Robert Gray is a Toronto-area comedy writer and a devoted Raptors fan since day one. He’s been a fan since Walt Williams revolutionized the knee-high sock industry. He once asked Lamond Murray for an autograph in a convenience store and Murray thought he was being sarcastic.
TORONTO— Eleven in a row.
That’s how many consecutive games the Raps have dropped to the Bulls. Like Pavlov’s dog hearing the bell, Chicago players salivate at sound of “Let’s Go Raptors.” No losing streak or slump or even internal-roster-turmoil ever seems to be enough to prevent the Bulls from temporarily pulling themselves together to feast on our Raptors.
To put it simply: The Bulls have been tougher than us. They have bullied us. They’re the Chicago Bullies.
Dwane Casey knows how to deal with bullies.
“We’ve got to face ’em head on,” The Raptors head coach said after shootaround Tuesday morning at the Air Canada Centre. “We have to come with the disposition … that we are ready to fight the battle.”
True, we could face them head on. Or we could do what I used to do when I’d get bullied at school. I’d bring my older, stronger big brother in to scare the crap out of them.
Enter: PJ. Tucker. While incredibly out-spoken on the court, Tucker fielded questions after practice today in front of a small group of reporters with an eerie calm and quiet fortitude. He’s like Liev Schriber in Ray Donovan. The less he says, the tougher he seems.
“I’ll do what I do normally,” said Tucker. “Play good team defense. Communicate. Talk to each other.” When asked if he thought the Bulls were going to find this Raptors team substantially grittier than the last time they met, he replied with a smirk: “Just a little bit.”
There is more good news for the Raptors. Doug McDermott, who inexplicably owns a higher scoring average vs. the Raptors than any other NBA team, was shipped out to Oklahoma City last month. However, if Toronto fans assume that they can now breathe a sigh of relief, Casey reminded reporters that big man Nikola Mirotic and promising youngster Denzel Valentine are more than capable of carrying the torch. “It’s up to us to make sure we make it hard for those guys to get themselves going,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the curious case of Jonas Valanciunas has taken a turn for the better as the lithe Lithuanian has shown definite signs of growth in the last couple weeks. In a ‘chicken or egg’ debate, I asked Casey if he felt that his recent willingness to play Valanciunas in fourth quarters was a result of this newfound confidence, or the cause of it.
“He’s learning. He’s getting better. Lately he’s had match-ups that are favourable,” the coach said. “The hard thing for JV has been guarding those fives that are spacing out to the three-point line. If JV can guard those guys at the three-point line, we’ll get him out there, but if not, we’ll play Serge [Ibaka] or whoever we need to make sure we have the right matchup.”
If that is truly Casey‘s issue with Valanciunas, then JV should see some serious burn tonight. The Bulls might be kings of the paint, but they are bums from behind the arc— currently they sit dead last in the league for three-point shooting percentage.
I think it is high time we gave Chicago a little taste of what it’s like to be bullied. They have no business being so unconcerned with this Raptors roster.
My in-depth-twelve-second-long interview with Jimmy Butler this morning sums up just how the Bulls feel about our Toronto team.
Me: Jimmy, is there anyone on this Raptors team that has a chance of stopping you?
Butler: No.
Me: Thank you for your time.
With Dwyane Wade sitting out with an elbow injury, Doug “Who?” McDermott no longer around, and the Raptors brandishing a new Tucker-toughness, I’d say the stars have finally aligned for a Raptors redemption. Like a gambler on tilt, I am putting all my chips on Toronto to pull this one out.
Eleven in a row?? They’re due!!