Toronto Raptors Are Magically Knocked Out in Orlando

For the second year in a row, the Toronto Raptors have been eliminated in early fashion by a team they wanted to match up against in the playoffs and thought they could have beaten. 

This was truly the dream match up for Toronto fans. It was Orlando instead of Boston or Detroit. I was at a bar in Toronto when the Cavaliers beat the 76ers on the second last game of the season to make Toronto Clinch sixth place.

The roar that went up when those two free throws were hit was invigorating. As a Raptors fan, I felt like, YES, MAYBE we can make it out of the first round this year.

Oh how I was mistaken. After that first game in Orlando, anyone who watched it could see that the presence of Dwight Howard was going to be the deciding factor in this series.

As a blind Raptors Fan, I did not see how completely hopeless the series was. A smart (non-biased) analyst would have seen that the Raptors had absolutely no chance, but I, being from Toronto, thought otherwise.

That aside, the series was over before it began. Toronto would need much more than two good point guards in T.J Ford and Jose Calderon and a franchise of a power forward in Chris Bosh.

They needed someone who could run into all 6'11"(2.11m), 265 pounds of Dwight Howard. They seriously lacked this, as no one would cover or even contest Dwight for rebounds or jams. Chris Bosh is an outstanding player, but the extra 35-40 pounds of muscle that Dwight has over CB4 means a lot.

Rasho Nesterovich is another big Raptor who had absolutely no chance of doing anything against Howard. Boston and Detroit aren't looking so bad right now, as they are both tied 2-2 in their series.

This absolute domination does not mean that Orlando is monumentally better than Toronto. It simply means that the lack of a dominant center means so much in the NBA.

Toronto has got a lot of talent, and the playoff performance over the last two years should prompt Bryan Colangelo, the GM for the Raptors, to seriously think about some moves maybe in the summer.

I have not forgotten about Jorge Garbajosa who when healthy will be a beneficial return to the team, and his big 6'9", 245-pound frame provides some size for the very small, very thin Raptors. Garbo is only a forward though, and at 6'9", he is not a center.

So what to do in Toronto?   

There is only one thing to do: get a presence under that rim. Portland will be among the, or possibly the best in the west in the upcoming years.

Why? Because they are essentially the 05/06 Raptors of the West, except with a bit less luck and more talent then that 05/06 Raptor team.

Portland has got the brightest Future in the NBA in my opinion. If Greg Oden is as healthy and strong as he was in his Ohio State days, he will be a star in the NBA.

The set of Oden, Roy and Aldridge is a dynasty in the making. Throw Travis Outlaw, Jarrett Jack, and Joel Pryzbilla into the mix and that dynasty will last and have some depth. If these players keep on growing and learning, the Trailblazers will be one of the elite in the West.

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