Recent University of Toronto graduate Kaspar Puley is crazy for basketball. This 6’5” former student who played for the University College intramural team is currently involved in a coed pick-up league twice a week. Puley’s allegiance to basketball is more than recreational. He’s one of a small group of born and bred Torontonians that chooses to watch basketball over all other sports, including hockey. While in university, Puley routinely bought a flexible package of Toronto Raptors season tickets, attending as many games as he could, always cheering for the boys in purple, (or red, or black, or whatever colour the Raptors were wearing that day).
Upon graduating, Puley discovered a great opportunity to teach English in Japan. During his eighteen months in Japan, Puley diligently followed the Raptors through streaming tape-delayed games on his computer. Upon his return to Toronto this past September, Puley was ecstatic to attend games at the Air Canada Centre, and resume following the Raptors on live television. Yet he hasn’t seen a single Raptors game all year, despite being offered all kinds of discounted tickets. During last Monday’s Raptor collapse to the Milwaukee Bucks, Puley had switched over to the Montreal Canadiens game.
Puley still enjoys basketball, and remains loyal to the Raptors, but he finds this year’s team to be dull. “I did not realize how much I would miss T.J. Ford,” he lamented. Ford, the shoot-first point guard, was basically run out of town by Raptor fans that favoured Jose Calderon. “At least Ford brought a little excitement to the team. Nobody on the current team attacks the rim except for Bosh,” said Puley, identifying the biggest problem with this year’s Toronto Raptors—a lack of flair.
The Raptors acquired the troubled and oft-injured Jermaine O’Neal in the offseason, with hopes that teams would back off Bosh, but O’Neal has broken down as advertised. In his absence, Raptors have been forced to use retread big men like Kris Humphries, Jake Voskuhl, and draft bust Joey Graham to attack the middle. Sadly, none bring much of an attack. Last year’s surprise find Jamario Moon has seriously regressed, settling for jump shots. First overall pick Andrea Barganani can drain jumpers but is far too tentative to go to the rim, leaving him vulnerable to aggressive defenders that know he is likely to post up.
Even when O’Neal has been healthy enough to play, the team takes far too many jump shots, and crumbles when trying to protect a lead. Earlier this season, the Raptors led the defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, by double digits in the fourth quarter—in Boston. Rather than defend the lead through hard fouls and double teams, the Raptors let Celtics big man Kevin Garnett go untouched to the basket, and their lead wilted in the process. These games have cost coach Sam Mitchell his job (though it was rumoured that O’Neal may have led the push), and new coach Jay Triano has often seen the same kind of performances.
The Toronto Raptors are not going to win the NBA championship this year. They are unlikely to even make the playoffs. Yet fans and players continue to believe that the season can be salvaged, and look to general manager/former saviour Bryan Colangelo to somehow resuscitate a lost season. Though he cannot drastically improve the team, Colangelo can make the Raptors relevant again. The team’s short history has seen some colourful characters come through Toronto, players like Oliver Miller, Charles Oakley, and young Tracy McGrady.
Former Raptors announcer Chuck Swirsky added a distinct flair to the team, bringing a voice to the Raptors, first on the radio, and later on television. Although some fans found him gimmicky, Swirsky punctuated every Raptors win with his demand to “get out the salami and cheese.” Though no fan faults Swirsky for family obligations that forced him to leave Toronto, Raptors fans blame number 15 for the whining that accompanied the departure of “Air Canada” Vincent Lamar Carter. Though Vince Carter is still public enemy number one, the Raptors fans can thank “Wince” for the only TV exposure that the Raptors received in the United States. Without Carter, there wouldn’t have been the infamous dunk contest, the Raptors would never have played a Christmas Day game, and the team may have gone the way of the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Colangelo must find the next Vince Carter. The ideal candidate to turn around the franchise already has ties to the team. The Toronto Raptors must take a chance on guard Anthony Parker’s talented sister, Candace Parker, the best female basketball player on the planet. Even if CP never gets into a game, the Raptors will instantly become a sensation. If Candace Parker is blown away, and cannot compete at an NBA level, there are plenty of men that would have done the same. Imagine if Candace Parker did manage to contribute to this team. Would there be any way to keep the Toronto Raptors out of the news?
In the event that the Raptors do not want to become leaders in women’s liberation, they cannot continue to field such a boring team. Chris Bosh is nowhere near as marketable as Vince Carter. If the latest rumours are true, and there is a chance that Steve Nash will sign with the Raptors once his contract is over, the fans will push Bosh under the bus in a second. But waiting for Nash is not the answer. The Raptors must do something even more drastic to ensure that in the future, serious fans like Puley do not even consider switching over to the Montreal Canadiens game.
