Cavs Beat Celts But Raps Are Still 1st

Raise your glass Raps nation, Toronto is 1st place in the Eastern Conference.

This week's Sunday NBA Showcase featured the top 3 teams in the east hit the hardwood. The newly, revamped, Cleveland Cavaliers took on the 2nd place Boston Celtics in the headliner and the Toronto Raptors were in Charlotte to take on the Hornets for the matinee game. Not much was different for the Raptors, who won their 5th game in a row, and third game in a row by 20 points or more. I'm slowly starting to understand more and more how the rest of the NBA fans feel about the Raps being uneventful to watch. Consistently blowing out other teams, with the same outcome game after game does get dull.

Thankfully for NBA fans, the once defective Cleveland Cavaliers have pulled a 180 with their season. Last week, Lebron hit a buzzer-beating, game-winner against Minnesota a day before the trade deadline.

Following those late game heroics, Lebron must have stormed upstairs to the front office of the Cavs and said ' "I AM BACK! Now get them sorry players outta here."

After that game Cleveland moved 6 players out, acquiring 4 new ones in return. Now, after cleaning house last Thursday with their dysfunctional group, they hit the floor Sunday for the 2nd time with their new acquisitions and spoiled Paul Pierce day for the Celtics. Lebron may as well have used Pierce's jersey as his towel before the TD Garden raised it to the rafters. Although, the game started off close, exchanging leads several times throughout the first half. However, the second half slipped away from the Celtics with a final score of 121-99 for the Cavaliers. This shouldn't excite The Land too much though. The Raptors beat the Celts last week with a nearly identical score of 121-101. The average margin of victory is +21 points in Toronto's 5 game win streak, with their starters not playing a single minute in the 4th quarter. Out-scoring their starting line-up in the last 3 games, the Raps Bench Mob has proved they can compete with majority of the starters in the NBA. Their contribution to the Raps success has been so incredible that they earned themselves a vote in the NBA All star game this coming weekend.

Unfortunately, not a single bench player cracked the Rising Stars game, despite several players eligible. Raptors rookie and starting wing, OG Anunoby, has had a very impressive rookie season. But even his play won't be rewarded in this week's All-Star weekend.

A major snub and further fuels the conspiracy theory #NBAHatesCanada. I can't even log onto Xbox without being enraged at the lack of respect given to the Raptors.

1st in the east and 12th in 2k. Yes, this is with the update! I know it's just a game but throw the Raps a bone here.

At least the mood is light around Jurassic Park. Everyone was in high spirits after the win in Charlotte. Demar Derozan joked with the media, telling them he may be able to prolong his career by 2 years if he keeps getting all these 4th quarters off. The morale in Toronto is incredibly high and healthy. NBA players have a tendency to dispute over minutes but that is far from the case here in the 6ix.

Raps veteran and leader of the Bench Mob, Cj Miles, told media " Yeah, were getting them to the All-Star game early." Speaking on All-stars Lowry and Derozan sitting out all these 4th quarters. Miles, previously a starter on his former team Indiana, has embraced his role coming off the bench. He got a season high 24 points against Charlotte Sunday, with 18 of those points coming from beyond the arc.

Everyone's joshing around, getting buckets, and going outside their comfort zone, pulling off Harlem Globetrotter-esque plays.

Yes, that's JV, who has re-branded himself this season. Hiking passes through his legs like a long-snapper and hitting 3's like Larry Bird at 48% this season. But it all starts from up top. Raps Head Coach, Dwayne Casey, achieved his 300th victory Sunday afternoon and becomes the 1st Raptors coach to accomplish this feat. At this point, the season couldn't get any stronger for the Raptors.

Or could it...

Rumours circulated last week of Vince Carter returning to Toronto and the Raps Global Ambassador Drake went right to work. Would it make sense for the Raps to bring in a 41 year old VC, who will be coming off the bench, likely as a third string wing at best? Absolutely, it would make perfect sense. And Drizzy, aka everybody's best friend, can schmooze anybody. After helping promote the Carter Effect that premiered at Toronto's Film Festival last summer, it is evident that Drake and Carter have a special bond and that Carter and this city have a special bond. I can already see it now. Carter Effect II premiering at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, highlighting Vince's last season in the NBA, winning a championship with the team he began his career with. A classic Cinderella story that has Hollywood blockbuster written all over it.