Let’s face the truth.. The city of Toronto never had an amazing basketball franchise. Even when Vince was tearing rims up all across America, we never had a team where you just look at them and understand the beauty of what I like to call… a polished powerhouse. Friday night was a pathetic outing by the Raps against the Boston Celtics. I think at one point the gap was in excess of 40 points and they ended up losing by 38 points. With bosh and Bargnani sitting out by means of injury, it made it very trouble-free for the Celts. It’s funny how our team can’t shine when playing great teams. It has become crystal clear that this current Raptors squad isn’t the final product that Brian Colaneglo envisioned. In fact, it will take one more year at the very least to have an upper echelon force, possibly even two or three. It took the greatest player of all time 6 years before winning an Nba title. And before jumping off the band wagon remember one thing.. after 20 games last season, Toronto’s record was 7 and 13, opposed to the current 11-10…let these two numbers send a soothing stimulation through your blood because if you’re a Toronto Raptors devotee , you must be worried a tad bit. So stop, and try and understand the true meaning of rebuilding, because that’s what the Raps are gradually doing. The Ultimate goal is to create a Polished Powerhouse: A team that wins 80 % of home games, a team with an everlasting fan base, a team that opposing teams prepare heavily for, a team that comes to conquer the nobody or mediocre teams, a team that demonstrates depth game in and game out, a team that seeks two wins in a back to back situation, a team that needs only five off-nights, a team that seeds no less then third in its conference for several years, a team that are serious Conference contenders, a team the effortlessly plays beautiful ball.

Bearing in mind last year the Raps took home the Atlantic Division Title, seeded third in the East, and nearly surpassed New Jersey in the first round of the play offs, this year’s expectations were understandably up to the sky…And that’s dandy, but let’s face it, how deep can this present squad go? I mean I speak too a lot of Toronto faithfulls that actually believe that we can bring the Eastern Conference Trophy home to the country of arctic months and beer-watching hockey…As did I after the first two games ha-ha…but following the past 4 games I’ve come to know a realism. And that realism is that this team is faraway from exceeding expectations. Considering that this is our second year into positive faith, nothing is wrong with being realistic. I guarantee you that these Raptors will win a champion ship before 43 fucking years comes and goes. Stupid Leafs. A levelheaded bar should be set for this team’s ambitions. By the looks of the current East, mainly because of the Celts outburst, a fourth seed isn’t looking to shabby at the moment. Detroit, Orlando, and Boston are the big contenders, unless of course, a superstar is injured, and if so.. that team is fucked harder then Mayara Rodriugues.. Which would be so awesome. Our existing team is currently in a respectable fourth seed. Ponder that for a jiffy. I think it’s a fabulous seed with Bosh’s laboring injuries, and Barg’s lack of passion. Now that the Culture of Toronto has changed and allowed basketball to be a part of it, and we’ve established a realistic goal for this season, Raptor representatives must tackle the following task of piecing together a polished powerhouse. Mr. Colangelo’s crafty Resume speaks for its self….The Phoenix Suns.

To explain why the Raps lost Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns is merely a waste of time. However I will acknowledge the gifted. The Phoenix Suns are too superior of a team ..it’s that simple. They’ve had all the right pieces for a very long time and are flirting with the boundaries of Championess.

Just to name a few reasons why:
Amari Staudamire
Leandro Barboso
Raja Bell
Sean Marion
Grant Hill
Boris Deyow
Last but definitely not least, Steve Nash.

These athletes uniquely bring something diverse to the table and can all arguably be all stars. In fact, each one of them has a place in the all star ballet. In Many ways the raps are always compared to the Suns in terms of style of play. After all it was Bryan who pieced the perfect puzzle together and ultimately played a major role in what they are today. In my opinion, the Suns and Raps are alike in numerous ways; We have an inside presence similar to Amari, who when healthy can play good basketball with the best of them.(Cris Bosh). We have several three point threats as do the suns. (Parker, Delfino, Kapono.) We have a gut-throat defender with three point range( Anthony Parker), whom reminds me of Raja Bell. Jamario Moon is tremendously athletic the same way Sean Marion is. We have a generous point guard who also is a constant student of the game. (Jose Calderon). However, with all the similarities, these two teams are different in many forms. The Raps are more defensively sound. A permanent top 5 has yet to be established in Toronto. Our teammates are far from caring for one another the way the Suns naturally do. Also, there are many ifs and buts…many holes that need to be filled.

The power of a talented goup on the same page is unique, not necessarily a winning positive, but a positive that real basketball fans appreciate. I’ve watched the duo of Shaq and Kobe, Stockton and Malone, the trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli, I’ve even seen M.J. and the Bulls. In over a decade of watching basketball, I’ve never seen a team play as effortless as the Suns top five play. Perhaps at this instant, you’re thinking “What? What about Jordan and the Bulls?! He was a one-man scoring machine, let’s face it. Without him, the rest could never..and I mean never win anything. The power and influence of a 5 man unit is incredible. Sure the Phoenix Suns haven’t surpassed that hump in the playoffs, but I’m telling you these players have championship written all over their faces. If basketball was a beauty contest, they’d conquer with tens. It’s similar to the recent World Cup, Brazil always put on a show and play the most attractive football, but failed to even reach the finals. At one point during that Wednesday night game, the Suns’ ball movement was so paramount, I ought to admit, I was transfixed. I was so pleased just so see how beautiful they can play, that I almost started to root for them so they wouldn’t stop playing beautifully, as they say in football.. Joga Bonito! (play nice) It was as if the ball had a mind of its own. From inside to the perimeter, to the pockets back to the inside and so fourth. Constant movement of al the players and the ball is a huge element of their success and should be something Toronto should work towards. The opportunities created for pretty much every last player on the court, were perpetual. I completely disregarded the 20 point lashing they were giving the raps. All I could do was appreciate watching the basketball these gentlemen play man. The Phoenix Suns, in my eyes, are parallel.. to a combination of Giants and abnormal creatures going to war with Professor Dumbledore at the point leading and creating magically. Their style is incomparable and is an incredible joy to watch..I give you the Brazil of the Nba.

As of this last week, I begin to understand the true essence of rebuilding. You probably have noticed two different players who uniquely bring their respective abilities to this team: Delfino and Kapono. This brilliant move adds a bit of depth onto the already deepened bench, and will eventually provide Brian Colangelo with more trading power. The Toronto Raptor association has their work cut out for them… I wouldn’t be too surprised if this off season, a major trade takes place. A gut-feeling predicts that Bargnani will be traded along with one or two more players depending on whom precisely we’ll be getting in return. We definitely have enough shooting power, thus it would be intelligent to obtain another inside presence. Mind you that options for a big man aren’t limited so expect next summer to be a little frenzied.

In all likelihood this group will fashion the colour red next season:
Chris Bosh
TJ Ford
Jose Calderon
Anthony Parker
Chris Humpries
Carlos Delfino
Jason Kapono
And maybe Moon..

Andea Barnani isn’t anything special, I’m pretty sure they chose him number one over all in the draft because his ethnicity, sincerely, he’s an amazing marketing tool for this club. And if you look at his over all game, it is nothing compared to Drik Nowitski or even the Chinese rokkie Yi. He isn’t a good post player, and makes awful decisions in terms of knowing when to drive and when to shoot. I think I’ve discovered the main reason for his lack of inside game. You might laugh at me but I strongly believe in this. His feet are disgustingly massive and his legs are like fucking tree trunks, which is understandable for a 7 footer. But I often compare to resembling 7-footers, like Dirk Nowitski and Yi Jianlian, these guys have extremely small feet for 7-footers. Which allows them to move around gracefully.. particularly inside the paint. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that if one’s foot is too large, it can affect jumping ability. Now every time Barngani touches the ball, I tent to look at his feet instead of the ball. It’s a nasty habit that I will drop the moment Bargs fills the net with 30 points in a single game.