DNB Top 10: Reasons You Remain A Raptor Fan

As you might have noticed were attempting to make some changes with the DNB. It has always been the goal to be not just words on a page but to do more things in terms of audio like the Starting 5 and in terms of video. Things like the DNB Game in Picutres and DNB Top 10 are just the beginning of what we hope will be a much more multi-media DNB for all. We hope you both enjoy and support these changes. So with that here is the DNB Top 10 in video form:



Hopefully you will enjoy things as we slowly change the Dino Nation Blog into a multi-media platform for all your Raptors info and fun. So please if you like this video go on YouTube and like it. It can help us build are audience for the DNB. Also if you don't like our Top 10 and have your own reason(s) why you remain loyal feel free to share them in the comments if you like.

"NBAz in 7 Dayz"

"It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. And never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant". - Bishop Desmond Tutu. I was at the ACC last night, ready to enjoy what the Raptors and Jazz had to offer. I heard the heights of ultimate cheering and praise for our men in red and white. I also heard the boos and verbal jeers toward a few calls (the referees were a different breed last night). But this isn't what struck me. What struck me was a "this team sucks" piercing through the air during the fourth quarter. This team doesn't suck. Whatever system they are using or decisions made to generate wins clearly did not work for them this season. That is the difference. I think it is hypocritical to cheer and show praise one minute and verbally abuse your 'so-called team' the next. Sure, be upset your team blew a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter. As a fan you have every right to be upset. But unless you are able to school the likes of Demar DeRozan, Leandro Barbosa or even Reggie Evans all on your own, you are not in a position to proclaim the level of talent a team has, especially in such an ignorant way. I read tweets from self proclaimed Raptors fans announcing they are jumping ship and supporting another team from now on based on what they have seen so far this season. This is a real shame. Despite the Raptors not finishing the game in their favour, I had a really good time. Besides the game, there were many ways I was entertained - especially the Raptors Dance Pak. They were so positive and energetic it made me want to scoop their workout regimen so I may raise my own level of athleticism. Aside from the company of one of my best friends Dave, the highlight of the night for me was when I saw an adult fan go ape crazy for a free t-shirt, pause to look at it and promptly shuffle it forward a few rows to an unsuspecting 5 year-old. Now if only the jaded fans in attendance Thursday night could have shown the same kind of compassion for the Toronto Raptors. Please be clear I am not saying Raptors fans have no right to be frustrated their team did not make the playoffs for one reason or another. I am asking you to direct said frustration to the right place and see the bigger picture.

Speaking of Playoffs...

NBA All-Star Weekend? Done. NBA Trade Deadline? Done and Done. The only thing left to look forward to now on your professional basketball calendar are the playoffs. Last year, the DNB staff made their picks and gave their individual reasons for their choices. As you may remember, I chose the Los Angeles Lakers to go all the way and I do so again this year. I realize Boston, Chicago and San Antonio are the only teams to clinch a playoff spot so far but I never go with the top teams unless I am confident they have shown they know how to win AND lose. San Antonio has bulldozed through most of the league at this point with a 52-12 record but ask yourself have they lost major games they should have won? How did they bounce back? This is the most important skill to have going into the playoffs since we all know this is the time for surprises and upsets. When the Lakers fell to the Cavs 104-99 on February 16th, even Magic Johnson was trash talking his former club for losing to the worst team in the league. I remained confident they would pull through and so did Lakers management since no changes were made to L.A.'s roster close to the deadline - not even the rumoured Ron Artest trade.

Fast forward to today. The Lakers are now showing their championship contending qualities and posting an 8 game win streak since the All-Star break. Tonight they play the Heat and are poised to stretch their win streak to nine. The Miami Heat have not shown - at least recently - they are able to handle the pressure and bounce back from adversity. The Lakers have. Having said this, if we were to toss the remainder of the season and start the 2011 'Battle Royale' for NBA supremacy right now, here are my match -ups:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1, 8) Boston Celtics - Indiana Pacers - BOSTON
(4, 5) Orlando Magic - Atlanta Hawks - ORLANDO
(3, 6) Miami Heat - New York Knicks - NEW YORK
(2, 7) Chicago Bulls - Philadelphia 76ers - CHICAGO

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1, 8) San Antonio Spurs - Memphis Grizzlies - SAN ANTONIO
(4, 5) Oklahoma City Thunder - Denver Nuggets - OKLAHOMA CITY
(3, 6) Los Angeles Lakers - Portland Trail Blazers - LOS ANGELES
(2, 7) Dallas Mavericks - New Orleans Hornets - DALLAS

Think about this over the weekend. When you join me on Tuesday for more "NBAz in 7 Dayz", I will give you my reasons and fill in the rest. Thank-you for joining me today. As always I welcome your comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming by following me on Twitter (ddegraauw) and Facebook (Danielle de Graauw). Have a great weekend.

DNB @ Fan Jam

Today is the start of a new season for the Toronto Raptors. I was down at Fan Jam and talked with a lot of fans and asked them basic questions. 1. What are you most excited about for this Raptor Season and 2. What are you most fearful about for this Raptor season. There is also some stuff with Akil Augustine from NBA TV Canada and Kat and Candice from your Dance Pac on the actual event from Sunday. Like I have been saying on Twitter it was a fun event and had a great time talking with Raptor fans. This worked out well and I can see us try something like this more then a few more times throughout the season. So have a listen to all the folks we talked with at Fan Jam.



Tonight is as mentioned is the start of another NBA season for the Toronto Raptors. It also is the start for me doing basketball for another season on The Score.com and Score Mobile. I will be there probably about 20 minutes before the tip and you can join me with this link. Or hit up the Score.com or Score Mobile. I love live blogging all the sports I do for The Score but there is nothing more fun for me then Raptor games. That is in part, because of all the great Raps fans that make the halftime and during the game fly by with all of their comments. I am going be at the ACC Friday on a secret mission for DNB Fans so I won't be covering it, but more info on that as it becomes available. For now a new season is here and ready to get it rolling. Thanks also one more time to Myck Kabongo for helping out with our NBA preview. He is a nice young man and I look forward to cheering him on down at Texas next season with his fellow Canadians Thompson and Joseph who start their freshman seasons at Texas this year.

So the time for talking from me and for you is over. It is time to see what happens when the lights come on for the Toronto Raptors this season.

Bring Back Summer All-Star Game To T-Dot

I normally take the weekend and just chill out in the summer months. But something got on my mind, and I decided to get to typing. I have referred a few times to back in the day when I use to cover the Vince Carter Charity games in Toronto. I got to meet a number of NBA Players at them and they were a lot of fun. Vince takes a lot of heat for what he did wrong in Toronto but this is something he did right. To sellout the ACC for what amounts to a bunch of pro players playing in a pick-up game is an impressive feat. I remember the one year Shawn Marion dropped 50 in the game and seriously could not miss. All of the money from it went to charity and it was a highly successful event. Vince was able to attract a good crowd of folks to come for the game because it would always be held on this weekend to tie it in with Caribana.

So this is me throwing it out to the Dino Nation, To All Raptor Fans and to Chris Bosh to make this cool event come back. If Chris can get LBJ to come to his party in T.O. Why not have him through down a few dunks for a good cause at the A.C.C as well. I know any Raptor that has every been, all know about Caribana and love the event. In fact forget just ex-raptors the NBA at large knows about it.

So if you want to see a summer time charity game again let's hear it. In fact don't just tell me but tell @chrisbosh on Twitter. Steve Nash had picked up the game for a few years and tried to move it out west and it pretty much died off. I say it is time to bring it back. I understand that this year with the renovations and construction around the A.C.C it would not have been possible. But next year it would be. If things work out right Chris can sign his new contract to remain a Raptor at halftime. That alone would fill the A.C.C would it not?

So am I the only one who misses this short lived summer tradition in Toronto? Let's bring it back. If raptor fans support it and Chris Bosh is willing to back it I am sure it can be just as successful as Vince's games use to be. It could help support a worthy cause as well be it Bosh's foundation or whatever he would like to see benefit from it. So what do you say Chris Bosh and Raptor fans are you down with me on this?

Raptors Mission Impossible

Well after a day of putting out fires off the court the Raptors get back at it on the court. Yesterday we saw firm denials from both Bryan Colangelo and Chris Bosh of the Stephen A Smith story. Mr. Smith meanwhile could not be reached for comment as he was sick in bed with the flu. I think it is safe to say he will not be getting any get well soon cards from anyone connected to the Raptors. The focus now shifts to a near impossible task of playing Lebron James and Kobe Bryant on back to back nights. In case you missed in Kobe set an MSG record scoring 61 points the last night. I am sure some Raptor fans will fear the worst when he hits the ACC floor to take on the Raptors tomorrow. But before you worry about that the concern is the current front runner for M.V.P Lebron James. The King has had a season for the ages and has really been dominate on both ends of the floor. The addition of Mo Williams has been a pretty nice one for Cleveland. So nice a lot of folks were giving him high consideration for the All Star Game. The Cavs have battled through some injury issues to a few players and have not missed a beat. You might say that this mission impossible title of this blog was unfair. Well when you consider Cleveland is perfect on their home floor this season I think impossible is the exact right term. Even if the Raptors were on a roll, I would not like their chances. They are not though and have struggled the last two games. Some folks have questioned the teams heart and desire and think they have quit. To say a team has quit is a serious charge to make. I'm not sure if quit is the right way to put what we have seen the last 2 games. I watched the Kings play last week and that is a team that has quit clearly. The Raptors show some signs of that but are not to that point in my view. They just seem to reach points in games where through their own choices on offense they get discouraged. It will lead to a bad quarter or section of a game that the Raptors can not recover from. This game could be one that could get away early if the Raptors do not make the jump shots that they will not doubt fire up. Cleveland has an advantage on the glass and is aggressive at challenging passing lanes. The last time the Raps played Cleveland early on it was a steal and dunk a thon for the Cavs.

Mathematically Alive But Logically Dead

Let's face the reality here. The Raptors are 1n 14th place in the East and there are only 8 teams that make the playoffs. So 14-8= 6, as in 6 teams that have to out perform down the last 3 months of season. If the groundhog was in the playoff prediction business, I think it would mean if he saw his shadow a long off season is ahead. Happy belated Groundhog Day by the way. I hope you had a special one. So with out factoring in games behind just the challenge of out performing 6 teams seems highly unlikely. The Raptors favourable schedule that lies ahead in March and April is not going to be enough. Besides you need to be able to take advantage of that schedule as well. The Raptors have not proved to be that great of a home team this season. The growing anger and booing at the ACC is not likely to do much to change that. When players from the other team comment about it you know it is bad. I support people in their right to boo when the team does not perform. However here is something to consider. If other players are making note of that maybe that is not exactly a selling point when the Raptors look to bring in free agents. Getting booed by 19,000 plus Canadians may not make the most attractive sales pitch for free agents. Sorry, I got side tracked but that was a point worth making. So, when you combine the Raptors lack of home court success with a lack of ability to string wins together. It makes the reality pretty clear for this basketball team. I am not convinced a Bryan Colangelo trade can suddenly change this team to a level that the identity of it dramatically changes. The motivation to make the playoffs and only face a next to impossible task of beating a Boston, Cleveland or Orlando is not exactly motivating for most. I try my best to be positive about the Raptors but I refuse to be unrealistic about them. Reality is screaming that this team has a far more realistic path to the NBA Lottery and not the NBA Playoffs.

Fans Turning On CB4

I am really kind of disgusted at how little it has taken for some fans to turn their backs on Chris Bosh. I had one person leave a comment that was not fit for print. I am sure many sites had the same type of comments. You would think that Bosh himself had said that he talked with Colangelo and requested a trade. That is not what happened though. A guy with a spot willed resume of being right and wrong made a claim. Have you bothered to notice that Stephen A Smith's career is not exactly on the rise? The fact that he may just need all the attention that he got from the comments he made? I did not. In addition I have not forgot all that Chris Bosh has done in his collective time here. Even this season it is not like he has been a horrible player by any means. He was voted to the All Star game by the rest of the coaches in the Eastern Conference if you need proof. People have once again jumped the gun and started to hate a guy that really has not done anything wrong. Last year T.J Ford became the target of fan anger and rage. Maybe enough is enough. There are guys on this roster that deserve to be held to task. I am not saying Bosh should not be accountable. However to judge a guy who has done little wrong in his time in Toronto both on and off the floor so harsh in a time that he will be thinking about his future staying here is wrong and honestly pretty dumb. If Bosh leaves he will catch all of the blame. He may replace Vince Carter as the most hated Ex-Raptor. However the way fans have acted is part of the choice. It may be a small one. However it is part of it. I am not turning on Chris Bosh when he has not turned on me. If he does down the line I will deal with that when and if it happens. The posts I have read in various places quite frankly disappoint me greatly. I can not imagine what it would feel like for Bosh or someone close to him. Sure he makes a ton of money he has a great life and all of that. It does not change the fact he is human and that to have people saying those kind of things about you can not do much good for you. Chris once said he wanted to be part of the making things work in Toronto. Maybe it is time for fans to try and do the same. But when you factor in the TSN 2 stuff and the failure to meet expectations and the entire make up of this season, that may be a even greater mission impossible as opposed to a win over the Cavs or Lakers.

So when all is said and done this is going to be a Raptor season to forget. However maybe it should not be. I think everyone from Bryan Colangelo to the media to fans should learn something from all that has gone on. This is not something that anyone cares to repeat. A good start to getting things set right would be to get this TSN 2 mess behind us. Granted the way the team is playing it is going to make the people in suits that say no one watches look right. But even they are smarter enough to know they will have played a role as long as the teams lack of performance. That me be to optimistic cause this are the same people that have seen a hockey team that has been terrible for years draw ratings consistently. However the Raptor fan deserves and wants more from the franchise they support. I dig that about Raptor Fans. I just sometimes do not agree with the method some go about it. Still if you care about the Raptors and basketball you will always be welcome here.

Raptors Drama Is Starting To Get Serious

So If you have been under a rock you may have missed that Stephen A Smith is saying Bosh has told Colangelo he is leaving in 2010. I consider the source of this info so do I take it seriously? Not really but that being said once a ball starts rolling down a hill it can start moving faster and faster. The Toronto crowd yesterday was less than kind to the Raptors and Bosh. Who can blame them though given the performance that they paid to watch was far from worth the cash. Bosh is still getting paid for yesterday as is everyone else. Fans don't get a rebate on the money they paid out. In this tough economy to put out the money it costs for a Raptor game you expect to get value for it. Fans were not happy with that value and expressed that.

I think it was about a week ago when I said if Bosh leaves I am done cheering for players on this team. I mean it as well. I am going to treat the Toronto Raptors as I would my Michigan Wolverines or some other college programs that I support. It is not a statement by me saying the Raptors are playing to a level of a college team. I mean they are playing bad but I don't think it is to the level of an NCAA team being able to beat the Raptors or anything. Just that I can not have any faith or belief that anyone is here for the long term. Why invest in players if they are not as loyal to the team as I am to them. It doesn't make a lot of sense. So I will cheer for the Toronto or Raptors on the front of the jersey. The numbers are just to identify the different players and the names on the back of the jersey mean nothing.

It is really starting to get out of control with all the losing and rumours that are flying around this team. It all means bad things for the Raptors moving forward. It seems that up to the trade deadline is going to be crazy times around the Raptors. The schedule offers no form of relief. Cleveland and the Lakers back to back. The cherry on this sundae that Laker game in on TSN 2. Oh Joy. It sometimes is a painful life as a Raptor fan isn't it?

Colangelo Says Stephen A Is Wrong- Update Noon Monday

Michael Grange has got reaction from Bryan Colangelo on the ESPN comments of Stephen A Smith. Colangelo says the story is a fabrication.

Globe and Mail Story With Colangelo Reaction.

Bad Day, Bad Data , Season Looks Doomed

I guess this is no shock. Jalen Rose was shooting off his mouth it only goes to figure that Stephen A Smith felt the need to up the ante on the whole Chris Bosh story about 2010. Stephen A Smith who you will recall insulted Bosh last year and made some rather less than kind comments about him. In other words I am sure he is super tight with Bosh. Hell I may be tighter with Bosh and we have never spoke a word to each other or have met one another in life. We are facebook friends and follow each others twitters. Something tells me Stephen A Smith would get rejected by Bosh. So having said all of this the ESPN so called Insider, or whatever they are calling him this week, claims that Bosh has told Colangelo he is gone in 2010. The real shame is there is not a story about Stephen A going somewhere in 2010. Like to cover basketball in Iceland. But as Smith reports if you can call it that. He says that both Miami and Dallas have interest in Bosh. Heck Stephen A why not make up 5 other teams that want Bosh as well. I mean Phil Jackson was fined for saying he liked Bosh so add the Lakers. Orlando I am sure would love a front court of Bosh and Howard. Houston is not that far from Dallas why not say that a Bosh for T-Mac trade is being talked about? Go all the way. That will teach Jalen Rose for stealing your bit of being a no nothing idiot, in my opinion and I would venture to say I am not alone. Smith did say he did not see Colangelo moving Bosh at the deadline. Which makes total sense because why would he say that he would. Smith could be made to look like a jacka$$ when the trade didn't happen so way to cover that butt Stephen A Smith another great job. The guys at Raptors Republic have the full story and the video of Smith saying his words of wisdom.

As For The Game Today....

I am probably just as angry about that. I mean if you read this morning it is not like I expected the Raptors to win or anything. However the effort of this team was truly brutal in the second half. I mean were that worried they might be late for their Super Bowl party and wanted to make sure this game would not go to overtime? I think the 20+ point Magic win we were certain that was not going to happen after less than a minute into the second half. Here is a link to my live blog for The Score and you can read my thoughts on the game and a number of issues.

I have no doubt Chris Bosh is angry and he should be. First and foremost his own play was not to the level that he expects from himself. His team around him was pretty awful as well. News that Jose Calderon is still not right with his hamstring it just has all the makings of what Bosh did not want to hear a few weeks ago. A lost season. I can not really come up with anything to say to dispute that it is not.

It was a very angry crowd at the ACC today as well. They booed and did it loudly and with just cause. I understand that Bosh and others have suggested that fans should not boo and it serves no purpose. However I share in common a love of the Dallas Cowboys with Chris Bosh. In the last game ever at Texas Stadium the Cowboys were booed off the field for a terrible performance against the Baltimore Ravens. I don't hear anyone in the NFL saying Dallas Cowboy fans are bad. They like Raptor fans just expected and demanded more effort from the team they love. So here is an idea don't complain about the people booing just do what you can to change it. I admit that I have no idea what it feels like to be booed by 19,000 people. I am sure it feels awful. If it happened to me though I would bust my butt to make sure it never happened again.

The focus of Bryan Colangelo and this fan base is rapidly going to shift to next season. It is time for the people on this roster to show if they want to be part of the future in Toronto or not. I am not just talking about Bosh and 2010. I am talking about every player on this roster. I really don't anyone on this roster should be untouchable at this point beyond Bosh and that is based on thinking Stephen A Smith is wrong which I am confident he is. I would want to know what each and ever player is worth. It is not to say I would trade a Bargnani or Calderon but I would at least want a idea what they are worth.

The only thing I am clear about as this is the start of February. It is going to be a long 3 months in Raptorland. This was far from what was advertised at the start of the season.