A Little Perspective in This Painful Time

[Nilanka]

This is what I'm saying...what do you do when a man spins the ball likes its a free throw and takes a 3 in front of your face? what do you when he does an alley oop off the glass in a PLAYOFF game? what do you do when he stares your bench down? Do you let him do that or the next time he runs into the paint thinking it's a freebie you knock his ass to the ground and make him think twice next time he does it?

I've played sports all my life as well all the way to college level. One thing I've learned growing up is you don't let no one punk you for your lunch money. No matter how much more skill or more physical talent a player possesses over you, you get up in their face and let em know it ain't gunna be easy.

I agree with you, but in today's game, that hard foul on LeBron is a double-tech, ejection, and suspension. lol.

[golden]

The title of this thread sounds like it was written by a funeral parlor director. lol.

[Deems]

I agree with you, but in today's game, that hard foul on LeBron is a double-tech, ejection, and suspension. lol.

Make it look like you're going for the ball and it'll be a flagrant 1 hopefully. I'd take that lol.

[Scraptor]

Hahahaha you guys still feel things?

I have been dead inside for years thanks to the Raptors.

[Just Is]

Hahahaha you guys still feel things?

I have been dead inside for years thanks to the Raptors.

That Washington series was the lowest I've felt as a Raptor fan outside of some year's I've mentally blocked out for whatever reason.

This is nowhere near that.

[The Great One]

First off - yes this sucks. LOL
But given all the negativity, regardless of where you stand as a fan, a less jaded way to look at things might help.

1. Remember when it was Jordan's NBA? If you're too young to remember - it looks like the James years - BUT worse, because of no cap, and Jordan's teams being so so much better then the rest of the league.
2. This isn't embarrassing. Embarrassing is 18 years (era before this run) of:

• 13 seasons of sub-500 records
• Being legitimately a punching bag in the NBA
• Bad coaching
• Bad GM
• Bad front office
• Praying a player doesn't bolt in free agency
• Watching us overpay for NBA has-beens to surround a player that has stayed
• Having 2 future HOF'ers - on the same team. At the same time. About to go into their primes. And losing that!! Because of all of the above. Swallow hard on that - that potential team had dynasty written all over it. With both players admitting they f'ed that up in leaving. They were young, and made terrible personal/professional decisions. But that's exactly what young kids do. It was on the organization to put pieces in place to mitigate that. They BOTH grew up properly elsewhere. With Vince particularly growing into a man. Yep - swallow hard.
• Draft Bust after Draft Bust
• Having the draft lottery be the high water mark of your season
• And on And on And on

3. This is what happens when you expect/hope something. Expecting something really really badly and it gets dashed. Point 1 makes it harder to take.

BUT - this isn't embarrassing. I'll take years of this. Years of turning this franchise into one with respectability.

Every fan base felt like this against Jordan. In recent years everyone not named Spurs and Warriors have felt like this against James. And remember; the 70 win Warriors suffered at the hands of this guy. With the greatest choke job in the history of the NBA! That's embarrassing!! We've JUST ascended to this point as a franchise and people want to go back to what we were for 18 years of our existence. F that. Blow it up??? GTFO with that!

Even getting crushed by James in round 2 is better then everything we've had to endure. And frankly there's always a chance. See the Rockets B2B when Jordan wasn't around (and why he wasn't around). You just never know what happens.

Finally: we don't have a history. A legacy. Of ANY kind. We were #ClippersNorth. Maybe let's establish something before we go acting like anyone is coming here with us as a losing team and cap space. How's that working out for the Lakers? Knicks? Legacy franchises throwing around money and not getting the guys they want. And you think people will WANT to come here because we have cap space (if we're rebuilding)???

Get a fresh (good!!!) coach. See what happens. Keep the ship moving forward. IF the team still seems like they're going up hill, and you want to throw in the towel, you can always trade assets off a 50-win regular season team for serious prospects. Most franchises would kill for continued 50 win seasons. Every one one of your assets look better off a winning team. See: Powell, Norman, Ibaka, Serge as what you can get for a player coming from a winning program.

Good post.

[Zing79]

I agree with you, but in today's game, that hard foul on LeBron is a double-tech, ejection, and suspension. lol.

THIS!

Don't get it twisted. I WANT someone to coldcock him like a b**ch. I was screaming for it. But the league has rules meant to curb that kind of thing

[Zing79]

LOL
The struggle is real.

Do not want any part of the making me dead inside years please.

[Scraptor]

That Washington series was the lowest I've felt as a Raptor fan outside of some year's I've mentally blocked out for whatever reason.

This is nowhere near that.

That was the bullet that finished me. Now I am zombie Scraptor. I get to enjoy a few scraps of brains here and there (like the Bucks series) but I know we are still so far away from a championship that it's better not to get my hopes up.

[livan33]

THIS!

Don't get it twisted. I WANT someone to coldcock him like a b**ch. I was screaming for it. But the league has rules meant to curb that kind of thing

I think both sides are making good points in this discussion. I think the embarrassing part is not that we are losing by a large number because, as you pointed out, LeBron is an all time great (as much as it pains me to say that) and they are shooting the lights out.

The embarrassing part is that LeBron is an arrogant prick that is shitting all over us with no repercussions. I get the rules have changed. I get that it likely means an ejection and possible suspension. What I don't get is why part way through the 3rd quarter when you are down 25 you don't put in one of the rooks that isn't going to impact the series and say "the next time LeBron comes in the paint you put him in the 5th row. We will pay your fine."

[Zing79]

I think both sides are making good points in this discussion. I think the embarrassing part is not that we are losing by a large number because, as you pointed out, LeBron is an all time great (as much as it pains me to say that) and they are shooting the lights out.

The embarrassing part is that LeBron is an arrogant prick that is shitting all over us with no repercussions. I get the rules have changed. I get that it likely means an ejection and possible suspension. What I don't get is why part way through the 3rd quarter when you are down 25 you don't put in one of the rooks that isn't going to impact the series and say "the next time LeBron comes in the paint you put him in the 5th row. We will pay your fine."

Trust me. We both want the same thing LOL
Basketball in general has an obscene amount of mean-mugging that disrespects other players. Which makes this even more annoying. I see it at least once a game in ALL NBA games. It's just part of the culture those players accept. THEY don't take it too personally. We as fans who watch other sports on the other hand? See nothing but punishment given out for a Mean-Mug, and can't understand why this flies in Basketball.

Hockey will give you a punch to the face for your troubles
Baseball will give you a pitch to the thigh
Even the NFL will penalize you for the Mean-Mug. And your coach is going to bury you to the bench for the 15 yard penalty

It's infuriating. But it's the culture within the game and guys just accept it. I don't, but it's not my normal LOL

[S.R.]

Hahahaha you guys still feel things?

I have been dead inside for years thanks to the Raptors.

Lmao. It's all coming back to me now...

[Deems]

Oh how times have changed... This would be the antidote for LeBron lol

[Zing79]

Oh how times have changed... This would be the antidote for LeBron lol

/want
/can't have
LOL

[Zing79]

This is what I'm saying...what do you do when a man spins the ball likes its a free throw and takes a 3 in front of your face? what do you when he does an alley oop off the glass in a PLAYOFF game? what do you do when he stares your bench down? Do you let him do that or the next time he runs into the paint thinking it's a freebie you knock his ass to the ground and make him think twice next time he does it?

I've played sports all my life as well all the way to college level. One thing I've learned growing up is you don't let no one punk you for your lunch money. No matter how much more skill or more physical talent a player possesses over you, you get up in their face and let em know it ain't gunna be easy.

Even though we all said, "we can't do this in today's NBA" ... Did you watch the Celtics/Wizards game? Wiz "sent someone over the boards" just to get an auto ejection LOL
(There's Hope)