway Arena crowd was quiet and the Magic had completely lost their momentum.
It is in situations like this where mentally tough teams pounce on the opposition. They put the hammer down and don't let a staggering opponent get up off the canvas. Of course, all season the Raptors have lacked the killer instinct and this day it was no different.
Instead of making a push to take the lead, the Raptors played like they were a WNBA team and let Orlando go on a rather easy 10-0 run. It was reverse salami and cheese - game over.
And I don't buy the ' they expended so much energy coming back excuse'. Guess what? New Orleans and Utah were able to fight back after being down big time - so it can be done! (EDIT: add Philadelphia to the list as they roared back against Detroit and won!!)
By the way, Orlando's point guard tandem of Nelson and Dooling made TJ Ford and Jose Calderon look like a couple of D-Leaguers.
While the Raptors' chances of moving on to the second round are a long shot, they will be 'zero' if the Raptors can't regroup and win Game Two.
The onus is clearly on the Raptors to come back to the ACC with a split. Otherwise, the series will belong to Orlando.
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