Any players from the Raptors.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the omission, as the Raptors lack any real star players that deserve to make it, but it’s still a little disappointing to see the Raptors, no. 5in the East, not represented.
The Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards, who are a combined 26-44, both have players participating. The Pelicans are four games under .500 and two-and-a-half games out of the playoffs in the West, yet they’re sending Zion Williamson to Atlanta.
Again, this is not meant to be a criticism of the All-Star selections. The Raptors had no one on their roster that was deserving (although I suppose if you really squint you could make a case for Fred VanVleet). It’s more of a comment on the flawed view of teams in the NBA.
Amongst social media and other discussions, the Raptors go unmentioned in almost every basketball conversation. They don’t have any big names, and the lack of an All-Star this year confirms this concept.
The Raps win games with team basketball, spreading the ball around and playing good defense. It’s not a sexy way to win games, and it’s not going to get them on any of those annoying sports debate shows where one guy yells about how LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan and the other guys yells about how LeBron always needs help to win championships.
No, the Raptors will continue to play really good basketball and sneak their way into the second round when playoff basketball starts, but no one will talk about it because they’re the Toronto Raptors playing in Tampa, just like no one really talked about the Bucs winning the Super Bowl. No problem. The Raptors take care of business.
And taking care of business is going to get them into the playoffs. That’s all that matters, right?
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This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2021.
