After laying an egg in each of the first two games of their first-round series versus the Washington Wizards—showing vital signs roughly equivalent to that of the leftover ground turkey in your fridge—the Toronto Raptors hit the road Friday staring at the wrong side of history.
Sure, there’s a precedent for the comeback Toronto is attempting, but the odds of the Raps pulling it off are long—really long.
That’s because, as you have likely heard by now, only three teams in the storied history of the National Basketball Association have ever come back after dropping the first two games at home in the playoffs: The Los Angeles Lakers in 1969, the Houston Rockets in 1994 and, most recently, the Dallas Mavericks in 2005.
Looking back on that group it’s hard to ignore one common trait: They all featured all-time greats in starring roles. The Lakers boasted arguably the greatest trio ever in Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain; the Rockets team had the luxury of Hakeem Olajuwon in his prime; and those Mavericks were carried by Vintage Dirk Nowitzki.
That commonality does not appear to extend to the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan has started hot in both games only to cool considerably in the later stages. Meanwhile, Toronto’s lone all-star, Kyle Lowry—the sun this team revolves around—has more fouls than made field goals.
Still, those three teams proved that while it’s improbable, an 0-2 comeback isn’t altogether impossible—something former Raptors point guard and 12-year NBA veteran Mike James knows from experience.
James was part of the 2004-05 Houston Rockets team (a five-seed like the Wizards) that allowed Nowitzki and the Mavs (a four-seed like the Raps) to erase an 0-2 deficit.
“We went into Dallas and we handled our business,” says James, over the phone from his home in Houston, “which was to take away home-court advantage from them.”
So how did things go wrong? To hear James tell it, the Mavs’ comeback had as much—or more—to do with the Houston’s performance than Dallas’s.
“Coming back home after getting it done on the road we were overly confident,” he says. “All we were thinking was ‘We just gotta win one, just gotta win one,’ instead of staying in the moment and focused on what we had to do. Sure enough, Dallas won the next three games against us—two at our house and one back at theirs. Suddenly, we had our backs against the wall.“
Dallas went on to win the series in seven games, while James and the Rockets learned a valuable lesson—one that Toronto fans will hope the Wizards haven’t studied: Don’t count your opponent out until the series is done and dusted.
The Raptors, for their part, are saying all the right things. Coach Dwane Casey is issuing ultimatums to his team (“If you’re not going to Washington to compete, don’t come out to the airport,” he told his players yesterday), while Patrick Patterson stressed the importance of moving the ball like this team does when its at its best, and DeRozan maintained that once he and his team put together a consistent effort over 48 minutes they’ll be fine—as if it wasn’t already too late.
But after watching Toronto’s lifeless performances thus far (particularly in game 2), and the way players like Jonas Valanciunas, Lou Williams and especially Lowry have struggled, the Raptors are making it really difficult to give them a fighting chance on the road.
Much like that Mavericks-Rockets series a decade ago, it’s going to take some combination of the Raptors playing at their apex and the Wizards taking their foot off of the gas pedal for Toronto to make good on their season goal and advance past the first round. Hey, it’s been done before.
So, while a comeback may seem unlikely, the Raptors and their fans can always take their cues from Lloyd Christmas.
There’s still a chance—just don’t hold your breath.
