O Canada, it’s time for a Toronto Raptors championship

With the Eastern Conference Semifinals underway, here are some thoughts on why the Toronto Raptors are in need of some respect from the basketball world

As a sports fan this time of year, my attention is tuned in almost exclusively to the NBA Playoffs, but I will also keep a close eye on the happenings of the Stanley Cup playoffs too. Part of that is my Canadian upbringing.

Growing up, I learned that there are two major institutions in the province of Quebec, the Catholic Church, and the Montreal Canadiens. I believe the latter has a larger fan base.

I am usually reminded that the last time a Canadian based team won the Stanley Cup, it was 1993. My beloved bleu, blanc et rouge (blue, white and red) celebrated the last championship captured on Canadian soil.

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Later that fall, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was the second of back-to-back championships for the Jays and it was a proud moment in Canadian sports history.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the last Canadian team to be eliminated in the first round of this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, signifying they’ll be no parade north of the border, again!!

Coupled with the fact that the Blue Jays are nothing special this season, and CFL teams can’t win the Super Bowl, this will make 26 years without any champion in any of the four major North American sports.

But wait, Canada! Before we add one more year to the Canadian championship count drought, there’s one last hope! The Toronto Raptors!! Yes, I know it’s basketball! But so what? One of our fellow countrymen invented the sport, remember?

In their history, the Raptors postseason record has been less than spectacular. After winning their first ever playoff series in 2001, they had dropped their next six series, never getting out of the first round in five subsequent seasons.

After an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in which they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors have been eliminated the last two years in the second round. By you guessed it. The Cavaliers. So, why should this postseason be any different for this version of the Toronto Raptors?

The Raptors finished the season with a 58-24 record, good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. After disposing of the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round, the Raptors are locked into a 1-1 series tie with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Led by Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 27.8 points per game in the series against the Magic – and has averaged 40 points through the first two games against the Sixers – Toronto has the type of player who can close out games and hit the big shots.

In recent seasons, there was always one player who seemed to destroy them repeatedly, his name, LeBron James. Leonard, who is arguably the best two-way player in the NBA now, is a younger version of James who is still in his prime at age 27.

Pascal Siakam is another star on the rise in the Great White North. After averaging a career-high 16.9 points in the regular season, he has stepped it up so far in the postseason chipping in 22 points per game.

Of course, we can’t forget veteran point guard Kyle Lowry. The five-time all-star continues to be a venerable playmaker and floor general for Toronto who contributed a career-high 8.7 assists per game this season.

These three players, along with a supporting cast of Danny Green, Fred Van Vleet, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Norman Powell, gives head coach Nick Nurse a formidable roster of youth and veterans that has championship aspirations.

So, Canada, before we get ready another season to tailgating at CFL stadiums or counting down the days until NHL training camps start again, let’s show the basketball world there’s a team north of the border worth talking about.

No, their players don’t say “eh” at the end of their sentences. No, they’re not going to impress you with their ability to play short-handed and kill off penalties. They will not dazzle you on the power play, with tic-tac-toe precision passing and then score going top shelf.

But they’ll dish out their fair share of assists. They’ll get out and run a decent fast break (think, breakaway). And any shot that they make beyond 23 feet 9 inches is worth three points. If it’ll make you feel better, just call it a hat trick.