It is the midway point in the NBA season (the second half of the season starts tonight) and the Toronto Raptors are right where most pundits had put them in the season previews: competitive in the Eastern Conference, but probably not a threat to the big three (Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando).
The big three have since been joined by the Atlanta Hawks, who have graduated to a top echelon team. The Hawks took the experience from last year’s playoff loss to Boston and have exploded this season with the star performances of Josh Smith, Al Horford and sixth man of the year contender Jamal Crawford.
Unfortunately, Toronto hasn’t stepped up the same way Atlanta did when they lost to Orlando in the playoffs last season. Although the Raptors have gotten great performances from Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and their sixth man Jarret Jack, it is still much easier for fans in Toronto to focus on the negatives (the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and Argonauts haven’t really given them a lot to cheer about lately either).
After playing for most of the last decade under defensiv ...
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Article written by Ben Trattner